Showtime has been one o fmy favorite destinations for top-notch programming for quite some time now, going all the way back to Queer As Folk, and American Candidate (which introduced me to one of my idols, Keith Boykin), and as recent as shows like Weeds and United States of Tara (which both have excellently complex female leads and lovable supporting gay characters) and of course, Dexter.

It seems like this new vehicle Nurse Jackie may be another hit for Showtime, as it stars the fabulous Emmy-winning Edie Falco as a deeply flawed nurse desperately trying to help as many people as she can, while trying to deal with both the perilous NYC health care system and a bunch of semi-clueless doctors who won’t listen to her.  She also has a stunningly gorgeous Lebanese gay best friend MoMo, who  does seem reminiscent of the par for the course witty gay accessory, if you get through the whole episode he does seem to have more layers and complexity to him than gay male characters normally have in these types of roles.  His character seems promising.

To check out the pilot episode, click the link below and then type in “SHIFT HAPPENS” when prompted.

http://www.sho.com/site/vip/home.do?source=m_nj1_vipemail_may09_vipsite