Jada Pinkett Smith (The Women), who just wrapped her writing and directorial feature debut, The Human Contract, is returning to television as the star and executive producer of TNT’s drama pilot Time Heals. Jada will play Nancy Hawthorne, a strong but caring director of nursing at Charlotte Mercy Hospital in North Carolina, “a single mother who always puts the pain of others first.”
I must admit the premise doesn’t grab me. But after the success of The Closer and Saving Grace, TNT has proven they know how to make dramas starring strong female characters, and the fact that the show is being produced by – and starring – a woman of color gives me hope. So I’ll probably give it a shot.
But Jada in nurses scrubs will be a new look for her. Remember when she played Lena James in the TV series A Different World for two seasons in the early ’90s? Yeah, me neither, since I only had eyes for Jasmine Guy (funny) and Lisa Bonet (hot!). OK, and Cree Summer, too (such a cutey!) Check out BlackVoices’ “Where are They Now?” feature on the cast for a stroll down A Different World memory lane.
But back to Jada: I dug her kick-ass look in The Matrix Revolutions in 2003.
And the edgy thing she’s got going as the frontwoman for the metal band Wicked Wisdom is pretty cool. Then of course, there’s her recent turn in The Women (2008) as the Sophisticated Lesbian. “I know lots of lesbians.” Jada said in an interview about The Women. “I think there is a lesbian inside of me that I just pulled out. (Laughs).” Donning a leather jacket will have that effect on a woman.
Does Time Heals sound like something you’d watch? What’s your favorite Jada look?
