Hamza Haq Talks Transplant Season 4, Says Finale is the ‘Ending That Bashir Deserves’

Though Transplant Season 4 has already aired in its entirety in Canada, here in the U.S., we’re still watching the story unfold. The medical drama series is currently airing its fourth and final season on NBC, and it’s working toward an ending that star Hamza Haq hinted might be controversial. 

The series follows Bashir “Bash” Hamed (Haq), a doctor from Syria who came to Canada as a refugee with his sister, and is now nearing the end of his residency at York Memorial Hospital.

I recently had the chance to chat with Haq about filming the final season of Transplant, how his character has evolved over the course of the series, and what to expect from the finale. (You can watch the full interview below.)

Looking back on the series as a whole, Haq said he’s proud of how his character is portrayed and the story that’s being told about him.

“I’m proud of the fact that we were able to tell a well-rounded story of a brown, Muslim man who is oftentimes in North American culture, portrayed in a very particular singular way, and we’re able to tell a story that kind of encapsulates the entire breadth of human experience,” Haq said.

“We were actually able to see him as a person — not as a victim, not as a villain — but just a person that is trying his best to contribute to society as best he knows, and in a way that doesn’t harm other people, all the while making mistakes. To give him the permission, and to give people who look like that the permission to sometimes get it wrong as well.”

“There’s this thing of having to be a model minority all the time, and we see Bashir mess up a lot. And it’s like, okay, cool, they are allowed to mess up also,” he continued. “I’m very proud that that message has reached audiences as much as it has, and that it’s resonated quite a bit.”

Bash certainly has made his share of mistakes, and he’s also under immense pressure at this point in the story. On Transplant Season 4 Episode 5, he experiences memory blackouts that affect his work. How he handles that situation says a lot about how his character has evolved.

“This isn’t the first time that we’re seeing Bashir have dissociative episodes and really deal with all the things that he doesn’t have control over,” Haq explained. “The beautiful thing about his trajectory, is when it first happened, he had no idea who to approach, and he blamed himself. He was reacting from a place of fear and wanting to take control of it himself.”

“What I loved about this season is, as soon as he realized it, he makes an appointment and says, ‘I need help, because this happened.’ And I think, just allowing himself that forgiveness and allowing himself that empathy, that, like, ‘All right, man. I can’t do this by myself.’ It’s tremendous growth in that character.”

Watch the full interview with Hamza Haq:

Haq also discussed the dynamic between Bash and Mags, who, after breaking up, found themselves competing for the fellowship position.

“I think, often, there’s an attraction as a result of how seriously they both take their jobs, how committed they are to their patients, how they both think they’re the best doctor in the room. And I think that that level of competition has bred excellence, and regardless of whatever their romantic status has been, it has always been deeply rooted in a tremendous amount of respect that they have for each other,” Haq said.

“However complicated that their personal lives may get, that thing has never wavered. So it’s always made for very compelling stories that even once that’s gone, now they’re competing for the same thing, head to head, and there’s a wonderful respect for your competition there.”

He added that there is also still “this kind of nice, flirty, thing of like, ‘I’m gonna get it.’ You know that I love this line where she’s just like, ‘Gosh, I’m going to do everything I can to get this job,’ and he just says, ‘And you’ll need to.’ Because he knows how good he is, too, and it’s great. I think that’s the basis of their attraction for each other, is this tremendous amount of respect for each other’s abilities and their care.”

As for what we can expect from the series finale, Haq suggested that it could be something of a polarizing ending.

“Not everybody’s gonna agree that we made the right decision,” he said. However, he also added, “It is the ending that Bashir deserves.”

“There’s some tragedy towards the end of the season as well. But ultimately, it is the story that you hope for, and it’s the story that you want,” Haq continued. “Anybody who has gone through as much as Bashir has to leave with — and me personally, it always left me with a smile on my face. And I think you’ll see that it leaves Bashir with a smile on his face as well.”

Reflecting on his experience filming Transplant, Haq compared it to four years of high school.

“It was a great level of education that you learn a lot with people that you were gonna know for the rest of your lives, and it’s a shared experience,” Haq said.

“I look on it the same way that I look back on four years of high school or four years of university — that there were moments there that will define what the rest of my life looks like. And I made relationships there that I will carry on for the rest of my life as well. So I’m just as nostalgic about it as I’m excited to see what’s next.”

Haq was able to share two projects that he’ll be seen in next. “There’s a movie that I made directed by Fawzia Mirza and [also stars] Amrit Kaur that is releasing in theaters on June 20. It’s called The Queen of My Dreams. So it’s in cities all over the US,” Haq said.

“We’re also looking to release a show called The Borderline, starring myself, Stephen Amell, and Minnie Driver, that will be, hopefully, coming to screens this fall.”

Transplant airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC.

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