Hawthorne (TV series)

Plot

Christina Hawthorne is introduced as Chief Nursing Officer heading a group of nurses at Richmond Trinity Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. She is very passionate about her work and always advocates for her patients and her staff, even when it threatens her job. Richmond Trinity Hospital later closes and the staff is moved to James River Hospital. While acclimating to the new work atmosphere, she must also deal with a new relationship that she has formed with Dr. Tom Wakefield, the Chief of Surgery. Dr. Wakefield wants commitment and she is still unsure if she can become close with someone else. In season three they get married and face challenges including loss and infidelity.

Cast and characters

Development and production

John Masius created the program and served as executive producer for the first season. Glen Mazzara also served as executive producer for the first season. The program was initially going to be called Time Heals. Megan Branman and Dylann Brander of Branman/Brander Casting were involved in casting for the program. In September 2008, Jamie Tarses was reported to be an executive producer on the program.

In September 2008, The Press of Atlantic City reported that Jada Pinkett Smith signed on as both the star of the television pilot, and to serve as executive producer of the program. Pinkett Smith had previously promised never to work in television again, but changed her mind after reading the script of the pilot. She recalled getting the script from her manager: "He said, 'I would never send this to you if I didn't think it was fantastic.' I read it and then I let my husband read it. (Will) said to take the meeting and see." She decided to return to television because of the show's unique qualities.

In the pilot, Jeffrey Nordling portrayed Dr. Tom Wakefield, director of medicine. In February 2009, Michael Vartan was cast to co-star alongside Pinkett Smith as Dr. Tom Wakefield in the series. By June 6, 2009, the program's title had been changed to Hawthorne.

Masius continued on as executive producer in the second season. In September 2009, Glen Mazzara was named showrunner for the program's second season. Masius decided to name Mazzara as showrunner for the second season, citing a desire to focus more on writing.

Ratings

The first episode of Hawthorne received 3.8 million viewers, with a debut at the 17th spot in the list of the "Top 20 cable network television shows for the week ending June 21, 2009". It placed directly below the Nickelodeon episode of iCarly, "iDate A Bad Boy", and above the USA Network program, In Plain Sight. By its 10th episode, the show's viewership had declined to 3.5 million.

Overall, the show's first season was beaten in the ratings among adults aged 25–54 by the new science fiction program Warehouse 13 produced by Syfy, and the medical drama Royal Pains produced by USA Network.

Critical reception

Amy Amatangelo of the Boston Herald gave the program a grade of "D+", commenting: "'HawthoRNe' can't make a diagnosis. It's a comedy; it's a drama. It's a mess, fronted by Jada Pinkett Smith, making a return to series television as Christina Hawthorne, the chief nursing officer for Richmond Trinity Hospital and about the closest thing to a heavenly figure on the small screen since Roma Downey took flight on Touched by an Angel." In a review for Zap2it, Amatangelo commented "With each passing episode, they seem to be writing Christina (Jada Pinkett Smith) deeper and deeper into a corner. She can’t always be in an uproar about everything or always play the hero. The show cannot center around her at the expense of everyone else." Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times noted, "Tom Shales in the Washington Post suggested 'HawthoRNe' is 'a show in need of emergency care.'" In an assessment of the program for Bangor Daily News, Dale McGarrigle wrote that "It also pales in comparison to other original dramas on its own channel." Alan Pergament of The Buffalo News was critical of the lead actress's decision to star in the series: "Jada Pinkett Smith, the actress married to film superstar Will Smith, must be getting a little bored lately. And now she is going to bore some of us. There is no other explanation for her decision to star in TNT's routine 'HawthoRNe' as the latest strong, flawed woman on the cable network." Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote: "HawthoRNe would be terrible if it were the only series on TV and the only medical drama you'd ever seen. It's just too bad it's not TV's first medical show. At least it could get credit for inventing clichés instead of rehashing them." Of the lead actress's performance in the show, Bianco commented: "Pinkett Smith's Hawthorne is tired in every sense of the word, and she's not the only one. Every character and event falls under the category of painfully predictable." Gail Pennington of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch commented that the Showtime program Nurse Jackie was superior to Hawthorne, writing: "Maybe if Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie' weren't so riveting, 'Hawthorne' wouldn't seem so weak. Or maybe 'Hawthorne,' the nurse drama headlined by Jada Pinkett Smith, would seem trite and derivative no matter what."

Awards and nominations

NAACP Image Awards

Prism Awards

NAMIC Vision Awards