Nurse Jackie: Set Visit

On February 12, 2009, we were invited to visit the set of Nurse Jackie, Showtime’s latest dark comedy starring Edie Falco.

Before I go into the day’s activities, let me preface by saying that Edie Falco is one of those actors who can do no wrong. Between her role as Carmela on the Sopranos and her role as Celeste Cunningham on 30 Rock, she’s easily won a place in the hearts of everyone at BuzzFocus.

Feb. 12 was the second to last day of production. The cast and crew had already held their wrap party the weekend before, so that there would be no Valentines or holiday weekend conflicts.

I arrived at Kauffman Studios, home of St. Anne’s Hospital – Nurse Jackie’s stomping grounds, at 10:30 AM. We spent the morning hanging out with Associate Producer Tiffany Parker. Tiffany, who also worked on the Sex and the City feature, talked about life with the cast and crew. Unlike most sets that go non-stop, constantly breaking into double-day work shifts, it seems like the Jackie crew maintains a tight ship. Even when the day may go over schedule they’ve developed into such a tight knit family that working is more like having a chill session with your closest friends. They even maintain the same background actors for each episode to keep to keep the rapport. Tiffany made us feel right at home, and the conversation shifted from Nurse Jackie to offbeat topics like iced tea and southern living.

Executive Producer John Melfi stopped by to talk with us. Melfi expressed how happy excited he was with Nurse Jackie, saying that the show had a “relatable working class vibe.”

Before long we were called down to the set. When I walked in I was flabbergasted. Despite having what in TV world would be considered a slim budget, production had managed to create a hospital that felt unnervingly real. Now, I grew up around hospitals, but that doesn’t mean I like being in them. And, when I walked on set, it felt like I was stepping a real hospital. From the hospital waiting room filled with creepy background actors, to the old hospital wing with the Jesus statue, right down to the ominous nuns lurking in the shadows it was clear that this production team had done one heck of a job researching hospital culture.

Tiffany guided us on a tour of the set, and each room was more real than the next. I have to give a huge thumbs up to Production Designer Bob Shaw for recreating the one place I despised going to as a kid. It’s like he took a snapshot of my family hospital and made built it from the ground up. He even nailed the ambiance down to the disheveled Purell dispenser.

After our set tour, we were guided to our viewing station (they set up a special viewing station on set for us – sweet!), and exchanged a quick head nod with Peter Facinelli and Edie Falco as they talked over the scene with the Director Scott Ellis. With only two days left of production, and the final two episodes still being shot, I held back from exchanging high fives with the cast. But, it’s always great being in the presence of such talented actors.

For a second, I had a moment of deja vu, as two Edie Falco’s appeared on set. It seems Edie has brought over her stand-in from the Sopranos to Nurse Jackie. Falco’s stand-in looks so similar you’d think they were sisters.

While waiting for picture to come up, we got the chance to see Anna Deavere Smith. She was outfitted with her lav mic in our viewing room, and jokingly said, “I better hold off from saying anything bad about the cast.”

I won’t go into any details about the scenes we saw, so expect no spoilers here. I’ll just say that Edie is a joy to watch. Falco’s subtle facial expressions and straight-faced humor are homerun hits every time.

Edie’s got a playful side too. Between takes Falco joked with the camera operator by juking left and right like a football player as they tried to frame the shot.

The only thing that freaked me out was the return of those two spooky old nuns. Every time the director called action, and the background actors started moving, those damned nuns were back. What is it about creepy nuns in a hospital anyway? Maybe it’s me, but I kept expecting them to yell, “The Power of Christ compels you. The Power of Christ compels you!”

As a side note, Craft Services did their thing on the food side. I was upset that I wasn’t hungry because otherwise I may have dived head first into some delicious dishes I saw.

Nurse Jackie kicks off in June with the return of Weeds. That’s right. Edie Falco and Mary-Louise Parker in one night. Does life really get better? I don’t think so.