''Nip/Tuck'' is an American
medical drama
A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...
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
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
,
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
,
family drama
In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...
,
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
, and
psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.
In terms of context and co ...
, focuses on "McNamara/Troy", a cutting-edge, controversial
plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniofa ...
center, and follows the personal and professional lives of its founders
Dr. Sean McNamara and
Dr. Christian Troy (portrayed by
Dylan Walsh
Dylan Walsh (born Charles Hunter Walsh; November 17, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Sean McNamara in the FX television series ''Nip/Tuck'', Al Burns in ''Unforgettable'' and Sam Lane in '' Superman & Lois''.
...
and
Julian McMahon
Julian Dana William McMahon (born 27 July 1968) is an Australian actor, former model, and the son of a former Prime Minister of Australia, Sir William McMahon. He is best known for his roles as Detective John Grant in '' Profiler'', Cole Turn ...
, respectively). 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
Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...
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 one of the patients scheduled to receive plastic surgery.
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
( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
'' surgery to the victims.
The show premiered on July 22, 2003, and concluded on March 3, 2010, with the 100th episode.
Despite being 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
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
and one
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
.
Series creator Ryan Murphy said that the medical cases on the show are "100 percent based on fact".
Overview
The drama is set in a plastic-surgery center, McNamara/Troy, centering on the two doctors who own it. Sean McNamara (
Dylan Walsh
Dylan Walsh (born Charles Hunter Walsh; November 17, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Sean McNamara in the FX television series ''Nip/Tuck'', Al Burns in ''Unforgettable'' and Sam Lane in '' Superman & Lois''.
...
) 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 himself are living. Partner Christian Troy (
Julian McMahon
Julian Dana William McMahon (born 27 July 1968) is an Australian actor, former model, and the son of a former Prime Minister of Australia, Sir William McMahon. He is best known for his roles as Detective John Grant in '' Profiler'', Cole Turn ...
), 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 and often must fix Christian's mistakes.
Production
In its debut season, ''Nip/Tuck'' was the highest-
rated new series on American
basic cable
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. with Data by SNL Kagan shows that about 58 ...
, 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, 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 three-week hiatus for the Christmas holidays, the show resumed in January 2010, and concluded on March 3, 2010, with its 100th episode.
''Nip/Tuck'' filmed its 100th and final episode on June 12, 2009, without creator Ryan Murphy, who was, at the time, in India scouting locations for his
film version
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
of the memoir ''
Eat, Pray, Love
''Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia'' is a 2006 memoir by American author Elizabeth Gilbert. The memoir chronicles the author's trip around the world after her divorce and what she discovered d ...
''.
The show inspired the creation of the plastic-surgery
reality show
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
''
Dr. 90210
''Dr. 90210'' is an American reality television series focusing on plastic surgery in the wealthy suburb of Beverly Hills, California. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2008 on E!. ''Dr. 90210'' gets its name from the zip code of ...
''.
Characters and cast
Main cast
Recurring cast
Episodes
Main crew
*
Michael M. Robin
*
Elodie Keene
Elodie Keene (born April 10, 1949 in Berkeley, California) is an American film director, television director, producer and editor. As a television director, her credits include '' ER'', ''NYPD Blue'', ''The Practice'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''Charme ...
(10 episodes, 2003–2007)
*
Ryan Murphy (8 episodes, 2003–2006)
*
Charles Haid
Charles Maurice Haid III (born June 2, 1943) is an American actor and television director, with notable work in both movies and television. He is best known for his portrayal of Officer Andy Renko in ''Hill Street Blues''.
Haid was born in San ...
(8 episodes, 2006–2008)
*
Craig Zisk
Craig Zisk is an American film director, director and Television producer, producer.
Biography
Zisk grew up in Dallas, where he graduated from the St. Mark's School of Texas. His family was American Jews, Jewish.
After graduating from the Univ ...
(6 episodes, 2003–2008)
*
Nelson McCormick (4 episodes, 2003–2006)
* Richard Levine (4 episodes, 2006–2009)
*
Jamie Babbit
Jamie Merill Babbit (born November 16, 1970) is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She directed the films ''But I'm a Cheerleader'', ''The Quiet'' and ''Itty Bitty Titty Committee''. She has also directed episodes of television prog ...
(3 episodes, 2003–2004)
*
Greer Shephard Greer Shephard is an American television producer and director. She was an executive producer on the FX (TV network), FX series ''Nip/Tuck''. She is also an executive producer on the Turner Network Television, TNT series, ''The Closer''. Along with ...
