Network: Showtime
Episodes: 80 (half-hour)
Seasons: Seven
TV show dates: June 8, 2009 — June 29, 2015
Series status: Ended
Performers include: Edie Falco, Eve Best, Merritt Wever, Paul Schulze, Peter Facinelli, Dominic Fumusa, Anna Deavere Smith, Ruby Jerins, Daisy Tahan, Stephen Wallem, and Haaz Sleiman.
TV show description:
This dark situation comedy revolves around a flawed emergency room nurse from All Saints’ Hospital in New York City. She does her best to juggle her personal responsibilities with her challenging work life.
Nurse Jackie Peyton (Edie Falco) works in the ER and does everything she can for her patients. She’ll get on a doctor’s case if she needs to, especially if they don’t listen to her medical advice. She’ll also play “Robin Hood” when needed; for example, taking money from a man who stabs a prostitute, and then giving it to a more deserving pregnant widow. Jackie lives by her own rules and that includes self-medicating to help get her through the crises of her day-to-day life.
Jackie’s best friend is British Dr. Eleanor O’Hara (Eve Best), however unlikely the relationship may seem. Dr. O’Hara doesn’t allow for much stupidity and deeply respects Jackie. They both have a great sense of humor, yet are sentimental. To the contrary, Dr. Fitch “Coop” Cooper (Peter Facinelli) is the type of doctor that Jackie disdains. He’s a smug Ivy League type who leaves as much work as he can for the nurses. He’s also prone to inappropriate touching.
Eddie Walzer (Paul Schulze) knows Jackie well, perhaps a little too well. He sleeps with her and as the hospital pharmacist, provides her with Percocet. Another of Jackie’s good friends is Mohammed “Mo-mo” de la Cruz (Haaz Sleiman), a fellow nurse. He’s street smart and has Jackie’s back. Zoey Barkow (Merritt Wever) is a rookie nurse who isn’t sure if she’s cut out for the profession but still manages to hold onto her newbie enthusiasm.
Episode #80 — I Say a Little Prayer
Jackie starts the day with a prayer (and pills) at church and is happy that things are good between she, Kevin and the girls. O’Hara makes a surprise visit with son at Fiona’s confirmation. She and Jackie spend the day together and visit All Saints on its closing day.
Jackie learns that she’s gotten the job at Bellevue Hospital and asks Zoey to join her. She makes an excuse to think about it. Later, O’Hara senses something is wrong and Zoey confides everything about Jackie’s actions/behavior and it’s clear O’Hara is hearing this for the first time.
Eddie has secured the help of Barry Wolfe to get him off from the drug dealer charges but it becomes apparent that it’s not going to happen. He’s screwed but refuses to help the police go after Dr. Wu which would lead them to Jackie.
Jackie continues to be very happy about how things are going and O’Hara confronts her. Jackie maintains that everything is better now and she’s at her best when she’s using. This doesn’t sit well with O’Hara.
A bloodied man with a gun runs into the ER, looking for the person that hit him and stole his drugs. Dr. Prince calmly walks up to him and, with the gun to his head, tells the man that he’s the chief of the NYPD. Unless the man leaves, he’s screwed and Prince starts counting to three, giving him one last chance to run. The man runs out and Prince has a long overdue cigarette.
Jackie finds Vinny — the addict the gunman had been looking for — and he’s scared, huddled behind a toilet. She recognizes him as someone she’s helped several times before. Compassionately, she cleans him up and shares that she’s an addict as well. When he leaves, she offers him his belongings which includes his stash but he refuses it. She may have helped an addict get clean. Vinny is the last person helped at All Saints as the doors close forever.
Eddie shows up to celebrate and joins the party. He’s going away to a white collar prison for a year because he wouldn’t rat on Jackie. It will be hard but he has her in his life. Zoey decides to turn down Jackie’s offer, saying that she needs to find her own way.
Jackie has a sweet goodbye with Prince (he thinks she’s his ex-wife as the tumor is taking over) and, while the party in the ER continues, she goes to the bathroom to use some of Vinny’s drugs.
