Nurse Jackie: Season Six

What Nurse Jackie consistently captures is the insidious heart of addiction, which makes people return repeatedly to situations that consistently end badly. The insanity of Jackie Peyton's belief that engaging in the same behaviors will lead to different results is still present in the terrifically entertaining sixth season. Star Edie Falco has pretty much left Carmela Soprano behind; she is Jackie in full. With its light comic touch, the show can sometimes seem a little glib, but Jackie's journey remains both joyous and heartbreaking, whether it's pill popping, romantic adventures, parenting challenges, tested friendships, or workplace shenanigans. This set displays a lot of growth for most of the characters: daughter Grace (Ruby Jerins) is steering into rebellious Jackie patterns; boyfriend Frank (Adam Ferrara) is bruised by Jackie's increasingly erratic antics; Zoey's (Merritt Wever) adulation of Jackie is heading for a big fall; and Jackie herself digs a pathological hole that will swallow her yet again. A moving appearance by an alcoholic ex-nun gives Jackie great pause, as does a slacker drug dealer who becomes her superficial BFF. Compiling all 12 episodes from the 2014 sixth season (the series is scheduled to end with the seventh), extras include episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes. Highly recommended. (T. Fry)