TNT Brings Back HawthoRNe

ATLANTA: TNT has picked up a sophomore season of the medical drama HawthoRNe, starring and executive produced by Jada Pinkett Smith.

Created by John Masius (St. Elsewhere, Dead Like Me), the series is averaging 3.8 million viewers in its first season and ranked as ad-supported cable’s number one entertainment program on Tuesdays among adults 25 to 54 and women 25 to 54. The second season of 10 episodes is slated to air in 2010.

Pinkett Smith plays Christina Hawthorne, a compassionate and headstrong chief nursing officer who heads up a team at Richmond Trinity Hospital. When necessary, she takes on doctors and administrators who are unable to see the humans behind the hospital charts. 

"HawthoRNe has been a great addition to TNT’s lineup of original series, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s performance has been a tremendous draw with viewers," said Michael Wright, the executive VP and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "There are powerful episodes remaining, and we’re looking forward to what is certain to be an extraordinary second season."