Nip/Tuck

Nip/Tuck is an American serial medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family drama, satire, and psychological thriller, focuses on "McNamara/Troy", a cutting-edge, controversial plastic surgery center, and follows the personal and professional lives of its founders Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy (portrayed by Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon, respectively). [2] Each episode features graphic, partial depictions of the plastic surgeries on one or more patients, as well as developments in the doctors' personal lives. Focus is also given to McNamara/Troy's anesthesiologist Dr. Liz Cruz, Christian's many sexual partners, and Sean's family. With the exception of the pilot, each episode of the series is named after the patient(s) scheduled to receive plastic surgery.

Nip/Tuck
Genre	Medical drama Serial drama Erotic Thriller
Created by	Ryan Murphy
Starring	Dylan Walsh Julian McMahon John Hensley Joely Richardson Valerie Cruz Roma Maffia Kelly Carlson Jessalyn Gilsig Bruno Campos
Opening theme	"A Perfect Lie" by The Engine Room
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	100 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Lyn Greene Greer Shephard Michael M. Robin Richard Levine Sean Jablonski Jennifer Salt
Production locations	Miami, Florida (seasons 1–4, setting only) Hollywood, California (seasons 5–6)[1]
Running time	41–66 minutes
Production companies	Hands Down Entertainment Ryan Murphy Productions Stu Segall Productions The Shephard/Robin Company Klasky Csupo (main titles) Warner Bros. Television
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	FX
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV)
Original release	July 22, 2003 – March 3, 2010
Chronology
Related shows	Mentiras perfectas
External links
Website

Unlike most medical dramas, Nip/Tuck used serial storytelling and often had story arcs spanning multiple seasons; for example, seasons two and three focused on a serial rapist known as The Carver, who often mutilates his victims' faces, leading McNamara/Troy to provide pro bono surgery to the victims.

The show premiered on July 22, 2003, and concluded on March 3, 2010, with the 100th episode.[3] While the show was initially set in Miami, at the end of the fourth season, it was relocated to Los Angeles, and many of the characters followed along. The show earned 45 award nominations, winning one Golden Globe and one Emmy Award.[4] Series creator Ryan Murphy said that the medical cases on the show are "100 percent based on fact".[5]

Overview

The drama is set in a plastic-surgery center, McNamara/Troy, centering on the two doctors who own it. Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) is often found having problems at home due to being seduced by beautiful women on a daily basis, and thus tries to keep his family together by patching up the rocky road in which his family and he are living. Partner Christian Troy (Julian McMahon), though, uses his charm to bring in potential female candidates and conducts vain business deals, almost never failing and ending up with dozens of women in bed. Sean takes his job seriously; he is often found having to fix some of Christian's mistakes.

Production

In its debut season, Nip/Tuck was the highest-rated new series on American basic cable, and the highest-rated basic cable series of all time for the 18–49 and 25–54 age demographics. The fifth season premiered on October 30, 2007,[6] though production was affected by the 2007 Writers Strike. Accordingly, the second half of the fifth season was not screened until January 6, 2009, in the U.S. Another 19 episodes were picked up by FX; airing on October 14, 2009. Following a 3-week hiatus for the Christmas holidays, the show resumed in January 2010, and concluded on March 3, 2010, with its 100th episode.[7][8][9] Nip/Tuck filmed its 100th and final episode on June 12, 2009, without creator Ryan Murphy,[10] who was, at the time, in India scouting locations for his film version of the memoir Eat, Pray, Love.

The show inspired the creation of the plastic-surgery reality show Dr. 90210.[11]

Characters and cast

Main cast

Actor	Character	Seasons
		1	2	3	4	5	6
Dylan Walsh	Sean McNamara	Main
Julian McMahon	Christian Troy	Main
John Hensley	Matt McNamara	Main
Joely Richardson	Julia McNamara	Main
Valerie Cruz	Grace Santiago	Main
Roma Maffia	Liz Cruz	Recurring	Main
Kelly Carlson	Kimber Henry	Recurring		Main
Jessalyn Gilsig	Gina Russo	Recurring		Main	Special Guest
Bruno Campos	Quentin Costa		Guest	Main

