Nurse Jackie: Morris Chestnut Joins Season 5
Deadline is reporting that Nurse Jackie will be adding two more to the team at All Saints, as Morris Chestnut and Marcy Harriell have signed on to the Showtime dramedy for upcoming roles. Chestnut is set for a season-long arc as Dr. Ike Prentiss, a former Army medic turned trauma doctor lacking in bedside manner, while Harriell will be playing Marta Rodriguez, a new nurse trying to support her three children.
They join recently announced guest star Betty Gilpin in helping to fill out the fifth season of Nurse Jackie and first under new showrunner Clyde Phillips. The three will have to figure out a way to integrate themselves into the world of All Saints without ruffling too many feathers or drawing too much attention to themselves, which could be difficult in such close quarters and with such a close group. At the end of the fourth season, the floor became Jackie's floor and the team rallied behind her impressively, so the key to fitting in might be to win over the once prickly head nurse and try to get her on your side before proceeding.
Both Marta and Ike might have what it takes to relate to Jackie. With Jackie becoming closer to her children last season, having another single mother on the floor may soften any tension that comes with someone new joining an already established unit, while Ike's decidedly dour manner could allow Jackie to impart some of the wisdom she's acquired from decades as a nurse.
In addition to his recent role on American Horror Story as Luke, a security patrol officer who visits the Harmon home multiple times, Chestnut's TV credits include the likes of V, Bones, and ER. Harriell, meanwhile, has appeared on Royal Pains, NCIS, and Queens Supreme.
The fifth season of Nurse Jackie returns in 2013.
How do you think Ike and Marta will be received by the rest of the floor? Will anybody step up to be their allies in trying to get accustomed to All Saints? Can Nurse Jackie live up to the season that it had this year?
