Nurse Jackie

Nurse Jackie returns for another shift on Showtime on March 22.

While the first season concluded on a dour note (Eddie discovered Jackie's family and our favorite troubled nurse turned to more drugs in response), the scenes depicted in the trailer below actually seem funnier than ever.

Be sure to wait until the very last line, as Jackie explains what it's like to think of Zoey having sex...

What else can fans expect on season two? A "new gear of gay," according to the series creator.

Showtime recently confirmed that Haaz Sleiman- who played Mohammed “Mo-Mo” De La Cruz on season one- would not return to Nurse Jackie as a series regular.

While this would seemingly forecast a lack of gay storylines in the future (Mo-Mo wasn't shy about his sexuality), series creator Linda Wallem says the opposite is true.

In a new interview, she said the show is going into a "new gear of gay" when it returns on March 22. Here's what else she had to say:

On going more gay: We're a hospital, we have a ton of gay nurses! This season, we're going to have a really great gay love triangle ... a three-part arc that is going to be great. I mean it when I say we are going into a new gear of gay this year.

On guest star Harvey Fierstein: I'm really proud of his story. It's a very simple story of a man whose husband is dying. People are used to Harvey being so huge and flamboyant, but he's very stripped down and lovely. It's a beautiful performance of a man whose husband is dying (from old age) and what that feels like for him.

On other guest stars: [There's] Barbara Barrie, and Marion Ross. I love her, and I killed her off on That 70's Show ten years ago and I promised her I'd bring her back to life one of these days, and I finally got to! Julia Ormond guest stars, and she's wonderful.

Showtime has released a new promotional photo for season two of Nurse Jackie. Two things stand out in it:

1. The absence of Haaz Sleiman, whose been dropped fro the Nurse Jackie cast as Mohammed “Mo-Mo” De La Cruz.
2. Jackie has grown her hair out.

The dramedy returns with new episodes on March 22. Check out the new cast picture below:

Showtime has set a return date for Nurse Jackie (March 22) and named a couple big-time guest stars, including Harvey Fierstein.

Those announcements make us happy. This one does not:

The series has dropped Mohammed “Mo-Mo” De La Cruz as a regular. The gay nurse, played by Haaz Sleiman, won't return at all in season two.

Michael Ausiello spoke to a Showtime source that confirmed the departure, while a rep for Sleiman said producers felt “the character’s storyline ran its course... We were surprised. It came out of left field.”

We'll miss Mo-Mo's sass and advice for Jackie. Will you?

HBO has not announced a premiere date yet for season two of Nurse Jackie, but the network has revealed a trio of tidbits regarding the series:

1. It returns to the air in March;
2. It won’t pick up immediately where season one concluded, as “some time has passed,” said an insider;
3. Harvey Fierstein will guest star in one of the second season's final episodes, playing the partner of a patient at the hospital.

After a season of pill-popping and infidelity, everything came crashing down on Jackie Peyton this week, following two drunk sentences from her ex-lover, Eddie:

I met Kevin. Nice bar you two have.

These were a few of the final words uttered on the first season of Nurse Jackie. How did Edie Falco's character react to them? Our recap of "Health Care and Cinema" has the answer!

Below, we've listed a few of the best Nurse Jackie quotes from the episode:

Eddie [to Jackie]: I met Kevin. Nice bar you two have. | permalink

Eddie: I'm seeing someone, but she's married... with two kids.
Kevin: Sounds like a rough road.
Eddie: You have no idea. | permalink

Jackie [to Fitch]: You're a moron. | permalink

Nurse Jackie concludes its wonderful first season tonight.

Because the Showtime hit has already been renewed for a second set of 13 episodes, star Edie Falco can comfortably look ahead. When asked if she wanted the audience to eventually learn why her character cheats, Falco wasn't sure.

"I don't know if I want people to find out," she told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "The more things you leave as questions, the more interesting the show will be. The more it's spelled out, the more it feels like everything else you see on television. People talk about [why she cheats] and I love that. And if there is no cut and dried answer, the conversation will go on longer."

She speaks from experience, considering the murky, controversial ending of The Sopranos.

As for the success of the show, Falco deflects praise to the supporting cast.

"I think we were really careful about going for actors who maybe aren't famous. There's nothing cookie-cutter about their portrayals of these characters, and they wouldn't necessarily be the first person a network would choose to cast," she said. "But I'm the president of the fan club of all my co-stars. I never knew what their line reading would be or how different it would be each time we shot it."

This was a tough episode of Nurse Jackie for Eddie.

It started with him out of a job, and seemed to end with him out of a girlfriend.

What happened in between? And what is being set up for the season finale? Read through our detailed rundown of "Pill-O-Matix" and find out.

The world of Jackie Peyton is very much coming down around her.

On the latest episode of Nurse Jackie, she actually breaks her own digit in order to cover up for something her husband would be less than pleased about. Also, Zoey learns of one of her boss' most major secrets.

Read our complete breakdown of "Ring Finger" right here and now!

A few of our favorite Nurse Jackie quotes from this week:

Jackie: You're not a bad guy.
Fitch: That's what I've been trying to tell you. | permalink

Zoey: You and Eddie are really cute together.
Jackie: I am not afraid to kill you in front of a priest. | permalink

Zoey: What's larger: morbidly obese or super obese? | permalink

Sunday night's new episodes of Weeds and Nurse Jackie scored ratings that were even more impressive than each show's season premieres in June.

First, Weeds, averaged 1.61 million viewers. It was the highest-rated episode of the calendar year.

Immediately following the Mary Louise Parker series, Nurse Jackie pulled in 1.36 million viewers. It was the most-watched episode in (short) series history.