(3 episodes, 2004–2005)
*
Brad Falchuk
Bradley Douglas Falchuk (born March 1, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer, best known for co-creating with Ryan Murphy the comedy-drama television series ''Glee'', the drama series ''Pose'', the horror comedy '' Screa ...
(3 episodes, 2007–2009)
*
Scott Brazil
Scott Brazil (May 12, 1955 – April 17, 2006) was an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning American television producer and director.
Early years
Brazil was born in Sacramento County, California. His childhood home was in Sacramento's South L ...
(2 episodes, 2003–2004)
*
Jeremy Podeswa
Jeremy Podeswa (born 1962) is a Canadian film and television director. He is best known for directing the films '' The Five Senses'' (1999) and ''Fugitive Pieces'' (2007). He has also worked as director on the television shows '' Six Feet Under ...
(2 episodes, 2005)
* Dirk Craft (2 episodes, 2008–2009)
*
Jennifer Salt
Jennifer Salt is an American producer, screenwriter, and former actress known for playing Eunice Tate on ''Soap'' (1977–1981).
Life and career
Salt was born in Los Angeles, California to screenwriter Waldo Salt and actress Mary Davenport. S ...
(15 episodes, 2003–2009)
* Sean Jablonski (13 episodes, 2003–2008)
*
Lynnie Greene
Laura Lyn "Lynnie" Greene, also known as Lyn Greene (born May 21, 1954) is an actress, writer, director and producer in the television industry. In addition to her work as a producer, she is possibly best known as an actress for appearing as You ...
(3 episodes, 2006–2009)
* Hank Chilton
Awards and nominations
*
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
(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
Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress and author, who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin on ''Switch'' (1975–78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series ''Cagney & Lacey'' (198 ...
)
** Nominated – Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (
Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), ''Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), ''Executiv ...
)
* 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
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
(2005):
** Won – Best Television Series – Drama
** Nominated – Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama (
Julian McMahon
Julian Dana William McMahon (born 27 July 1968) is an Australian actor, former model, and the son of a former Prime Minister of Australia, Sir William McMahon. He is best known for his roles as Detective John Grant in '' Profiler'', Cole Turn ...
)
** Nominated – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama (
Joely Richardson
Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series ''Nip/Tuck'' (2003–10) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). She has also appeared ...
)
* Emmy Awards (2005):
** Nominated – Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
** Nominated – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (
Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010) was an American actress known for her work in theater, television, and cinema. She received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Act ...
)
** 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
Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series ''Nip/Tuck'' (2003–10) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). She has also appeared ...
)
* 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.
''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".
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, two-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,"
according t
Zap2It
According to the September 8, 2006
Mediaweekcolumn "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."
International broadcasts
In Australia, the series aired on
Showcase
Showcase or vitrine may refer to:
*Cabinet (furniture)
*Display case
Music
* ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961
* ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...
and
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
; in Canada on
CTV and
Series+; in France on
M6; in Ireland on
TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known ...
; in New Zealand on
TV One and
Canterbury Television
Canterbury Television was an independent television station broadcasting in Canterbury, New Zealand.
The name is synonymous with regional television in New Zealand as it was the name of the first regional broadcaster to operate in New Zealand ...
; and in the United Kingdom on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
,
Sky Living
Sky Living was a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky. The channel's programming was aimed mainly at women and young adults. It originally launched as UK Living in 1993 and closed 25 years later, being replaced by Sky Witness.
...
,
Sky1
Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
and
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
. In the United Kingdom the showed only commenced airing on January 13, 2004.
In South Africa the show aired, after the actual running time, on SABC 3.
Home media
International adaptation
In 2013, the Colombian network
Caracol TV
Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District, of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau ...
produced the Spanish language adaptation of the series, titled ''
Mentiras perfectas
''Mentiras perfectas'' is a drama television series that premiered on Caracol Televisión on October 28, 2013, and concluded on January 24, 2014. Created by Caracol Televisión in co-production with Warner Bros. Entertainment and Teleamazonas. Th ...
'' (''Perfect Lies'').
References
External links
*
''Nip/Tuck''at ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nip Tuck
2003 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
2000s American drama television series
2010s American drama television series
2000s American medical television series
2010s American medical television series
2000s American satirical television series
2010s American satirical television series
Best Drama Series Golden Globe winners
English-language television shows
2000s American LGBT-related drama television series
FX Networks original programming
Serial drama television series
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows set in Miami
Television shows set in Los Angeles
Transgender-related television shows
Television series created by Ryan Murphy (writer)
Television series about plastic surgery
2010s American LGBT-related drama television series