Question: In last season’s finale, Jackie Peyton’s well constructed web of lies unravels.  Has she reached her rock bottom? Or did her laugh in the final scene imply she’s not taking it all seriously as she should?

LIZ BRIXIUS: Jackie’s laugh at the end of season two shouldn’t be seen as “Jackie not taking her addiction seriously.” If anything, it means: “Game on,” as in: the inter-personal cost of taking drugs has just sky-rocketed now that Kevin and O’Hara know about it – and Jackie is going to come out swinging. It’s a laugh of defiance – sort of like a cornered gunslinger saying: “You’ll never take me alive!”

Question: Jackie’s love triangle took many twists and turns during season two.  Will she ever be forced to choose between Kevin and Eddie?  Will Eddie continue to pursue Jackie as relentlessly this season?

LINDA WALLEM: I don’t think external forces could ever force Jackie to choose. At the end of season two, she tells Eddie she has to step away from their affair because she needs to put her marriage back together. Season three follows her efforts to save her marriage, but it’s Jackie decision, and it doesn’t go exactly as planned.

Question: Now that Dr. O’Hara knows about Jackie’s addiction, how will that change their relationship?

RICHIE JACKSON: The relationship between Jackie and O’Hara was damaged in the intervention. We spend season three trying to rebuild the trust they once shared. O’Hara has always been a safe haven for Jackie at work and in life, and Jackie has to work very hard to restore the relationship. Both women miss each other, so it was rewarding for us to help them find their way back into each other’s lives.

Question: Will season three introduce any new characters either at All Saints or in Jackie’s personal life that will positively or negatively affect her life? Any guest stars on board for the new season?

LIZ BRIXIUS: Yes! Akaklitus finds the money to hire a temp nurse, Kelly Slater, played by Gbenga Akinnagbe (BARBERSHOP; THE WIRE) who shakes things up at the nurse’s station. He’s a super-charismatic nurse who brings with him tales of the relief effort in Haiti and a world of experience from his tours of duty at many, many hospitals. Every time he opens his mouth, fellow nurses gather around, as if by campfire, to hear about his life. Jackie has to sit by and watch, as her followers fall under his spell. It was a lot of fun to dream up a character strong enough to stand up to Jackie. 

Question: After a long, loving marriage with Jackie, how will Kevin deal with her betrayal and how will last season’s revelations affect the Peyton family as a whole?

LINDA WALLEM: Kevin is forced to take stock of his marriage.  While he doesn’t know about Eddie, he knows that Jackie has lived a secret life of addiction. She is not the woman he knew, and everything he knows about her feels uncertain these days. He is trying to keep it together, keeping the bar afloat and protecting his children from the fallout of their mom’s addiction, but it’s more challenging than he anticipated.

Question: How will Zoey develop this season? How will her budding romance with Lenny change her, if at all?

RICHIE JACKSON: Zoey continues to grow as a nurse. Her budding romance with Lenny allows us to see more of Zoey’s personal life. As Lenny tries to get serious with Zoey, we learn more about her desires and fears as a person. I don’t know that the relationship changes her so much as it gives the audience a fuller picture of Zoey – and who doesn’t want a fuller picture of Zoey?

Question: How does shooting in New York influence the creative process and production of the series? Are there plans to incorporate more location scenes this season?

LIZ BRIXIUS: New York is breathtaking and it absolutely influences our creative process. It’s a fast-paced city -- things happen in the blink of an eye, and all at once – not unlike an Emergency Room. For every eight days we spend inside the studio, we spend two days on location; this means that we are shooting on the streets of New York City for a sizable chunk of the schedule. Whether it’s a well-worn comedy club like the Bitter End, or the pond at Central Park, a diner, or a ball bark in Brooklyn, it’s all real. Our sunshine is real, our rain is real, the color of the sky, all of it. It’s authenticity that delights us.

Question: After three seasons, what are some other themes and issues that you would like to explore in the coming seasons?

LINDA WALLEM: We will continue to expand on our existing themes of addiction and healthcare. As Jackie’s children grow and as her marriage is affected by her addiction, we will explore parenting and marriage. But mostly, you can look forward to an unorthodox look at addiction and the conventional and unconventional ways of addressing it. Nothing is black and white with Jackie so there is a lot of unexplored territory.

Question: Will the rest of the staff at All Saints find out about Jackie’s addiction?

RICHIE JACKSON: Short answer: no. But the rope is closing in on Jackie. At the end of season one, we knew that Eddie knew. At the end of season two, we knew that O’Hara knew. And in season three we watch Mrs. Akalitus realize that the narcotics discrepancies might be linked to her best nurse…

Question: As writers, how are you able to successfully straddle the line between comedy and drama?

LIZ BRIXIUS: We don’t spend a ton of time worrying about how to label our show in terms of whether it’s a comedy or a drama. Largely because we believe in our hearts and souls that NURSE JACKIE is a comedy. AFI labeled us a “tragic comedy” and that felt right. We have a lot of gallows humor, and with the humor, comes the gallows. Neither the comic genius of Merritt Wever’s Zoey or Peter Facinelli’s Coop could exist in a drama, and they are integral parts of Nurse Jackie.