TNT has written a prescription for a third season of the powerful medical drama "Hawthorne," starring and executive-produced by Jada Pinkett Smith ("Collateral," "The Matrix" trilogy). TNT has ordered 10 new episodes of the hit series, which is slated to return in 2011.

Created by Emmy winner John Masius ("St. Elsewhere," "Providence," "Dead Like Me"), "Hawthorne" premiered in summer 2009 and ranked as one of ad-supported cable's Top 5 new series of the year. In its second season in summer 2010, the series continued its success, averaging 3.7 million viewers and ranking as ad-supported cable's #1 Tuesday program among women 25-54.



"With its memorable characters, powerful performances and moving storylines, "Hawthorne" takes us on a dramatic journey through the world of a hospital on the brink of collapse," said Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "This series has performed extremely well among our key demos and proven itself to be a great summer series. We are very excited to continue working with Jada and "Hawthorne"'s outstanding production team and cast."

"Hawthorne" stars Pinkett Smith as Christina Hawthorne, an impassioned Chief Nursing Officer struggling to whip a failing hospital - and her personal life - into shape. Michael Vartan ("Alias") co-stars as Dr. Tom Wakefield, who has a complicated personal relationship with Christina. The series also stars Suleka Mathew ("Men in Trees"), David Julian Hirsh ("Lovebites"), Christina Moore ("90210"), Vanessa Lengies ("American Dreams") and Hannah Hodson ("The Ron Clark Story").

"Hawthorne" comes to TNT from Sony Pictures Television in association with Overbrook Productions and Jamie Tarses' FanFare Productions. The second season of "Hawthorne" was executive-produced by Pinkett Smith; Glen Mazzara ("The Shield," "Crash," "Life"); Jamie Tarses ("My Boys," TNT's upcoming series "Franklin & Bash"); Masius; and Miguel Melendez.