The Knick Returns to Cinemax on Friday, October 16

In a press release today —

EMMY^®-WINNING DRAMA SERIES THE KNICK,

DIRECTED BY OSCAR^® AND EMMY^® WINNER STEVEN SODERBERGH, AND

STARRING OSCAR^® NOMINEE CLIVE OWEN,

RETURNS FOR ITS SECOND SEASON OCT. 16, EXCLUSIVELY ON CINEMAX

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Gregory Jacobs, Steven Soderbergh,

Michael Sugar And Clive Owen Executive Produce Series,

Created By Executive Producers Jack Amiel & Michael Begler

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New York City, 1901: The Knick faces an upheaval, as Dr. John Thackery’s absence (due to his hospitalization for cocaine addiction), a dearth of affluent patients, and financial missteps have led to the board’s decision to shutter The Knickerbocker Hospital in favor of a new building uptown. In this world of corruption, invention and progress, everyone is searching for the new path that will help him or her survive. Whether it’s a path toward justice, freedom, love or just plain survival, nothing comes easy.

As relocation plans proceed, the gifted but under-appreciated Dr. Algernon Edwards jockeys to become Thackery’s successor as chief of surgery, while fellow doctors, nurses, nuns and administrators grapple with challenges at work and in their private lives.

Starring Clive Owen (Emmy^® nominee for HBO’s “Hemingway & Gellhorn”; Oscar^® nominee and Golden Globe winner for “Closer”), André Holland (“Selma,” “42”), Eve Hewson (“Enough Said“) and Juliet Rylance (“Frances Ha”), THE KNICK kicks off its ten-episode second season FRIDAY, OCT. 16 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on CINEMAX, followed by other episodes debuting subsequent Fridays at the same time. Steven Soderbergh (Oscar^® winner for “Traffic”; Emmy^® winner for HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra”; Emmy^® nominee for season one) directs the entire season of the show, which recently received an Emmy^® in the category of Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period Program (One Hour or More).

The returning ensemble cast includes Jeremy Bobb (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “House of Cards”), Michael Angarano (“The Stanford Prison Experiment,” “Empire State”), Chris Sullivan (“The Drop,” HBO’s “The Normal Heart”), Cara Seymour (“I Origins,” “An Education”), Eric Johnson (“Rookie Blues”), David Fierro (“Birdman : Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”), Maya Kazan (“Frances Ha,” HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”), Grainger Hines (“Lincoln”), Leon Addison Brown (“Lincoln: A Walk Among the Tombstones”), Tom Lipinski (“Sometimes I Lie”), Charles Aitken (“The Girl on the Train”), Jennifer Ferrin (“Falling Skies”), Perry Yung (“Royal Pains”), Rachel Korine (“Spring Breakers”) and Michael Nathanson (“Side Effects”). Cast newcomers include Andrew Rannells (HBO’s “Girls”), Zaraah Abrahams (“Da Sweet Blood of Jesus”), Annabelle Attanasio (“Anchovies”), Arielle Goldman (“The Zebra Room”) and Emily Kinney (“The Walking Dead”).

Gregory Jacobs (HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra”; “Magic Mike XXL”), Steven Soderbergh, Michael Sugar (“The Fifth Estate,” “Rendition”) and Clive Owen executive produce. The writing team of Jack Amiel & Michael Begler (“Raising Helen,” “Big Miracle”) writes and executive produces. Michael Polaire (HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra”) produces. Steven Katz is the writer of season two episodes five and eight, and is co-executive producer.

The production designer is two-time Emmy^®-winner Howard Cummings (HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra”); the costume designer is Emmy^®-winner Ellen Mirojnick (HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra”); and the casting director is Emmy^®-winner Carmen Cuba (HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra”). Composer Cliff Martinez (“Drive”) is responsible for THE KNICK’s critically acclaimed score. Emmy^®-winner Justin Raleigh (“American Horror Story: Freak Show,” Emmy^® nominee for season one) designed the special effects makeup and prostheses for the series.

ABOUT THE CHARACTERS

Dr. John Thackery (Clive Owen), the Knickerbocker’s chief of surgery, is a brilliant but drug-addled surgeon who pushes the boundaries of medicine, morality and race while battling personal demons.

Dr. Algernon Edwards (André Holland) is a gifted, Harvard-trained surgeon, whose determination to be recognized for his abilities is put to the test as he faces opposition and bigotry among his peers, despite his considerable talents.

Lucy Elkins (Eve Hewson), once a naïve young nurse from West Virginia, has seen her personal and professional veneer hardened by heartbreak and her abilities challenged as she struggles to find her way.

Cornelia Robertson (Juliet Rylance), formerly head of the hospital’s social welfare office and chair of the hospital’s board of trustees, must deal with her new married life and her husband’s expectations to forego her job, as well as the community activism and moral responsibility she has come to embrace.

Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb) is an obsequious, deceptively greedy hospital administrator whose seizes the opportunity of the new Knick’s construction to line his pockets and pay off his debts.

Dr. Bertram “Bertie” Chickering, Jr. (Michael Angarano) has grown from an eager surgeon-in-training to a talented doctor whose allegiance to The Knick comes into question.

Tom Cleary (Chris Sullivan) is a jovial Irish ambulance driver whose crude, opportunistic behavior takes a turn to help a friend in need.

Sister Harriet (Cara Seymour) is an Irish Catholic nun who ran the orphanage affiliated with The Knick, until it was discovered she was compassionately terminating pregnancies for the wealthy and the poor.

