Is it just me, or have Morris Chestnut's job prospects suddenly gotten brighter? I'd say we've written about him more in the last 4 months than we had in the last 2 years.

In addition to recent casting announcements revealing that Chestnut has been cast as the male lead, opposite Halle Berry, in Sony’s thriller The Hive, as well as joining the cast of Kick-Ass 2, playing the guardian for the character played by Chloe Moretz, and also co-starring in the comedy ID Theft, which stars Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy… it's been revealed today that Chestnut has joined the cast of Nurse Jackie, in what is being called a season-long arc on the Showtime dramedy, for next season.

Here's how Deadline describes his role:

Chestnut will play Ike Prentiss, a new trauma doctor, a former Army medic who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is very good at his job but can learn a lot from Jackie (Edie Falco) about bedside care. 

Meanwhile, an actress who you may not be as familiar with, Marcy Harriell (photo on the right) has also joined the cast, in a recurring guest star role.

Harriell's credits include stage work primarily, although she's had roles in series like Royal Pains, NCIS and others. On the stage, she starred as Maria in a 1996 tour of the Broadway musical West Side Story and replaced Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi in the Broadway production of Rent.

In Nurse Jackie, she'll play a character named Marta Rodriguez… described as a new nurse on the floor, and mother of three, anxious for extra shifts.

And by the way, as we've already announced, Chestnut is in contention to play the role of one of Paula Patton's suitors in David E. Talbert's rom-com Baggage Claim.