We then see Jackie walking out the hospital doors into a busy New York City — where she takes part in a yoga class in Time Square. Not quite.
We’re then taken back to the hospital where we see that Jackie has collapsed in the ER. Zoey screams for an ambulance to take Jackie to Bellevue but the hospital has shut down after all. Zoey is telling an unresponsive Jackie that “she’s good.” Her eyelids flutter to the sounds of her friend’s voice. All of her friends are gathered around Jackie as she breathes what could be her final breath.First aired: June 28, 2015.
What do you think? Do you like the Nurse Jackie TV show? Do you think it should ended or been renewed for an eighth season?
Image courtesy Showtime.
please bring back nurse Jackie!!!! I was really hoping Jackie and Eddie could live “happily ever after”
Why did Jackie hate her father?? Maybe missed it… One of many unanswered questions.. Binge watched all 7 seasons in couple weeks.. Kept hoping Jackie would, in the end, beat the **** out of the “beast” that is addiction … Lost son last year to addiction .. Another who is still fighting his.. I know there are some happy endings in real life through AA, NA programs. So even if fictional, Jackie’s triumph over drugs could’ve given some hope to an addict out there… The ending had me in tears.. Even as I pray daily that my son succeeds with… Read more »
About some of the negative reception that the series finale of “Nurse Jackie” may have gotten: How come Showtime’s original series always have terrible series finales? For example, the last episode of “The L Word” disappointed many of its fans because the killer of Jenny Schecter was never revealed. Then, people were whining about the way “Dexter” ended. Now, some people think “Nurse Jackie” had a terrible end to its original run as well. I think this is an indication that Showtime’s original serieses can’t get themselves out of a bad or terrible ending. A TV show’s ending isn’t always… Read more »
I think the ending was absolutely perfect. This is the reality of what eventually happens to a chronic addict, even one so highly functioning as Jackie. Couldn’t have ended in a better way!
As a nurse, I am glade that this show was cancelled. It did not portray the majority of nurses in a favorable light. I love Edie Falco, she this part well; maybe too well. Many people believe what they watch on TV and Nurse Jackie is not what I or my colleagues want as an example of our profession.
Everyone has complicated lives, but Nurse Jackie was totally out of control!!! Good rinse.
I agree with Catherine. I’m a nurse as well and while I applauded how she took care of her patients, her addictive behavior was hard to watch. I think it ended the only way it could have. She was using again as soon as she got her license back so clearly she hadn’t or didn’t want to learn to be clean. I thought it was a very good ending.
addiction is a serious issue. I know you would like to shut your eyes to this but having worked
in healtcare for 35 years – from universities to neighborhood hospitals. I was a lab director and I have seen more than my share of addicted Dr. nurses, etc.
I do not feel this is bad for all nurses – very dedicated. I have seen people die from addition including my daughter.
This show was more of a statement about addiction than a statement on your profession. It can happen to the best of us.
That was an excellent comment. I am sorry about your daughter.
I love Nurse Jackie, I think it should continue, I love Edie falco. Think it was a very depressing ending.
Nurse Jackie has been a great ride and I have loved to hate/love her. Her character needs to be given the chance to redeem herself. I hope the “Last” season will give her the chance to do that. I am a bit disappointed with TV series finale.com for not showing this when it was announced last year that series 7 would be the last year. I have grown to to depend on the website to tell me when a series is on its finale run!!
I think Nurse Jackie’s writers have pushed this character as far as she can go. Jackie’s been forced to confront all her escalating manipulant behaviour. How she could progress in the belief that she can continue living under the pall of her incredible subversions would be entirely unbelievable at this point. All that’s left for this character is for her to either recover or die! I hope they end the series on a hopeful note – despite how dark and in many ways, dreadful!, she has become, I still want her to become the person she has so far only… Read more »
[…] has announced that Nurse Jackie will be back for a fifth season. The cast and crew will resume production late this […]