Recurring cast

Actor	Character	Seasons
		1	2	3	4	5	6
Kelsey Batelaan	Annie McNamara	Recurring
Linda Klein	Nurse Linda	Recurring
Robert LaSardo	Escobar Gallardo	Recurring	Guest		Recurring		Guest
Ruth Williamson	Mrs. Hedda Grubman	Recurring	Guest		Guest
Joey Slotnick	Dr. Merrill Bobolit	Recurring	Guest		Guest
Phillip Rhys	Jude Sawyer	Recurring	Guest
Julie Warner	Megan O'Hara	Recurring	Guest		Guest
Joshua & Josiah Henry	Wilber Troy		Recurring		Recurring
Vanessa Redgrave	Dr. Erica Noughton		Recurring				Guest
Famke Janssen	Ava Moore		Recurring	Special Guest			Special Guest
Seth Gabel	Adrian Moore		Recurring
Willam Belli	Cherry Peck			Recurring
Rhona Mitra	Kit McGraw			Recurring
Brittany Snow	Ariel Alderman			Recurring
Sanaa Lathan	Michelle Landau				Recurring
Jacqueline Bisset	James LeBeau				Recurring
Peter Dinklage	Marlowe Sawyer				Recurring
Rosie O'Donnell	Dawn Budge				Recurring
Mario Lopez	Dr. Mike Hamoui				Guest		Recurring
Paula Marshall	Kate Tinsley					Recurring
Bradley Cooper	Aidan Stone					Recurring
Portia de Rossi	Olivia Lord					Recurring
AnnaLynne McCord	Eden Lord					Recurring
John Schneider	Ram Peters					Recurring
Sharon Gless	Colleen Rose					Recurring
Katee Sackhoff (season 5) Rose McGowan (season 6)	Dr. Theodora "Teddy" Rowe					Recurring
George Newbern	Dr. Curtis Ryerson						Recurring
Melonie Diaz	Ramona Perez						Recurring

Seasons and episodes

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	13		July 22, 2003	October 21, 2003
	2	16		June 22, 2004	October 5, 2004
	3	15		September 20, 2005	December 20, 2005
	4	15		September 5, 2006	December 12, 2006
	5	22	14	October 10, 2007	February 19, 2008
			8	January 6, 2009	March 3, 2009
	6	19		October 14, 2009	March 3, 2010

Main crew

• Michael M. Robin
• Elodie Keene (10 episodes, 2003–2007)
• Ryan Murphy (8 episodes, 2003–2006)
• Charles Haid (8 episodes, 2006–2008)
• Craig Zisk (6 episodes, 2003–2008)
• Nelson McCormick (4 episodes, 2003–2006)
• Richard Levine (4 episodes, 2006–2009)
• Jamie Babbit (3 episodes, 2003–2004)
• Greer Shephard (3 episodes, 2004–2005)
• Brad Falchuk (3 episodes, 2007–2009)
• Scott Brazil (2 episodes, 2003–2004)
• Jeremy Podeswa (2 episodes, 2005)
• Dirk Craft (2 episodes, 2008–2009)
• Jennifer Salt (15 episodes, 2003–2009)
• Sean Jablonski (13 episodes, 2003–2008)
• Lynnie Greene (3 episodes, 2006–2009)
• Hank Chilton

Awards and nominations

• Emmy Awards (2010):
  • Nominated – Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special
• Emmy Awards (2009):
  • Nominated – Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special
  • Nominated – Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Nonprosthetic)
• Emmy Awards (2008):
  • Nominated – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless)
  • Nominated – Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Oliver Platt)
• Emmy Awards (2007):
  • Nominated – Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special
• Emmy Awards (2006):
  • Nominated – Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series
  • Nominated – Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special
  • Nominated – Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Nonprosthetic)
• Golden Globe Awards (2005):
  • Won – Best Television Series – Drama
  • Nominated – Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama (Julian McMahon)
  • Nominated – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama (Joely Richardson)
• Emmy Awards (2005):
  • Nominated – Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
  • Nominated – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Jill Clayburgh)
  • Nominated – Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special
  • Nominated – Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Nonprosthetic)
• Golden Globe Awards (2004):
  • Nominated – Best Television Series – Drama
  • Nominated – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama (Joely Richardson)
• Emmy Awards (2004):
  • Won – Outstanding Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Prosthetic)
  • Nominated – Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
  • Nominated – Outstanding Main Title Design
  • Nominated – Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
  • Nominated – Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Nonprosthetic)

U.S. television ratings

Viewer numbers (based on average total viewers per episode) of Nip/Tuck on FX.

