And Amsterdam has got a new partner at work, Eva Marquez (Zuleikha Robinson), with whom he instantly clashes. (Now there's an original dynamic we've never seen on a cop show before!)

There are things to really like about "New Amsterdam." Coster-Waldau is appealing in the title role. (And if you catch a hint of an accent, he's Dutch. Which, when you think about it, makes perfect sense for the character.)

The immortality angle comes into play in the premiere when Amsterdam has an encounter with an elderly woman he was in love with decades earlier. And the most interesting story line in Episode 2 is set decades in the past.

Yes, there's a vampire-esque angst to the character (without all the neck-biting and blood).

"Did you ever ask yourself why a vampire has no reflection in a mirror?" Amsterdam says. "It would be too painful. To see himself, year after year, century after century, unchanged while everything around him grows old. To search for love but to know it's always just out of your reach. Because to be human is to die. To die is what makes life worth living."

At least in the first couple of episodes, however, the police angle is nothing special. And the romance is ... well, confusing.

"New Amsterdam" is nothing if not ambitious. But it looks like it's bitten off a bit more than it can chew.

After previewing tonight and (Episode 2) on Thursday at 8 p.m., "New Amsterdam" moves to its regular time slot on Monday at 8 p.m.

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com