Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
The Knick is an electrifying show full of beautiful performances, intelligent writing, and utterly brilliant directing. It’s one of the best shows to debut on television in the last year, and chances are you haven’t seen it. It’s possible you haven’t even heard of it. That’s because it’s not on Netflix or HBO; it’s on Cinemax.
Cinemax is one of the longest-running premium cable channels, but while HBO and Showtime have courted high-class audiences with prestigious dramas and scandalous comedies (and Starz cornered the market on super-fun fandom-driven fare), Cinemax has been held back by its unfortunate nickname. Long before internet porn existed, “Skinemax” was the place for people to tune in to if they wanted soft core porn and hard core nudity. When Cinemax landed Steven Soderberg’s gorgeous period drama, The Knick, it was a sign to savvy viewers that the network wanted to compete with their peers for Emmys and accolades. However, that doesn’t mean that most people were signing up for the service just to check out one show that someone told them was outstanding.
For a limited time only — specifically speaking, until October 25—you can stream the first season of The Knick on HBO Now, HBO Go, and HBO On Demand platforms (like Sling TV). This means you have the perfect opportunity to sample the series for yourself. If you like it, and find that you can’t stop binge-watching it, you can order Cinemax before the second season debuts on October 16.
The Knick stars Clive Owen as Dr. John Thackery, a revolutionary surgeon working in the early 1900s. Though he might be a pioneer in his field, he’s burdened by a crippling cocaine addiction and the limits of his own pride. André Holland delivers an absolutely spellbinding performance as Dr. Algernon Edwards. He’s yet another utterly brilliant surgeon, but he’s held back by the institutionalized racism that permeates American life even to the present day. Rounding out the cast are a couple of ambitious doctors, a wealthy female hospital administrator, a wide-eyed nurse from West Virginia, a crooked hospital manager, a vulture-like ambulance driver, and a chain-smoking nun who performs abortions when she’s not delivering babies.
The series is directed by Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh. Yup, that Soderbergh, and yeah, he directed every single episode. The whole series is guided by his vision. This gives the series an added grim gloss. Even the most gruesome surgery scenes are something to behold.
So, if you want to get hip to an amazing show that’s been sadly under watched this year, check it out on HBO this month. True Detective might have let you down, but The Knick won’t. [Where to Stream The Knick]
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