‘Nurse Jackie’ Will Return A Decade Later... Without Her Nursing License!

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Edie Falco is officially scrubbing back in as Nurse Jackie Peyton, with Amazon Prime Video launching the highly-anticipated sequel series a full decade after the original finale left viewers (and nurses everywhere) in limbo.

Who Is Nurse Jackie and Why Was She a Nurse Favorite?

Edie Falco, acclaimed for previously portraying Carmela Soprano, stepped into scrubs for Showtime’s Nurse Jackie (2009–2015), for her role as Jackie Peyton, a complex, rule-bending ER nurse with a hidden opioid addiction. The show was nominated for an impressive 24 Emmys during its run, with Falco receiving six consecutive Emmy nominations and winning the 2010 award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.

Unlike the typical saintly nurse image on TV, Jackie was flawed yet fiercely devoted, mentoring young nurses and advocating for patients at All Saints Hospital in New York City. Her ability to battle both systemic bureaucracy and personal demons resonated with real nurses, who saw a more authentic—if messy—side of healthcare depicted onscreen, with the real moral dilemmas, pressures, and quirks of the job.

What also made Nurse Jackie stand out was that it showed nursing as more than the sidekick to doctors. Jackie is a clinician, caregiver, decision‐maker; she’s in the thick of triage, emotional labor, doctor/nurse clashes, patient advocacy. She’s not perfect; she lies, uses, screws up... but she cares. And for many nurses watching, that hit a nerve.

 

Nurse Jackie 101: A Crash Course Through Seasons 1 to 7

For those who missed the first seven seasons (spoiler alert!), the show follows the tough New York City ER nurse who’s juggling work, family drama, and a secret opioid addiction. The show’s arc takes viewers through Jackie’s double life—saving patients by day, slipping deeper into substance abuse by night—as she manipulates the hospital system, keeps her marriage afloat, and attempts rehab (with plenty of relapses).

Jackie’s major storylines include:

• An affair and messy breakup with hospital pharmacist Eddie.
• The unraveling of her family life as her addiction is exposed.
• Her friendship (and betrayals) with fellow nurses.
• Recurring feuds with hospital administrators. 

Her character is best summed up in proclamations about being a nurse, like: “Doctors are here to diagnose, not heal. We heal,” "If I'm not a nurse, I'm no one,” and “The smartest people I know are the nurses.” 

Her fierce dedication to nursing goes beyond the job—it’s her identity, her calling, and her armor in the chaotic world of the ER. Her grit, sharp wit, and deep compassion make her someone who lives by the motto that nursing is not just what you do, but who you are. Her professional brilliance—blunt, creative, and rule-breaking—makes her beloved among staff, but her drug problem ultimately lands her in rehab, then trouble with the law.

Across seven seasons, viewers watched Jackie fight for her daughters during divorce, sabotage and save lives at All Saints Hospital, and waver on the edge of recovery. The final season ends with Jackie overdosing on heroin at her workplace’s farewell party, her fate left uncertain, paving the way for the new sequel series.

 

What’s Next for Nurse Jackie?

Though there is no confirmed release date, the show’s production moved from Showtime to Amazon Prime Video last year.

The reboot is set a decade after the original, following Jackie as she grapples with life after losing her nursing license and faces new temptations and challenges in a world where "trying to be good in a world where being bad is often not only easier, but a lot more fun" according to the official logline. Writers from the original, Liz Flahive and Abe Sylvia, return alongside Falco as executive producer.

Falco explained that she’s reviving Nurse Jackie now because "mental health issues and subsequent drug use are still a very big danger," hoping the new season inspires professionals facing similar challenges.

Nurses rarely get to see characters who are this complex, this messy, and this central in a medical drama. Jackie Peyton isn’t always like people in our real lives — she’s amplified, dramatized — but she shows what it feels like to be stretched past breaking, to make mistakes, to try to be good in a system that often pushes back.

If this revival gets half of what the original got right, it’ll be something to talk about at the nurse’s station— for discussion, for commiseration, maybe even a little inspiration. After all, if Jackie can try again, so can we.

Nurse.org will continue to update this article as details of the television’s release date is known.

 

🤔 Nurses, did you watch Nurse Jackie? Will you watch the reboot? Share your thoughts in the discussion forum below.