Hawthorne (also written as HawthoRNe) is an American medical drama television series created by John Masius and starring Jada Pinkett Smith as Christina Hawthorne, the Chief Nursing Officer heading a group of nurses at Richmond Trinity Hospital.
Jada Pinkett Smith executive-produces and stars in Hawthorne, a character-driven drama series about a nurse who is a true everyday hero.
Pinkett Smith plays Christina Hawthorne, a compassionate and headstrong Chief Nursing Officer heading up a group of dedicated nurses at Richmond Trinity Hospital who spend long days and nights on the hospital's front lines.
Hawthorne is the kind of nurse you want on your side when you or someone you love is in the hospital. She is the kind of nurse who fights for her patients and doesn't let them slip through the cracks.
When necessary, she takes on doctors and administrators who are overworked, distracted or just unable to see the human being behind the hospital chart.
Whether showing humanity to a homeless woman, trying to talk a suicidal cancer patient off a ledge or exposing a doctor's near-fatal error, Hawthorne will do everything in her power to help her patients.
When a patient's care is at risk, she doesn't hesitate to violate protocol, defend her staff or stand up to administrators who seem to have forgotten a hospital's true purpose.
But the long days at the hospital and Hawthorne's intense focus on helping others take a toll on her personal life.
Christina is recently widowed – her husband died one year ago after a battle with cancer, leaving her to raise a smart, rebellious teen-age daughter on her own.
Hawthorne is still coming to terms with losing her husband, finding a way to balance her career with her equally important role as a single parent, and finding the time to take care of someone who always seems to fall through the cracks – herself.
Joining Pinkett Smith in Hawthorne is Michael Vartan as Dr. Tom Wakefield, the oncologist who treated Christina's husband and serves as Chief of Surgery for the hospital.
The cast also includes Suleka Mathew as Bobbie Jackson, a fellow nurse and one of Hawthorne's best friends; David Julian Hirsh as Ray Stein, a nurse struggling with being accepted in a female-dominated profession; Christina Moore as Candy Sullivan, a nurse with a unique sense of duty; and Hannah Hodson as Camille, Hawthorne's daughter.
In addition, special guest star Joanna Cassidy portrays Amanda, Hawthorne's mother-in-law, who also happens to be a member of the hospital board.
Created by Emmy winner John Masius, Hawthorne comes from Sony Pictures Television in association with Pinkett Smith's 100% Womon Productions, John Masius Productions and Jamie Tarses' FanFare Productions.
Hawthorne is executive-produced by Pinkett Smith; Masius; Glen Mazzara; and Jamie Tarses.
Broadcast Notes
The series aired in the USA on TNT from 16 June, 2009 to 16 August, 2011. There are 30 hour-long episodes in three seasons.
In South Africa, the first season aired on M-Net, after which the show moved to M-Net Series. It later aired on e.tv as well, simulcast in HD on OpenView HD.