In HawthoRNe, Jada Pinkett Smith plays Christina Hawthorne in a medical drama that focuses on a group of nurses at Richmond Trinity Hospital.

Right off the bat, you can definitely tell that Jada Pinkett Smith is thrilled to be back on television. I am thrilled to see her back on the small screen as well but there are two things that needs to happen…There is no doubt that Jada is giving her all to the character of Christina Hawthorne, but this excitement should not give off the “trying to hard” to be the character image. Also, I cannot wait for the writing in general, and the writing for this character’s development builds. So the opening makes one want to know how Christina’s husband died. I didn’t expect the answer to come out in this episode but I do expect it to come out within the next few episodes. Dragging something like that out would seem to be a bit much. Introducing a certain side of a character through a death of someone close to them is good to see but what else makes Christina complex? What outside of widow, single parent, and nurse who goes out of her way to help people makes her a character someone that I want to watch? Time will tell.

I have to admit that I did laugh in the beginning, I believe out of shock when Christina said “Goodbye” to the patient David and then he really did jump off the roof of the building. Since that opens the door for humor in the show, I hope this door stays open and opportunities for comedy are used wisely…meaning not just thrown in there to have something funny in the episode. This also means not mimicking odd humor and emotional levels of other medical dramas. Make the show your own. It was a smart idea to write in the baby storyline to the pilot because that really draws people in. I must say that I knew as soon as the homeless woman showed Christina the baby that it was biologically hers. So the fact that this was supposed to be a surprise near the end was disappointing. Please, let’s not go down that predictable road. Getting to the characters…I hope that what we have seen in the pilot of Camille (Hannah Hodson) is not what we will always see. If I know that I don’t want to see a teenager in the stage of doing things for attention, then I am sure many more do not want to see it. Once some depth is given to Camille, I will be able to appreciate her more.

I enjoyed getting to learn a crucial part about Bobbie’s (Suleka Mathew) life. It will be interesting to see Christina’s best friend both at the hospital and out of the hospital…finding out more about what her life is like. At first, I really wanted to believe that I got the wrong impression of Candy (Christina Moore) but unfortunately she has her own definition of helping people in the hospital it seems. Hopefully there is more to her than what it appears to be. I feel like there was not enough screen time for Ray (David Julian Hirsh) and Dr. Tom Wakefield (Michael Vartan) in order to make any impressions on them. So I am looking forward to see what these characters bring to the table, especially Michael Vartan. There is this need to see Michael Vartan in the forefront of the show…so let’s hope we get to see an entertaining character for him on this show. He alone is reason to watch.

I am thrilled to see Vanessa Lengies on the show, as I am a big fan of her acting. Overall, I am just really interested to see where these characters can be taken and what stories will be shown that viewers haven’t already seen before. It is so nice to see a show that focuses on the nurses as opposed to the doctors, so that right there should bring many curious viewers. This show has the potential to be a very moving series if it continues to develop the characters as more complex than they appear to be, stay away from what is predictable, stay away from repetition, and really makes the show their own.

HawthoRNE Airs Tuesdays at 9pm on TNT.