Edie Falco plants flag at Showtime

Add another feather to Showtime's cap.

The feevee channel has landed Edie Falco as the star of a half-hour single-camera comedy pilot from Lionsgate Television, as Variety's Josef Adalian reports. Falco, who has three Emmys on her mantle from her "Sopranos" run, will play a "strong-willed, iconoclastic New York City nurse juggling the frenzied grind of an urban hospital and an equally challenging personal life," per Showtime's description.

The pilot was written by Liz Brixius, Linda Wallem and Evan Dunsky. Wallem and Brixius will serve as exec producers and showrunners, with Caryn Mandabach also exec producing. Pre-production will begin pronto and the pilot will be shot in Gotham.

Showtime entertainment prexy Robert Greenblatt and Lionsgate TV chief Kevin Beggs could be forgiven for heaping on the adjectives in their statements about the deal. Falco's one of those rare thesps who could read the phone book for 22 minutes and make it compelling.

In this untitled project, Falco's character is described as a nurse who's not afraid to challenge her superiors and take matters into her own hands for the cause of saving lives. Falco noted that the bar for her next TV series was set high by her last one, but she enthused that the character and writing are "truly thrilling."

“To be bringing Edie Falco to Showtime is both a privilege and an honor,” Greenblatt gushed. “She sits firmly in the pantheon of the great actresses of our day, and to have found a show and a great role that meets her standards after six seasons of The Sopranos   is our distinct pleasure and great fortune. Bada bing is all I can think of to say!”

Beggs, who hasn't taken all of the bows he deserves for helping to bring "Mad Men" to life last year after a looooong gestation period, sez Falco's character and the show's setting will allow for "the opportunity to explore the human fallout from our broken medical system in this compelling single camera comedy for Showtime was an incredibly exciting proposition. That we will be doing so with the peerless Edie Falco as our heroine elevated the opportunity exponentially."