Episodes 1 – 12
Season Two Synopsis
The first season of SHOWTIME’s hit dark comedy series NURSE JACKIE starring Emmy® Award winner Edie Falco was both an audience and critical success, culminating with its selection as one of AFI’s Top Ten Television Series of 2009, Golden Globe® and SAG (Screen Actor’s Guild) nomination for Edie Falco. At the end of last season, Jackie (Edie Falco) struggled to keep her dual lives intact – she appeared to be in jeopardy as Eddie (Paul Schulze) discovered the truth about her marriage and children – forever contaminating Jackie’s pristine separation of her work life and her life at home. Season Two picks up a few months after she has cut ties with Eddie and all seems well in Jackie’s world as she is determined to spend more time with her husband (Dominic Fumusa) and two daughters (Ruby Jerins, Mackenzie Aladjem). With Eddie out of the picture both personally and professionally, her access to drugs has diminished, but her cravings have not. Back at All Saints Hospital, Dr. Cooper’s (Peter Facinelli) newly vaulted stature within the hospital becomes a constant source of irritation to Jackie. Zoey (Merritt Wever) continues to model herself after her hero, Jackie, while Dr. O’Hara’s (Eve Best) biggest challenge may be the realization that her best friend and confidant has been less than truthful with her. Sam (Arjun Gupta), a male nurse, who last season seemed to recognize Jackie’s addiction, has joined the staff full time creating yet another obstacle for her to navigate through. All of this transpires under the ever watchful eye of hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith).
Last season, Jackie’s extreme measures to keep her life on balance was a high wire act. In season two, the wire only gets higher.
The series is a co-production of SHOWTIME and Lionsgate.
CAST BIOS
EDIE FALCO
(Jackie Peyton)
Edie Falco, recent honoree in AFI’s Top Ten TV Programs of 2009 as well as a 2009 Golden Globe® and SAG nominee, became the only actress to ever receive the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Dramatic Series, the Golden Globe® Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Television Series, and the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama, all in the same year for her performance as “Carmela Soprano” in the groundbreaking series The Sopranos’ debut season. She has subsequently been nominated for each award for each eligible television season, winning two additional Emmy® Awards, another Golden Globe® Award and SAG Award as well as the American Film Institute’s Award for Female Television Actor of the Year.
When she received the Television Critics Association Award (TCA) for Individual Achievement in Drama, it was the first time in the history of the TCA that this Award was presented to a woman. She is also known to television audiences from her recurring roles in the dramatic series Oz and the acclaimed NBC series Law & Order and Homicide. Falco made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award® winning play Sideman, which she originated in its off-Broadway production. For her performance, she received a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk Award nomination for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play. She went on to make her London stage debut in the West End premiere of Sideman, and thereafter opened the London production of the highly successful play The Vagina Monologues. When Falco starred opposite Stanley Tucci in the lauded revival of Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, the play broke four house box office records at Broadway's Belasco Theatre making it the most successful play on Broadway all season. She appeared on Broadway most recently opposite Brenda Blethyn in the first revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Night, Mother. For the feature film Cost of Living, Falco received the American Film Institute’s Best Actress Award. Her performance in the film Laws of Gravity earned her an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best Female Lead Actor. Her other film credits include A Price Above Rubies, Copland, Trouble on the Corner, Private Parts, Hurricane, Layin’ Low, Breathing Room, The Funeral, The Addiction, Bullets Over Broadway, Trust, The Unbelievable Truth, Random Hearts, and the title character in the award-winning film Judy Berlin. For her performance in John Sayles’ Sunshine State, Falco received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also starred in the feature films The Quiet, The Great New Wonderful, and Freedomland.
EVE BEST
(Dr. Eleanor “Ellie” O’Hara)
Eve Best attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Shestudied English atOxfordUniversity. Prior to studying atOxford, she was rejected from RADA, only to be accepted by them at age 24. Best was awarded both the 1999 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama) for Most Promising Newcomer and London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her performances in'Tis Pity She's a Whoreperformed at theYoungVicTheatre. In addition, she was awarded the 2003 London Critics Award for Best Actress for her performance in Mourning Becomes Electraperformed at the Royal National Theatre. Her other theater credits includeMoon for the Misbegotten,Hedda Gabler, Three Sisters, Macbeth, The Heiress andThe Cherry Orchard.
