Fox premieres its new series, “New Amsterdam,” Tuesday night, featuring one very unusual New York homicide detective – one that is immortal.

“New Amsterdam” endeavors to make an interesting combination of police work and evergreen romance and hopes to keep television viewers hooked throughout the season starting with Tuesday’s premiere.

The storyline: John Amsterdam is a New York City police officer with an unexpected past. He is actually more than 400 years old and he could live another few centuries unless he breaks the spell he is under.

In 1642, as a Dutch soldier, Amsterdam gave his life in order to save that of a Native American girl whose tribe was being massacred in then pre-New York City colony of New Amsterdam.

The girl repays him for his sacrifice, reawakening him to life with the help of a magical spell that makes him immortal, and ageless, until he finds his true love. Only when he finds his soulmate is he to age and die like any other human.

Which brings us to modern-day New York where he works as a homicide detective and counts the dogs and lovers as they share they lives with him and then pass away, only to be remembered sorrowfully by him, the immortal man.

He does go through typical human experiences: he is a former alcoholic (counting some 60 years of soberness); he falls in love; he knows what loss and loneliness are; and he has his own notion of the other sex (at one point he says of his partner’s remarks that she sounds just like “my 609 other girlfriends”).

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who is Dutch, portrays the bewitched John Amsterdam; Zuleikha Robinson plays his detective partner Eva Marquez; Alexie Gilmore appears as Dr. Sara Dillane; Stephen McKinley-Henderson appears as jazz club owner Omar, Amsterdam’s sole confidant.

Lasse Hallstrom is executive producer of the series, as are Leslie Holleran, Allan Loeb, Steven Pearl, David Manson. Michael Hausman is producer. Hallstrom also directs the pilot episode.

Official website: http://www.fox.com/newamsterdam/