TV Pick of the week: Hawthorne

New medical series <i>Hawthorne</i> expounds good old-fashioned values. Photo / Supplied

In Hawthorne, Jada Pinkett Smith - wife of movie star Will - plays Christina, a tough-talking director of nursing, who is also a single mother and widow.

"I wanted this character to be a woman who was about taking care of her patients, but who also isn't taking any mess," says Pinkett Smith.

"My mom was a nurse, and I watched her come home every day with the problems of her patients still on her mind. I wanted that compassion to be there, too."

As head nurse at a women's clinic in Baltimore, her mother "felt responsible for every single woman that came into that clinic, which is basically how Christina feels on the show".

Pinkett Smith is also the executive producer of the show that is already two-seasons old in the US, with a third due soon. That's despite some decidedly mixed reviews of the show, many critics claiming it's derivative of many other medical dramas and just not as much fun as its nearest competition, Nurse Jackie. Its old-fashioned values may be down to the show's creator John Masius, whose credits go back to 1980s medical student series St Elsewhere, as well as being the creator of Touched by An Angel.

The first season opens on the first anniversary of Hawthorne's husband's death, with the ensuing episodes following her dealing with the financial worries of her workplace, her rebellious teenage daughter and her lasting grief.

The cast of Hawthorne is unusually large and diverse, and there's a hint that her character is in relationship with a hotshot doctor, played by Michael Vartan (Alias) who had treated her character's husband before his death.

"I want this character to experience everything and it not be an issue about colour," says Pinkett Smith. "Every day is not about that."

LOWDOWN

When: Thursdays 9.30pm
Where: TV One
What: Nurse Jackie, she ain't

-TimeOut