Showtime's Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara return exclusively to The
Movie Network and Movie Central

    
    -   Toni Collette is back in her Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R)-winning role
    -   Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R)-winner Edie Falco returns as a morally
        flawed ER nurse
    -   New seasons will debut day-and-date with Showtime in the U.S.
    

TORONTO, March 1 /CNW/ - Two distinctively different mothers - one with a dark double life and secret drug habit, the other suffering from dissociative identity disorder - return to Astral Media's The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment's Movie Central (Western Canada) in new seasons of the dark Showtime comedy series Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara. Nurse Jackie (Season 2) premieres Monday, March 22 at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT, followed by the debut of United States of Tara (Season 2) at 10:30 p.m. ET/9:30 p.m. PT.

The second season of Nurse Jackie picks up a few months after far-from-ordinary Nurse Jackie Peyton (Edie Falco) has cut ties with her enabling love interest, Eddie (Paul Schulze) after he discovers the truth about her marriage and children. Jackie is determined to spend more time with her husband and two daughters, but with Eddie out of the picture both personally and professionally, her access to drugs has diminished, but her cravings have not.

Meanwhile, at All Saints Hospital, Dr. Fitch Cooper's (Peter Facinelli) newly vaulted stature within the hospital becomes a constant source of irritation to Jackie. Zoey (Merritt Weaver) continues to model herself after her hero, Jackie, while Dr. Eleanor O'Hara's (Eve Best) biggest challenge may be the realization that her best friend and confidant has been less than truthful with her. This half-hour series also stars Dominic Fumusa, Anna Deavere Smith, Arjun Gupta, Stephen Wallem, Ruby Jerins and Mackenzie Aladjem, and is executive produced and written by Lix Brixius and Linda Wallem.

As Season 2 of United States of Tara begins, a sudden neighbourhood incident opens the door to Tara Gregson's (Toni Collette) shocking family secrets just as she's trying to move on from her past. In the new season, Tara's alters - who include a provocative teenager, a beer-swilling war vet, a 1950s housewife and some brand-new identities - will help unravel the mysteries while simultaneously infusing their own chaos into the mix.

Meanwhile, the rest of Tara's family explore their own identities as husband Max (John Corbett) hits a boiling point; son Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) continues to question his sexual orientation; daughter Kate (Brie Larson) takes on an online fantasy persona; and sister Charmaine (Rosemarie DeWitt) finds herself in a complicated love triangle. This half-hour series is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, and was created, executive produced and written by Oscar(R)-winning writer Diablo Cody.

All new episodes of Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara will be simulcast on The Movie Network and Movie Central's High Definition channels, and will be available on demand and on The Movie Network OnLine following their network premieres.

The Movie Network is a pay television service available in eastern Canada. With premiere access to Hollywood hit movies, new and exclusive HBO content, critically-acclaimed Showtime series and first-rate Canadian programming, this pay-television service presents Canadians with some of the best television entertainment available. The Movie Network service includes five 24-hour multiplex channels - M, HBO Canada, MExcess, MFun! and MFest - which deliver diverse and entertaining programs in an uncut and commercial-free television environment. The Movie Network also offers The Movie Network HD, HBO Canada HD, MExcess HD and MFun! HD, four dedicated high-definition channels providing hundreds of titles in HD; The Movie Network OnDemand, a Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) service, available in select areas across eastern Canada; and, TMN OnLine an Internet-based content streaming service available to BellTV subscribers. For more information, please visit www.themovienetwork.ca.

The Movie Network is an Astral Media Television Network. Astral Media is a leading Canadian media company, active in specialty and pay television, radio, outdoor advertising and iMedia. Astral Media's solid and dynamic presence in the country's major markets rests on its commitment to offer a unique combination of high-quality, targeted media for all its audiences.

Movie Central is a commercial-free premium pay TV service available in western Canada. Movie Central premieres the best in Hollywood, international and Canadian films across nine 24-hour movie channels, including dedicated high-definition feeds, a Movie Central On Demand service and exclusive HBO content on HBO Canada. Movie Central is also the first window for Showtime content and home to cutting-edge Canadian series. A major force in the Canadian independent film and television production industry, Movie Central, through The Corus Made with Pay Fund, supports many critically-acclaimed and award-winning Canadian series and films. Visit the Movie Central website at www.moviecentral.ca.

Movie Central is owned by Corus Entertainment Inc, a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's animation. The company's multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), W Network, CosmoTV, VIVA, Sundance Channel (Canada), Movie Central, HBO Canada, Nelvana, Kids Can Press and radio stations including CKNW, CFOX, CKOI, 98,5 FM, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. Corus creates engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences across multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto (CJR.B) and New York (CJR) exchanges. Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.

For access to The Movie Network's media room or Movie Central's press site, please visit http://tv.astral.com or http://pressroom.corusent.com.

For further information: The Movie Network (Eastern Canada), Nicolle Balen, [phone], [email protected]; Movie Central (Western Canada), Owen McCorquodale, [phone], [email protected]