The series was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award for Main Title Design but lost to Mad Men.

Production on New Amsterdam was stopped for an indefinite period in October 2007 after seven episodes had already been completed, with The Hollywood Reporter suggesting it was unlikely Fox would order more episodes.

A pre-air version of the pilot episode was leaked onto internet file-sharing services on December 2, 2007, months before the show's official premiere.

The show was originally greenlit with a thirteen-episode order in May 2007 and was meant to premiere in fall 2007, but was held back as a mid-season replacement and did not begin airing until March 2008.

Despite the delays, Fox announced the cancellation of New Amsterdam on May 11, 2008, after only eight episodes had aired.

Author Pete Hamill claimed the show's premise resembled his 2003 novel Forever, though producer David Manson said he was unaware of the book until after filming had wrapped.

The core concept of a present-day immortal changing aliases to avoid detection has parallels in several other works, including the film The Man from Earth, the Highlander franchise, the show Forever Knight, and even a 1969 Star Trek episode, 'Requiem for Methuselah'.

An unrelated 2007 fantasy novel also titled New Amsterdam, by writer Elizabeth Bear, similarly features an immortal detective solving supernatural crimes, though it is a separate, unconnected work.