TNT Jada Pinkett Smith Drama Adds ‘Alias’ Alum Michael Vartan

Here’s some excellent casting news for a series we haven’t even seen yet. Back in September, I wrote about Jada Pinkett Smith’s potential TNT original drama Time Heals, which has since become a reality. Now comes news that Alias and Big Shots alum Michael Vartan, a perennial fan favorite, has joined the cast of the series as a replacement for Jeffrey Nordling (Dirt, 24), who played the same role in the pilot.

Time Heals stars Smith as Christina Hawthorne, a recent widow, single mother of a difficult teenager daughter, and passionate nurse who has a big conscious and lots of determination when it comes to making sure patients are treated with respect. As the director of nursing at her North Carolina hospital, Christina is also a very successful career woman.

Vartan plays Christina’s colleague Tom Wakefield, the director of medicine at the same medical facility. The two have a close relationship, which might be about as close as they come, if you get my drift.

This sounds like a series I could follow regularly, so good thing it will premiere later this year, although TNT hasn’t announced a set date yet. Visit the network’s Coming Soon website to check out a brief blurb and photo of Smith in her new gig. I’m looking forward to the other newbie starring The Practice’s Dylan McDermott, too.