The Knick is a new show on Cinemax directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Clive Owen. The show follows Dr. John W. Thackery and the staff of New York’s Knickerbocker Hospital (“the Knick”) during the early part of the twentieth century as medicine and surgery take on staggeringly high mortality rates. Dr. Thacker (Clive Owen) also battles cocaine and opium addiction, and is alarmingly dislikable for his racism. Is he the hero to root for, or is the audience’s attention to be drawn elsewhere? Is the blood and horror too much?
Ben Mankiewicz (Turner Classic Movies), Cara Santa Maria (Talk Nerdy Podcast), Alonso Duralde (The Wrap), and Robert Abele (Los Angeles Times Movie Reviews) discuss the series premiere of The Knick.