Her television credits includePrime Suspect,Granada,Vital Sins, the BBC’sInspector Lynley Mysteries,Waking the Dead, ITV’sLie With Me, BBC’sShackleton, HG Wellsfor Hallmark and Dolly Madison for PBS.
MERRITT WEVER
(Zoey)
Merritt Wever graduated from LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts. Wever is soon to be seen starring opposite Annette Benning in the Geffen Playhouse production of Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith. Performances begin in Los Angeles on February 2, 2010. Her upcoming film roles include Greenberg and The Missing Person.
Wever has appeared in such feature films as Righteous Kill, Into the Wild, Michael Clayton, Neal Cassady, Twelve & Holding, A Hole in One, Season of Youth, Bringing Rain, Signs, Series 7 The Contenders, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, Arresting Gena, and Tough (Best Actor Award, First Run Film Festival).
Her television credits include Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Conviction, ¼ Life, NCIS, The Wire, Blue River and Something the Lord Made.
Her theatre appearances are Sam & Lucy, Bad Girls, Smashing, Cave Dweller, Roulette, Cape Cod Souvenirs, To Gilian on her 37th Birthday, Running on Earth, Here We Are, and Children of the Flames.
She currently resides in New York and Los Angeles.
PAUL SCHULZE
(Eddie)
Paul Schulze is a true New Yorker, raised on the East Side. He attended S.U.N.Y. Purchase in Westchester County where he was exposed to theater. Not long after graduating he landed his first feature film role in the critically-acclaimed, independent film Laws Of Gravity, which co-starred fellow S.U.N.Y. Purchase alum Edie Falco. Schulze went on to star in numerous films and television series such as The Sopranos where he played Father Phil Intintola, a priest with an arguably inappropriate fondness for Carmela Soprano (Falco). He also appeared for three seasons in the hugely successful series “24” as CTU director Ryan Chappelle before his character’s unexpected and controversial demise.
Schulze also starred in the feature films Panic Room, where he played the rookie cop opposite Jodi Foster in one of the film’s most memorable and intense scenes, and Rambo, the latest installment in the franchise, where he played missionary Michael Burnett who continually butts heads with Stallone’s character.
Schulze splits his time between New York and Los Angeles where he is helping to raise his five-year-old daughter Lena. When not working he can be found on a golf course with friends or spending time with his family.
DOMINIC FUMUSA
(Kevin Peyton)
Dominic Fumusa recently starred in Stephen Belber's hit play Fault Lines directed by David Schwimmer at the Cherry Lane Theater. In New York and in London, Fumusa originated the role of 'Toddy Koovitz' in Richard Greenberg's Tony®-winning Take Me Out directed by Joe Mantello. In New York, London, and Los Angeles, he created the character of 'Vince' (a role that was specifically written for him) in Stephen Belber's Tape. Fumusa made his Broadway debut opposite Marisa Tomei and Quentin Tarantino in Wait Until Dark. Other Broadway credits include A Flea in Her Ear at the Roundabout Theater Company. In addition, he portrayed ‘Mitch Albom’ in a six-month, twelve-city national tour of Tuesdays with Morrie opposite Harold Gould. Regional credits include plays at the Guthrie, Huntington, Kennedy Center, Actors Theater of Louisville, Williamstown, NY Stage & Film, the Stratford Festival of Canada, and Chicago Shakespeare.
Fumusa's television credits include Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Brotherhood, Kings, NYPD Blue, Hack, Numb3rs, Threshold, Bones and appearances on Law & Order and CSI.
His feature film credits include the soon-to-be-released Staten Island (opposite Ethan Hawke) and the independent features Helena from the Wedding and One Fall. Other films include Management, This is a Story about Ted and Alice (2008 Cannes), Dealbreaker directed and written by Gwyneth Paltrow, Grilled (opposite Burt Reynolds), The Guru, and Chloe’s Prayer.
Fumusa lives in Brooklyn with his wife, actress/producer Ilana Levine, and their two children, Georgia, 6, and Caleb, 3.
ANNA DEAVERE SMITH
(“Mrs. Akalitus”)
Anna Deavere Smith has performed in film and television as well as on stage. She is probably most recognizable in popular culture as Nancy McNally, the National Security Advisor on NBC's hit,The West Wing. However, it is Smith's work in the theater that has been her intellectual focus.
