The former Doctor Who star will appear alongside Lily Allen in the seaside comedy-drama.
Updated 22/07/22: Freema Agyeman has confirmed that she won’t be returning to New Amsterdam.
Despite the show’s return for a fifth and final season, it will be without Dr Helen Sharpe; Freema Agyeman took to social media yesterday to announce she won’t appear in the final run. She also took the opportunity to thank the show’s fans, the Dam Fam, for their “… unending, dedicated and deliciously ferocious support!”
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Her announcement prompted a warm joint statement from New Amsterdam showrunner David Schulner and executive producer Peter Horton:
“We wish Freema the best of luck on her next chapter and the doors of New Amsterdam will always be open if she wishes to return! We are extremely proud of the impact Freema and Dr. Helen Sharpe have made over these past four seasons and are so grateful to have been a part of that story. As we head into the fifth and final season, we want our #Sharpwin fans to know we still have a few surprises in store for them.”
We can only guess at the reason for Freema’s decision – possibly a clash of dates with her new commitment to Dreamland?
Original article follows…
Dreamland – Freema Agyeman to star in a new comedy-drama
The former Doctor Who star will appear alongside Lily Allen in the seaside comedy-drama.
Sky have announced that Freema Agyeman is to appear in Dreamland, a forthcoming Sky comedy-drama from Sharon Horgan’s production company. It’s based on Sky’s 2018 BAFTA-winning short of the same name.
The show is a comedy-drama about secrets, lies, loves and aspirations within a family of four sisters. Set in Margate, the Kent seaside town, it promises a darkly comic exploration of multi-generational female relationships, and their (somewhat dysfunctional) family dynamics.
Here’s the synopsis for Dreamland:
Eldest sister Trish is pregnant for the third time with her partner Spence. And this time, she’s decided: it’s going to be a girl. Her two sisters Clare and Leila rally around her with their mum and their Margate-legend nan, “manifesting” a little girl at Trish’s ‘mani-festival’., But when their other sister, Mel, makes an unexpected reappearance back into their lives, her return threatens to destabilise the entire family. A knock on their door and their ‘Dreamland’ is no more…
Freema Agyeman plays Trish, Gabby Best is Clare, Aimee-Ffion Edwards plays Leila and Lily Allen makes her television debut as Mel. Frances Barber and Sheila Reid complete the family dynamic as their mother and Nan. Kiell Smith-Bynoe plays Trish’s partner Spence, with Samantha Bond also guest-starring as Orla.
The six-part series comes from Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s production company Merman, in association with Sky Studios. Merman have been behind shows such as Motherland, Catastrophe and This Way Up.
Dreamland’s writers are Emma Jane Unsworth, Gabby Best, Sharma Walfall and Sarah Kendall, the director is Ellie Heydon. Executive producers are Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford (Merman), with Alex Moody for Sky Studios. Jane Bell serves as Producer, with Emma Jane Unsworth as Showrunner and Associate Producer.
Freema Agyeman
Since her role as Martha Jones on Doctor Who and Torchwood, Freema has enjoyed a successful career on both sides of the Atlantic.
In Britain, her roles have included Alesha Phillips on Law & Order: UK, as Tattycoram in Little Dorrit and as Shelly in CBeebies Old Jack’s Boat. In America, she starred as Larissa in the CW’s Sex and the City prequel, The Carrie Diaries and as Amanita in Netflix’s Sense8.
Since 2018, she’s played the role of Dr. Helen Sharpe on the NBC medical drama New Amsterdam. She also appeared in the recent film The Matrix: Resurrections.
Martha Jones
Freema has also recently reprised her role of Martha Jones on audio for Big Finish twice. First in Torchwood: Dissected and then for her own boxset, The Year of Martha Jones.
Dreamland is filming now and will come to Sky Comedy and streaming service NOW in 2023.