NURSES Season 1 Post-Mortem: Tiera Skovbye on Grace’s ‘Fresh Start’

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the NURSES season 1 finale.]

After finding an ally to reiterate that Dr. Hamilton (Peter Stebbings) was abusive, Grace’s (Tiera Skovbye) charges against her former mentor snowballed in the season 1 finale, as other woman spoke out—and he was forced to resign from the hospital.

The move was a big relief for Grace, who had been living under the shadow of his abuse—and fear of how he might retaliate or go after other women.

But with that shadow gone, what comes next? Skovbye previews how Grace moves on, and what’s ahead in season 2…

With Dr. Hamilton now out of the hospital, what comes next for Grace?
I think it’s a bit of a fresh start. She’s given the opportunity to not be haunted by this personal secret from the past and to move forward with her life and her career as a nurse and to not have him be this lurking thing that controls her every move and her decision.

I also think it’s a bit of a huge shift that’s being made in the hospital to report and listen to people when they do come forward with allegations like this. I think it’s happened a lot in the world in the last little while, where everybody is getting the opportunity to have their voice and be heard and be believed, which hasn’t happened a lot. And so I think for Grace, it’s a bit of hope and faith in the world—and in people.

There was a comment in the final scene how it had only been a few months of working at the hospital. Is Grace able to step back and see what she’s accomplished in that short of a time, or is she too close to things right now?
I feel like we don’t see it, really. But it would happen at the end of the finale, where Grace would let loose a little bit. I feel like it’s one of those things where it takes a while for something like that to settle in. It would almost be when she goes back to work in a new environment where he’s not there and she doesn’t have to hide. That’s when it’ll slowly start to settle in that like, “Oh, this thing doesn’t have to haunt me anymore. I get to move on now. I won.” That’s when it’ll probably settle in a little bit more.

Grace had a fairly complicated love life in season 1, but it seemed like there might be potential with Evan. What can you tease about what’s next for them?
I think for Grace, it’s a matter of realizing now that people aren’t all bad. And I think that’s one of the things that she really sees with Dr. Evan Wallace, is that throughout the whole time, he didn’t believe the rumors that everyone else seemed to. And he supported her, he was there for her.

So whether their relationships become romantic or not, I think she realizes that men can be good, even though she’s been hurt by them in the past. And that’s a huge thing for her: to open up again and let herself trust.

The show was just starting production when the pandemic hit last year. What can you preview about what’s ahead in season 2?
We filmed about an episode and a half, and then we got shut down for four months. Then we went back in the summertime, and we finished filming middle of October.

Season 2, we hit really strong. Season 1, we end with some unfinished business, things that are just beginning. Season 2, we don’t waste time getting right back into it. It’s a season full of really intense medical drama. And then a lot of growth for characters and new relationships and new love interests. Things that come up that really challenge all of us. You get to see us grow and fail and struggle and it’s really interesting. There’s new people in power and new dynamics [in play].

Given the state of the world, was the pandemic worked into the storyline? Or is it a quasi-alternate universe timeline?
The whole season had been written, pretty much, before the pandemic. That being said, we are a medical drama, and we were making it in the middle of a pandemic. It wouldn’t have made sense for us to not acknowledge it. That’s all I can say.

Now that Grace isn’t the figurative new kid on the block in season 2, how is that impacting the way we see her at work, as she’s a bit more settled in?
She’s definitely coming back into her own and gaining her confidence knowing that she is good at her job. But also I think she’s learned the importance of having people support her and having people who can she can confide in. And with Grace, I think it’s really beautiful to see her use the people around her and grow these friendships and not think that she needs to be this lone wolf. So you definitely see Grace in season 2 a bit more open and a bit more brave when it comes to relationships and friendships.

The show has a great ensemble, but that also means you don’t always get to share a lot of screen time with some of your coworkers. Is there a particular co-star you want to work a bit more with in the future?
I think they do a really good job at giving us all storylines with each other, kind of little bits here and there. And then the scenes that we do get with all five of us together is always hilarious and so much fun and doesn’t happen that often. So we all really enjoy those scenes a lot.

Jordan Connor, who I worked with actually on RIVERDALE, joins us in season 2, and I got to work a lot with him, which was great because he’s a really good friend of mine. So that’s a new relationship that comes into Grace’s life. And it starts in a very hilarious way. So I think people will really enjoy that; I enjoyed working with him.

Looking back at season 1, was there a moment that meant the most to you?
I believe it’s episode 7, the “Lifeboat” episode where we all sit in the bathtub, that whole episode, the party—we spent the majority of that episode not filming in our hospital set, which was such a nice change for all of us. It was such a beautiful episode, and it was very emotional one for Grace. That scene where we’re all together in the bathtub, it’s just so beautiful and so heartfelt. I think we all really, really loved that one.

RELATED:

• NURSES: Tiera Skovbye Previews the ‘Full Circle’ Finale
• NURSES Exclusive Clip: Grace Finds a Possible Ally Against Dr. Hamilton

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