Nurse Jackie: Competing in a Cluttered Medical Market

Edie Falco’s return to premium cable in Showtime’s Nurse Jackie was heralded as one of the most anticipated series premieres for 2009. And, after two episodes, I’m still torn as to whether or not I should believe the hype.

As far as ratings go, Nurse Jackie did a stellar job for Showtime, landing a second season the day after the premiere. The freshman series stole the title for most watched series premiere on Showtime from “Secret Diary of a Call Girl.” Edie is amazing as lead actor Nurse Jackie, delivering dry wit, subtle humor and heart felt emotion at every turn.

So, what’s the problem? Two episodes in, Nurse Jackie has failed to make a decision as to whether it is a full-fledged dark comedy or a hospital drama. The humor is present, but as of yet Nurse Jackie has not been able to delivery on consistency. You’ll get patches of comedy, however, the humorous heights are not maintained. The result is a show that can be entertaining at times, but fails to set itself a part from your run-of-the-mill hospital drama or edgier shows like “House

Admittedly, my expectations were high going into the pilot. So, the “let down” factor was there. Also, the first few episodes of a new series always tend to lose momentum when establishing characters and story arcs. I am, however, cautiously optimistic for this new series since Edie has once again captured my heart.

Just keep in mind that with so many other hospital programs out now, and new shows premiering this summer, Nurse Jackie will have to kick its writing up a notch to compete for viewers’ hearts.