Season	Time slot	Season premiere			Season finale			Viewers Total (in millions)	Viewers Age 18–49 (in millions)
		Date	Viewers Total (in millions)	Viewers 18–49 (in millions)	Date	Viewers Total (in millions)	Viewers 18–49 (in millions)
1st	Tuesday 10:00 pm	July 22, 2003	3.7[12]	2.0[12]	October 21, 2003	2.99[13]	2.1[12]	3.25[13]	2.2[13]
2nd		June 22, 2004	3.8[12]	2.7[12]	October 5, 2004	5.2[12]	3.6[12]	3.8[12]	2.6[12]
3rd		September 20, 2005	5.3[12]	3.7[12]	December 20, 2005	5.7[14]	3.9[14]	3.9[14]	2.7[14]
4th		September 5, 2006	4.8[15]	3.4[15]	December 12, 2006	3.38[16]	2.38[17]	3.9	2.75[16]
5th – Part I		October 30, 2007	4.3[18]	3.5	February 19, 2008	???	2.41[19]	???	???
5th – Part II		January 6, 2009	3.1[20]	2.4[20]	March 3, 2009	3.8	2.4	?	?
6th	Wednesday 10:00 pm	October 14, 2009	2.9[21]	1.9[22]	March 3, 2010	1.8

Nip/Tuck became an instant cable hit from its 2003 series premiere.

For its third season, FX aired Nip/Tuck solely in the fall of 2005, instead of during the summer season, like the two years prior. John Landgraf, president of FX, stated that such a move was a "huge risk", since it stacked up "against the full barrage of fall network competition".[14] Despite some criticism on its third season, the story arc involving The Carver attracted even more of an audience to the series than any of the seasons before, reaching its climax in a December 20, 2005, 2-hour season finale, entitled "Cherry Peck / Quentin Costa", which became the most-watched scripted program in the history of the FX network.

Including "Cherry Peck / Quentin Costa", three episodes of Nip/Tuck rank as the three most-watched scripted programs ever on FX. The second-season finale, entitled "Joan Rivers", which aired on October 5, 2004, drew 5.2 million viewers. It was then eclipsed on September 20, 2005, when the third-season premiere, entitled "Momma Boone", drew roughly 5.3 million viewers. Three months later. on December 20, 2005, the aforementioned third-season finale, entitled "Cherry Peck / Quentin Costa", drew 5.7 million viewers. Of those 5.7 million viewers, 3.9 million were in the 18–49 age group demographic, "making the finale the number-one episode among the key advertising demographic of any cable series in 2005. It's also the largest demographic number for any single telecast in the network's history,"[14] according to Zap2It.

According to the September 8, 2006, Mediaweek column "The Programming Insider", "the fourth-season premiere on Tuesday, September 5, 2006, averaged 4.8 million total viewers and 3.4 million adults 18–49, building over its season-three average by 25% and 26%, respectively. Nip/Tuck's performance among adults 18–49 ranks as basic cable’s top-rated season premiere in the demographic for 2006, as of September 8, 2006."[15]

International broadcasts

In Australia, the series aired on Showcase and Nine Network; in Canada on CTV and Series+; in France on M6;[23] in Ireland on TG4; in New Zealand on TV One and Canterbury Television; and in the United Kingdom on Fox, Sky Living, Sky1 and Channel 4.

