Common Sense Media Review
By Kari Croop
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Drugs, injuries in mature, complex hospital dramedy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Nurse Jackie
What's the Story?
Emergency room NURSE JACKIE Peyton (Edie Falco) struggles to manage her high-stress job—and her addiction to prescription painkillers—in the shadows of New York City's fictitious All Saints Hospital. Her co-workers include a materialistic British physician (Eve Best), a brash young doctor (Peter Facinelli), a street-smart nurse (Haaz Sleiman), a socially awkward nursing student (Merritt Wever), and an attentive pharmacist (Paul Schulze) she's also sleeping with. But thanks to Jackie's habit of slipping off her wedding ring when she's at work, few of the other characters know that she's married with two children at home. Will she be able to keep her double life under wraps?
Is It Any Good?
On the surface, is just another hospital drama, albeit a good one—kind of like ER with a lot more swearing. But at a deeper level, Nurse Jackie is actually a show about pain management of all types, emotional as well as physical. Thanks to strong writing and a fully realized supporting cast, viewers learn more and more about Jackie and her demons as the series unfolds. And whether you love her or hate her, you can't deny that she's one heck of a woman: a complex character who's both bad and good, wrong and right, sinner and saint.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Nurse Jackie's iffy decisions when it comes to her personal and professional life. In what ways do you admire her? What about her behavior do you find less than admirable? Would you consider her a role model?
When Jackie acts dishonestly to achieve what she sees as a beneficial outcome—for example, forging a dead patient's signature to make him an organ donor—do the ends justify the means? Do you view her behavior as ethical or unethical?
The series ends on an ambiguous note, leaving Jackie's fate uncertain. What do you think the ending says about redemption and consequences? Did Jackie deserve forgiveness or punishment by the end? Does the show take a stance on whether she can—or even should—be saved?
TV Details
- Premiere date : June 8, 2009
- Cast : Edie Falco , Eve Best , Peter Facinelli
- Networks : Showtime , Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Family Stories , Friendship
- TV rating :
- Awards : BAFTA - BAFTA Nominee , Emmy - Emmy Award Winner , Emmy - Emmy Award Nominee , Golden Globe - Golden Globe Award Nominee , NAACP Image Award - NAACP Image Award Winner , NAACP Image Award - NAACP Image Award Nominee
- Last updated : December 10, 2025
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