Showtime is reaching back to its past to revive two of its signature comedies: Nurse Jackie and Weeds. As first reported by Deadline, original leads Edie Falco and Mary-Louise Parker are currently attached to star and executive produce.
Both series come from Lionsgate Television and former Showtime executive Robert Greenblatt, who will also serve as executive producer on both projects. The sequels are reportedly being fast-tracked to debut as early as the first quarter of 2024 — pending the resolution of the writers strike, of course.
The Nurse Jackie sequel will be written and executive produced by Abe Sylvia and Liz Flahive, both of whom were writers and producers on the original series. Created by Liz Brixius, Linda Wallem and Evan Dunksy, Nurse Jackie ran from 2009 to 2015 and centered around Falco’s painkiller-addicted character Jackie Peyton, an ER nurse in New York City. The critically acclaimed show won five Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Falco and Outstanding Supporting Actress for Merritt Wever.
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Meanwhile, the Weeds revival will be written and executive produced by Christian Torp, creator of the Danish series Rita. It will feature Parker’s character Nancy Botwin living in Copenhagen after the original series took place in California, New York City, and Connecticut.
Created by Jenji Kohan, Weeds ran from 2005 to 2012 and centered around Botwin becoming a marijuana dealer to support her family after her husband’s death. This isn’t the first attempt at a sequel series. In 2019, Starz announced a follow-up titled Weeds 4.20 with Parker and Elizabeth Perkins reprising their roles.
These two sequels are the latest entries in Showtime’s franchise-building strategy, which includes as many as four Billions spin-offs, a Dexter prequel series, and an upcoming offshoot of The L Word.
