This is one in a series of Media Life previews of those programs.

 
Name of show 
“New Amsterdam”
 
Timeslot 
Fox, Monday 9 p.m. (Premieres tonight at 9, with a second episode airing Thursday at 9).
 
Plot synopsis 
Fox’s newest drama follows John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), an NYPD homicide detective who’s been alive since 1642. Yes, 1642.
 
In the 17th century, Amsterdam was a Dutch soldier in the colony of New Amsterdam, which of course went on to become New York City. The soldier saved a Native American girl from sure death, and she in turn rewarded him with a gift of immortality.
 
But the gift predictably carries with it a curse.
 
The catch is that Amsterdam will remain immortal, never aging, until such time as he finds his true love. He then becomes a mortal again. Judging by the fact that Amsterdam has been around for almost 400 years, that hasn’t happened yet, but that could be about to change. Early in the series, Amsterdam suffers what appears to be a heart attack. But he takes it for a sign that the prophecy is about to come true and his true love is near.
 
“New Amsterdam” also stars Zuleikha Robinson as Amsterdam’s crime-solving partner, Stephen Henderson as Omar, Amsterdam’s jazz-club-owning best friend, and Alexie Gilmore as Dr. Sara Dillane, who tends to him after after his apparent heart attack.
 
Outlook 
When considering the prospects for “New Amsterdam," it's a matter of weighing the negatives against the positives, and the negatives tip the scales.

The one positive is that Fox is airing the show after “American Idol” twice this week. That is a cushy berth for any new show, inviting a huge potential sampling, and Fox has used it with a few shows that turned out to be hits, most notably "House."

The first negative is that Fox is pushing "Amsterdam" off to a far less cushy berth for its third episode, rather than keeping it behind "Idol," which suggests the network doesn't have much confidence in the show.
 
Another reason to believe Fox is not overwhelmed by its chances is that it postponed the show from what was to be a fall premiere. That's never a good sign.

"Amsterdam" also doesn’t have a well-known actor to bank on, but even more worrisome is that it seems to suffer from multiple personality disorder.

Is it a cop show? A supernatural show? A looking-for-love drama? 
It’s actually all three, which may be two too many. Shows with multiple personalities confuse viewers. 

"Amsterdam” should do especially well with tonight's premiere. Tuesday episodes of “Idol” have averaged a 12.4 rating among viewers 18-49 this season, No. 1 on all of broadcast.

“New Amsterdam’s” 9 p.m. timeslot competition includes the second half of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” ABC’s “According to Jim” and “Carpoolers,” CBS’s “Big Brother” and CW’s “One Tree Hill.” Only “Biggest Loser” has averaged above a 2.2 among 18-49s on the night this season.
 
Thursday won't be as easy. It airs head-to-head against ABC’s “Lost,” NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” and a repeat of CBS’s “CSI.”
 
But the big question is how the show will fare in its regular Monday 9 p.m. timeslot, where it debuts next week. It’s a hard one to answer because it will air after the series premiere of the legal drama “Canterbury’s Law,” and there’s really no telling how that show will do.
 
That night it will face NBC’s “Deal or No Deal,” CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” repeat and “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” ABC’s “October Road” and CW’s “The Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious.”
 
On its second Monday the competition gets even tougher. It airs against the last half hour of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and the first 30 minutes of “The Bachelor.” These are season premieres for both, and that makes them even tougher competition.
 
The one thing working in "Amsterdam's" favor is that as a surreal drama it's so different from what else is on that it could do well with men, since both "Stars" and "Bachelor" skew heavily female.

It could even attract “Heroes” fans who have been missing a touch of the supernatural on Monday nights.
 
The buzz 
Media people agree “New Amsterdam” will get a good amount of sampling after “American Idol” this week, but they’re quick to note that's hardly a guarantee of success.
 
“It certainly has done well for worse shows,” says one media researcher. But as another points out, “Not just anything finds an audience after ‘Idol.’ And putting a drama there will be really, really tough.”
 
Buyers also have real doubts about the show's multiple personalities, recalling clips Fox aired at its upfront presentation last spring. They also note that Fox postponed the show after initially slotting it for fall.

“I don’t think the network had a tremendous amount of confidence in it,” says one broadcast research director. “It’s never a good sign.”
 
"Amsterdam" replaces “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” which had its season finale last night, but buyers do not think it will do nearly as well as the 4.6 that show averaged among 18-49s.

What critics are saying
 “Maybe all the plot holes can be covered up with believable explanations. But beyond the questions raised so far, ‘New Amsterdam’ is pretty hokey, not especially compelling and altogether flat (except for the shots of a very vibrant New York City). You can be immortal if you want, but that doesn’t make it any less boring.” – Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle
 
“The supernatural elements are far-fetched and the show fortunately doesn’t dwell too long on them. The mysteries in the first two episodes were also a little too easy to figure out; it’s the show’s weakest point (it could use a few ‘Law and Order: SVU’ twists, frankly). Still, ‘New Amsterdam’ is smart and far more original than most of the new series this season, which warrants it becoming a Monday habit.” – Misha Davenport, Chicago Sun-Times
 
“Leave it to the minds currently running network TV that immortals don’t teach history (as one logically did in an old ‘Twilight Zone’) but rather pursue procedural-friendly vocations. Easy to dismiss at first glance, the series does exhibit some possibilities in its second episode, though it’s still a relatively uninspired time-killer for those of us with just one life to live.” – Brian Lowry, Variety