Dr. Everett Gallinger (Eric Johnson) is an aspiring, disgruntled surgeon on Thackery’s staff, whose personal problems, innate bigotry and hatred for Dr. Edwards affect his career.

Jacob Speight (David Fierro) is a health department inspector.

Eleanor Gallinger (Maya Kazan), the troubled wife of Dr. Gallinger, returns to her home following a brutal stay in the sanatorium, where she was placed after the death of her infant daughter.

Captain August Robertson (Grainger Hines) is Cornelia’s father and the leading benefactor of The Knick.

Philip Showalter (Tom Lipinski) is Cornelia’s husband.

Henry Robertson (Charles Aitken) is Cornelia’s brother.

Dr. Levi Zinberg (Michael Nathanson), chief surgeon at Mt. Sinai, is Thackery’s rival.

Opal (Zaraah Abrahams) is a woman from the past.

Ping Wu (Perry Yung) is a Chinatown druglord.

Genevieve Everidge (Arielle Goldman) is a fiery young journalist.

Dorothy Walcott (Annabelle Attanasio) is Eleanor Gallinger’s sister.

Frazier H. Wingo (Andrew Rannells) is the architect of the new Knickerbocker Hospital.

Junia (Rachel Korine) is Barrow’s mistress

Nurse Daisy Ryan (Emily Kinney) works at The Knick.

Rich in period detail, THE KNICK captures the era’s unique zeitgeist, when huge strides in technology transformed medicine and treatments that were once thought impossible became commonplace. The series also addresses slowly changing social norms at a time when the gulf between rich and poor was profound, and the idea of racial equality a distant dream.

Creating 1901 New York was left to production designer Howard Cummings, who recently received his second Emmy^® for season one of THE KNICK. Exteriors were recreated in and around Brooklyn and in downtown Manhattan, while interiors of the Knickerbocker Hospital, along with additional sets, were filmed at Cine Magic East River Studio soundstages. The streets of Yonkers, NY were used to recreate Chinatown in San Francisco.

Season two’s eye-catching costumes were created by Emmy^®-winning costume designer Ellen Mirojnick. From period hospital uniforms to men’s impeccably tailored suits, from women’s ornate ball gowns to provocative dance-hall attire, she definitively captures the disparity in the clothing of the haves and the have-nots in the turn-of-the-century New York.

October’s episodes:

Episode #11 (season 2, episode 1)

Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 16 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)

Other CINEMAX playdates: Oct. 16 (11:00 p.m., midnight), 17 (9:00 p.m., 12:10 a.m.), 18 (5:30 p.m.), 19 (8:00 p.m., 10:50 p.m.), 20 (10:00 p.m.) and 21 (9:00 p.m.), and Nov. 4 (7:00 p.m.)

As Barrow (Jeremy Bobb) and The Knick prepare to move uptown, Dr. Edwards (André Holland) lobbies the hospital board to be appointed permanent chief of surgery in Dr. Thackery’s (Clive Owen) absence. Though his suspension has been lifted, Dr. Gallinger (Eric Johnson) refuses to return as Edwards’ subordinate, so he heads to Cromartie Hospital in hopes of getting Thackery to return to work.

Lucy’s (Eve Hewson) attempts to make amends with Bertie (Michael Angarano) are rebuffed; Cleary (Chris Sullivan) schemes to make extra money; Ping Wu (Perry Yung) demands regular medical checkups for his prostitutes; Speight (David Fierro) attempts to trace the origins of a new plague; Cornelia (Juliet Rylance) nourishes a quarantined neighborhood in San Francisco.

Written by Jack Amiel & Michael Begler; directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Episode #12 (season 2, episode 2)

Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 23 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Other CINEMAX playdates: Oct. 23 (11:00 p.m., midnight), 24 (9:00 p.m., 11:35 p.m.), 25 (4:45 p.m.), 26 (8:00 p.m., 11:10 p.m.), 27 (10:00 p.m.) and 28 (9:00 p.m.), and Nov. 4 (8:00 p.m.)

Dr. Thackery sets his sights on a return to The Knick – a request that doesn’t sit well with the board. After a shocking discovery, Cornelia enlists Cleary to do a dirty job, for a price. Bertie makes a change; Robertson (Grainger Hines) pushes a new subway initiative; Barrow drives up construction costs; Lucy is surprised by an unexpected visitor from home.

Written by Jack Amiel & Michael Begler; directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Episode #13 (season 2, episode 3)

Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 30 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Other CINEMAX playdates: Oct. 30 (11:00 p.m., midnight) and 31 (9:00 p.m., 11:35 p.m.), and Nov. 1 (5:25 p.m.), 2 (8:00 p.m., 10:50 p.m.), 3 (10:00 p.m.) and 4 (9:00 p.m.)

Thackery enlists Edwards to help him test a new hypothesis. After rejecting Robertson’s advances at The Knick, Lucy learns that confession isn’t always good for the soul. Young journalist Genevieve Everidge (Arielle Goldman) works on a story about one of Thackery’s rivals. Cornelia is dismayed by the limits of her husband’s (Tom Lipinksi) sympathies; Barrow faces a new adversary at Tammany Hall; Gallinger is intrigued by a discussion of eugenics at a class reunion; Edwards deals with a surprise visitor.

Written by Jack Amiel & Michael Begler; directed by Steven Soderbergh.