Edie Falco as Nurse Jackie by Christian Weber/Showtime
Breaking news! Edie Falco is an awesome actress. This reporter learned this - definitely not exclusively - when he saw a sneak peek at Falco's new half-hour Showtime dramedy (tentatively titled Nurse Jackie) on Friday. Falco plays a complicated nurse in an inner-city hospital. "What do you call a nurse with a back problem?" she asks in the preview. (Pause.) "Unemployed." As a result, the wisecracking, potty-mouthed, maybe-promiscuous Nurse Jackie also has a bit of a painkiller problem. It looks very promising.
Ditto for Toni Collette, who plays a suburban mom who suffers from multiple-personality disorder on United States of Tara. Here's what makes this show interesting to me: Tara's family (including husband John Corbett) is aware of her illness, tolerates it and even knows and has relationships with each of her personalities. Weird, right? Wait until you meet them. My particular favorite is "T," and I'm guessing she'll be yours too.
Neither show has a solid premiere date yet, but we'll keep you posted. - Mickey O'Connor
