Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on
NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars
Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving
forensic pathologist employed in the
Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The show used an
ensemble cast approach that featured a group of Jordan's co-workers and police detectives assigned to the various cases. Its roster of central characters was created by
Tim Kring, who also developed its core format. The title refers to both the name of the main character, who is commonly shown as "crossing" others—especially authority figures—to learn what she wants to know, and the
biblical metaphor of the ancient
Hebrews crossing the
Jordan River, commonly used in
spiritual songs to represent death and passage to the afterlife.