Smith performedTwilight in Los Angelesaround theUSand on Broadway. It received two Tony®-nominations, an Obie, a Drama Desk Award, a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics, and numerous other honors. President and Mrs. Clinton and Vice President Al Gore attended herWashington,D.C.performance. She produced, wrote and performed the movie version ofTwilightfor PBS.
Another of her plays,Fires in the Mirror, examined a race riot that occurred inCrownHeights,Brooklyn(1991) when age old racial tensions between Black and Jewish neighbors exploded. It received an Obie Award, numerous other awards and was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. She performed the play around the U.S,, inLondonandAustralia. The film version ofFires in the Mirrorwas also broadcast on PBS.
Smith is recently starred in theOn The Roadseries calledLet Me Down Easy at the Second Stage Theater in New York. The subject is the resilience and vulnerability of the human body. This play was inspired by work she did at the Yale School of Medicine where she was Visiting Professor.
Smith has been featured in several films includingThe American President, where she played the Press Secretary to Michael Douglas's President. She was featured in Robert Benton's film, The Human Stain. In addition, she appeared inDaveandRent. She was a regular on the CBS seriesPresidio Med, and had a recurring role onThe Practice. She just completed work onDancing With Shiva, a new film by Jonathan Demme, starring Anne Hathaway.
In 2007, Americans for the Arts presented her with the Kitty Carlisle Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts. Smith also received the Mayor's Award for Art and Culture by the Mayor of New York City in 2007. She was the recipient of the Alphonse Fletcher Fellowship in 2006. The fellowship recognizes work by scholars, writers, and artists who address and carry out the broad social goals of the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision of 1954. She was twice nominated for the NAACP Image Award. She received the prestigious New York Women in Communication's Matrix Award for her remarkable achievements and outstanding leadership roles in her field in Spring 2008.
PETER FACINELLI
(Dr. Fitch Cooper)
Peter Facinelli recently starred as Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the altruistic patriarch of the Cullen clan, in the blockbuster feature films, Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon for Summit Entertainment. The studio's Twilight film franchise is based on Stephenie Meyer's #1 New York Times bestselling series about a Romeo & Juliet- style romance between a mortal and a vampire. Both films broke multiple box office records. Facinelli will reprise his role in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film based on the blockbuster book series. Directed by David Slade, the film is slated for release on Wednesday, June 30, 2010.
Facinelli recently starred opposite Matthew Broderick and Brittany Snow in the dramedy, Finding Amanda, which premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.
His portrayal in The Big Kahuna as Bob Walker, a devout Baptist whose strong religious beliefs bring him into sharp conflict with his older and more cynical colleagues, earned Facinelli rave reviews. Also starring Kevin Spacey and Danny De Vito, the film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and was also accepted at the Toronto Film Festival that year.
His additional feature film credits include The Scorpion King opposite Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Penny Marshall’s Riding in Cars with Boys opposite Drew Barrymore, a starring role in Walter Hills’ sci-fi thriller Supernova with James Spader and Angela Bassett, Can’t Hardly Wait opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt, Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 with Breckin Meyer and Foxfire opposite Angelina Jolie.
Facinelli recently co-starred in a recurring role on Damages, FX’s award-winning legal thriller starring Glenn Close. His additional television credits include a starring role in McG’s sexy one-hour drama Fastlane and a recurring role as a promising art student and love interest for Lauren Ambrose’s character in the award winning series Six Feet Under.
Facinelli was born and raised in New York, and attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three daughters.
PRODUCTION BIOS
LIZ BRIXIUS & LINDA WALLEM
(Executive Producers/Writers)
Liz Brixius and Linda Wallem began working together in 2005. Wallem grew up in Rockford, Illinois, studied theater at the University of Minnesota and is a graduate of the Helen Olsen School of Jazz, Tap and Ballet. She began her career as an actress in both television and feature film, before becoming a writer on television’s Cybill, That 70’s Show, and The Comeback.
Liz Brixius grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and began her writing career as a poetry teacher at the University of Massachusetts after a successful tour of rehabs in the Midwest. Eventually, she began writing for feature films and television. She assembles model boats in her spare time. Both women have outstanding parking tickets in many states, and share a love of stamps.
RICHIE JACKSON
(Executive Producer)
Richie Jackson is the president of Jackson Group Entertainment, a production and management firm. Recent producing projects include the Broadway musical A Catered Affair (Best Musical, Drama League Award) written by Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino and directed by John Doyle, and the film Shortbus, written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell.
Jackson is an adjunct faculty member of his alma mater, NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
.
