Just like in the real world of medicine, there's been an over-supply of doctors in primetime for years but a severe shortage of nurses fronting their own shows.

That will change next month as Showtime raises the curtain on Edie Falco as"Nurse Jackie" while TNT delivers Jada Pinkett Smith as "Hawthorne"

I haven't seen either show yet, but on paper they sound awfully similar. She's a tough, talented, dedicated, compassionate RN who's willing to buck the medical bureaucracy to do what it takes to help their patients. Smith plays Christina Hawthorne, who seems to have more of a home life with her oncologist husband and daughter; Falco is Jackie O'Hurley, described as a lapsed Catholic with an occasional weakness for Vicodin. (I'm guessing O'Hurley uses more anatomically specific language.) 

We know the casting is great for both shows. "Hawthorne" hails from seasoned scribe John Masius, with Jamie Tarses and Glen Mazzara among the exec producers for Sony Pictures TV. "Nurse Jackie" was birthed by Liz Brixius, Linda Wallem and Evan Dunsky for Lionsgate TV.

So it'll come down to execution. The half-hour "Nurse Jackie" arrives first, on June 8. Hourlong "Hawthorne" bows June 16. I'm writing myself a prescription to track down screeners for both, STAT. Here's hoping that one or both will be worthy of a refill.

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My all-time favorite TV nurse? The husky voiced, no-nonsense Miss Julie London as the husky voiced, no-nonsense Nurse Dixie McCall from the under-appreciated 1972-1977 NBC drama "Emergency."

London usually played opposite her real-life husband, musician Bobby Troup (of "Route 66" fame), as the head nurse in the hospital frequented by paramedics Gage and DeSoto and their clientele. Interesting too that London was cast in the series by her ex-husband, and Troup's longtime pal, producer Jack Webb.

It was no surprise to see Showtime's Matt Blank and Robert Greenblatt looking like they were enjoying themselves Friday afternoon during their executive Q&A sesh. Any way you look at it, Showtime is on a roll. They're not getting the

"Why aren't you as cool as HBO?" questions lobbed at them at TCA anymore. Think of the programming assets Showtime has these days: "Weeds," "Dexter," "The Tudors," "Californication," "The L Word," "The Secret Diary of a Call Girl," "Brotherhood," "This American Life," "Penn and Teller's Bullshit!" and "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union."

Greenblatt reinforced the cabler's Big Mo with his rundown of the paybox's programming highlights during the past year, capped by Thursday by the best drama series Emmy nom nabbed by "Dexter." He also showed off clips of two intriguing half-hours  to come, "Nurse Jackie" (pictured left), starring Edie Falco as an unconventional nurse at a Gotham hospital; and the Toni Collette-John Corbett starrer "The United States of Tara" (pictured right), the brainchild of Steven Spielberg and Diablo Cody about a suburban mom with multiple personalities.

Greenblatt noted that Showtime's top buzz-getters, "Dexter" and "Weeds," are in a contest for bragging rights as the cabler's highest-rated shows. "Dexter" set a new high water mark for the feevee-er last September with its season two opener drawing more than 1 million viewers. "Weeds" has been smoking in its fourth season. Its June 16 debut brought in 1.35 million viewers for the premiere, and segs have been averaging a cume weekly rating of more than 3 million -- a ratings record by far for Showtime, Greenblatt assured the crowd.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

David Chase answered one of life's most enduring questions Tuesday night. One that has baffled the greatest minds of the last decade.

No, not what came first, the chicken or the egg? Or if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? The real question everyone has been asking, of course, is the one that has eluded the most elite television scholars since May 6, 2001: What happened to the Russian in the woods?

Chase, the creator and voice of "The Sopranos," spoke to a crowd of a few hundred gathered at the Writers' Guild to discuss all things "Sopranos." The event was an homage to Chase, this year's recipient of the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television.

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."