Home media

Title		Release date			Special features
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	The Complete First Season	June 15, 2004	September 20, 2004	October 20, 2004	3 making-of documentaries Giving Melodrama a Facelift Realistic Expectations: The Practice of Plastic Surgery Are They Real or Fake?: Miraculous Makeup Effects of Nip/Tuck Severed Parts gag reel Cutting room floor deleted scenes A Perfect Lie music video. Teaser trailer.
	The Complete Second Season	August 30, 2005	May 30, 2005	July 13, 2005	Cutting room floor: Deleted scenes Featurette: Recurring Pain: Three Woman and Their man.
	The Complete Third Season	August 29, 2006	May 8, 2006	May 2, 2007	Severed Parts - unaired scenes 2 featurettes Chasing the Carver The Perfect Look: Set Design.
	The Complete Fourth Season	September 4, 2007	August 13, 2007	July 2, 2008	Cutting Room Floor - unaired scenes Clever casting: The season's guest stars Sizzle: the sexuality of Nip/Tuck. The cutting edge: how real-life dramas are incorporated into the show Severed parts: gag reel
	The Complete Fifth Season	December 30, 2008 (part 1) October 6, 2009 (part 2)	January 18, 2010	October 28, 2009	Hollywood Hedonism: The Transition from Miami to Hollywood Cutting Room Floor: Unaired scenes Severed parts: gag reel Featurette: The Science of Beauty
	The Complete Sixth and Final Season	June 8, 2010	September 6, 2010	February 2, 2011	Deleted scenes Featurette Gag reel
	The Complete Series	November 2, 2010	N/A	N/A	Special features from individual season box sets

International adaptation

In 2013, the Colombian network Caracol TV produced the Spanish language adaptation of the series, titled Mentiras perfectas (Perfect Lies). [24]

References

1. Nip/Tuck Archived May 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
2. "Nip tuck rundown". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
3. "Nip/Tuck: The Sixth and Final Season". Amazon.com. March 27, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
4. Nip/Tuck at IMDb
5. Rice, Lynette (September 9, 2005). ""Nip/Tuck" chief tells why he reupped with FX". Entertainment Weekly.
6. "'Nip/Tuck' Creator Cuts New Deal – Murphy stays with FX show, will develop for FOX – Zap2it". Zap2it.com. February 16, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
7. Berman, Marc. "FX at TCA: More Rescue Me; Original Programming Schedule | Adweek". Mediaweek.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-10. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
8. "Breaking News - FX Sets Midseason Lineup". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
9. Beck, Marilyn (2009-04-19). "'Nip/Tuck' Cast Feeling the Pangs of Wrapping up For Good, Kelly Carlson Reflects". National Ledger. Archived from the original on 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
10. "For 'Nip/Tuck', beauty fades". LAtimes.com. June 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
11. "Dr. Robert Ray – The Women in the Life of Dr Robert Rey". Dentalinsurancequotes.org. Archived from the original on 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
12. "The Futon Critic: NIP/TUCK Season Three Premiere Delivers Beautiful Ratings (Released by FX)". The Futon Critic. September 21, 2005.
13. "The Futon Critic: Cable Movies, Series Not Unhinged by Fall Season". The Futon Critic. October 23, 2003.
14. "Zap2It: 'Nip/Tuck' Finale Carves Out Ratings Records for FX". Zap2It. December 21, 2005. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007.
15. "Mediaweek: The Programming Insider". Mediaweek. September 8, 2006. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
16. "'Survivor' finale cooks in ratings – Entertainment News, TV News, Media – Variety". Variety.com. December 19, 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
17. Fitzgerald, Toni. "Media Life Magazine". Medialifemagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
18. "Top 20 Cable TV Show Weekly Nielsen Ratings October 29 – November 4, 2007". Tvbythenumbers.com. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
19. Fitzgerald, Toni. "Media Life Magazine – 'Envelope, Please: Gary Busey for . . .'". Medialifemagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
20. "'Nip/Tuck' Carves Up Competition in Winter Premiere". TV Week. 2009-07-01. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
21. "Cable Rating 'Nip/Tuck' returns to 2.92 million and a 1.4 adults 18–49 rating". Tvbythenumbers.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
22. "The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Make it or Break it sets record for ABC family". Tvbythenumbers.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
23. "Séries sur M6 : Replay en streaming". 6play.
24. "Movistar Store". tiendamovistar.terra.com.

External links

• Nip/Tuck at IMDb
• Nip/Tuck at TV.com
• Nip/Tuck at TV Guide