CLEVELAND — Ty Labine, who plays Dr. Iggy Frome on NBC’s New Amsterdam, stopped by WKYC Studios on Tuesday to talk live about what we can expect from season two of the hit show, in the aftermath of the season finale cliffhanger.
The character of Frome, head of behavioral studies at the hospital in New Amsterdam, is known for thinking outside the box when it comes to caring for his patients, and Labine told us we’re going to get to see even more of that this season.
“[Iggy] has a really good time actually pouring himself into his work, and is and can’t help himself from being caring and compassionate,” Labine told WKYC’s Digital Anchor Stephanie Haney.
“Max Goodwin, our new medical director, comes into our universe… and he comes in and kind of cuts the cuffs and says, ‘Do it your way, the patients come first.’”
Adding to that excitement, if you caught the season premiere last week, you know Dr. Frome dropped a bombshell on his husband that he wants to add a fifth child to the mix.
“Iggy wants another baby!” Labine told WKYC. “Which may seem excessive, yes, sure, but he has a lot of love to give.”
While Dr. Frome’s husband wasn’t exactly thrilled by that prospect, Labine told us that might not matter.
“I will say this without spoiling too much. Iggy is barreling forward with this plan so we’ll see where that lands us,” Labine said.
Labine said that after the tragic loss the characters experienced at the end of season one, which we only start to understand fully in last week’s premiere, he thinks wanting a fifth child may be Dr. Frome’s way of coping.
Discussing the importance of portraying a mental health professional when it comes to the evolving understanding of that space in the real world, Labine told WKYC:
“I think this is a great platform to start viewing ‘mental health’ as just ‘health.’ It’s the same thing as if you have an issue with your stomach, or a degenerative heart disease. Mental health is just part of your overall health.”
Labine added: “It doesn’t need to be stigmatized or turned into something that makes you broken because it deals with things on an emotional level. It is health, it falls under the umbrella of health and I think we all need to start thinking about it that way.”
While the show will definitely address heavier topics, Labine has found a way to keep things fun and interesting as we learn more about the characters of New Amsterdam.
NBC has asked him to start a playlist, which he hilariously named “New AmsterJAM” on Spotify, and he’ll be adding a new song to the playlist each week that he feels fits the vibe of that week’s show.
“At the end of 22 episodes this season, we will have a 22-track playlist,” Labine said. “And then at the end of the season I will open it up to the public and make it collaborative. In the off season we can all share music together, which thrills me to no end because I think one of the personal things you can do is share music with people.”
You can follow along with that playlist here, and catch new episodes of New Amsterdam every Tuesday at 10 p.m. on Channel 3.