New Amsterdam's Christine Chang was able to incorporate her experience as the victim of anti-Asian racism on the show

Variety

When the actress was attacked early in the pandemic last year, she told New Amsterdam writer Y. Shireen Razack, who then adapted it for the small screen. In last week’s episode of the NBC hospital drama, Chang’s character Dr. Agnes Kao treated an Asian-American patient experiencing PTSD from a hate crime. Chang recalled her experiences on a panel with fellow Asian-American New Amsterdam actor Daniel Dae Kim, who recently testified before Congress on anti-Asian violence. “I felt incredibly supported by the whole cast and crew,” Chang said. “I’m just really proud to be on a show that doesn’t shy away from difficult and painful topics...Because I didn’t see people like me on screen growing up, I didn’t think that I, or people like me, had value in our society. And that’s incredibly damaging to young people’s self esteem.”