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UPDATED: Showtime’s set-in-New York and filmed-in-New York dark comedy series Nurse Jackie will now also be written in New York. I hear that the writers’ room of the show, which recently landed 8 Emmy nominations in its first year of eligibility, is being relocated from Los Angeles to New York with the idea that a team of New York-based writers would better reflect the city and its storylines on the show. Co-creators/showrunners Liz Brixius and Linda Wallem will continue to run the writers’ room, joined by one of the 5 writers (3 writers and one writing team) that were on staff during Nurse Jackie’s second season, New York-based playwright Liz Flahive. I hear it was deemed financially prohibitive to relocate the other scribes who are staying behind, and the move is also being used to “freshen up the writing team” going into Season 3. The vacant writing positions are being filled out of New York. One of them just went to Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph who has joined Nurse Jackie for Season 3. Also hired as new writers on the show are playwright Ellen Fairey, Alison McDonald (Accidentally on Purpose) and Wyndham Lewis.
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Let’s dump the staff that got us Emmy nods and move.
Brilliant.
I hope it works out for them just like UGLY BETTY.
Obviously, the showrunners believe they got the Emmy nods. The staff just helped out some.
What a great decision! Maybe this move will keep Nurse Jackie from taking a 3rd season swan-dive like True Blood and Big Love did.
big love’s swan dive was season 4.
interesting. nice post
Why don’t they just Skype in writers from all over the country? Think of the money they’ll save!
Ugh.
Skype I don’t believe is the answer to everything.
There’s something that happens when people are placed together in a room to write especially for a couple of days. Hard to explain that but the meeting of the minds, creativity and human spirit all make a strong connection. Its like being inside of a classroom to learn or, taking an on-line class. Being “in the space right now” and connecting creates a social atmosphere we’ll never get over a computer. Just my opinion.
wow, that really sucks for the LA based writers. Congrats for the Emmy nomination, you’re fired! This town is brutal.
why does everyone on this thing hate New York so much? It’s a show that takes place in New York. Is it a crime when a show that takes place in one of the most iconic cities in the world is also written by people who live in it? I get that it’s not an absolute requirement but many of the shows that took place in New York and were either not shot in it or ones where all the writers didn’t live in New York always rang false. So let’s lay off the nyc bashing, we are part of the industry too.
While I do agree with you, I think people are upset because this screws over the writers who have made the show a success thus far. I think it’s great that the NYC writers are being given an opportunity, but it also means the L.A. writers are now jobless.
JUST NOT SMART!!! Can someone explain please????
There was nothing wrong with the storylines in the first 2 seasons. The thought “boy, this show doesn’t really reflect New York City” never crossed my mind – I was too involved with the characters and their stories.
This is a classic case of over-thinking and then over-reacting to a nonexistent issue, a rampant problem with a lot of productions these days. I’m sure the writers who worked their asses off helping the show become an Emmy contender feel valued – but who am I kidding? Writers feeling valued? Pipe dreams.
Why couldn’t they keep the writers room in L.A. and have one of the showrunners on set in New York? The LOST writers weren’t in Hawaii.
This seems more like the showrunners just wanting an excuse to clean house, but not wanting to look like bad people.
Look I’m all for LA writers working…and I am sure the people let go will land on their feet. There just seems to always be this claws sharpened and ready to go approach around here when anything is done in New York. I mean does anyone think that the fall of Ugly Betty was due to it’s move to New York? The two seasons it shot in the city were probably it’s best but I am not crediting New York with that The show obviously got to a place where it just got better and ABC only moved it for financial purposes and nothing else. Ugly Betty slipped in the ratings because true to form ABC couldn’t keep their clumsy mittens off of the time slot shuffle board, something which they have done to many of my favorite shows.
I definitely think TV shows should get into the whole teleconferencing thing so they can draw talent from all over the country and save on relocation costs too but I’m not a show runner or network president so what do I know?
dummy its just obvious that a drive toward authenticity is the “spin” not the “truth.” everyone loves new york. that has nothing to do with it.
@Michelle T.
That is exactly what it is, along with a desire to be in New York.
This story is becoming all too common in show biz. Quality, schmality… let’s save a few bucks and fire our creatives. Who cares if their work was directly responsible for our success. I guess the concept of being loyal to a team who made you BANK is becoming old-fashioned. If I were Edie Falco I’d be on the phone ripping the show runners a new one.
And P.S… Have you WATCHED this show? It has very little to do with New York itself (much less so than Rescue Me). It’s mostly focused on the personal lives of the characters.
I’m sure they’ll be fine. Coming off an Emmy nominated pay cable show will probably see them land on a network with a promotion and nice little raise. I wouldn’t worry about the outsourced writers. Though, hiring a room assistant will be a bit more pathetic. Living in LA on peanuts is often accepted because of the beaches and sunshine (who am I kidding? Getting crap pay sucks in the sun, too), but in NYC, that will be one bitter college kid…
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. Coming off an Emmy nominated pay cable show will probably see them land on a network with a promotion and nice little raise.”
Don’t be so sure. Do you know how many out-of-work writers there are in LA – one of the most unemployed cities in the country – who have credits just as good, or possibly better, than these nominated writers?
Work your ass off to write a brilliant show that awarded Emmy noms and what’s the reward? YOU’RE FIRED!
LAME! Love the show but if it nosedives in quality ala Ugly Betty, the writers will have the last laugh. By the time Ugly Betty recovered, it was too late, the fans had left the show behind and the writing was on the wall for cancellation.
Regardless of what people think of the first two seasons, it is a godsend for any show to hire New York writers, and to write out of New York. Unless I’m mistaken the only ones writing in NY are 30 Rock, Rescue Me, and Damages (and the FX shows basically have three or four writers).
Shows like The Good Wife (set in “Chicago”) move production to NY because of the star, and benefit from all the great theater actors there, but the idea that there’s a great TV writer who hasn’t already moved to LA seems to be inconceivable.
I remember thinking that Seinfeld would have totally been better if its writers’ room was in New York. Also, I think they should move The Tudors to 16th century England.
They probably just felt like living in New York.
I’m all for shows moving to New York, it’s a great city and the bounce of NYC certainly helps creativity flow. But that’s not really what happened here. The writers got sacked. As an outsider, it’s impossible to know if it was justifiable or not, but it would have been pretty easy to move them to NYC or at least let them come at their own expense. As was said above, it’s a brutal lbusiness and there really is little appreciation for loyalty.
If the showrunners wanted to keep those writers, they would have figured out how to do it. It’s an important show to Showtime.
I love opening a can of worms
Whoa! They got Rajiv Joseph?!! His play in LA earlier this year was incredible. Tarantino-esque.
First the entire Criminal Minds writing staff and now Nurse Jackie. Any others this season?
The fact that someone was on staff during an Emmy year doesn’t mean that person was contributing. I’ve been on shows where one or two people were constantly derailing work and slowing the room down, and the writing didn’t suffer but the other writers did. Leave the staffing decisions to the showrunners. We have no idea what was going on.
Um… right, the showrunners can never be egomaniacs who think they alone are responsible for the success of the show. Because in Hollywood success never goes to anyone’s head.
You’re right. That never happens.
Eventually the real story will come out, and it’s gonna stink something awful…