# Nip/Tuck

Nip/Tuck is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States for six seasons from 2003 to 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime, 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). 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 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 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 and one Emmy Award. 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) 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), though, uses his charm to bring in potential female candidates and conducts vain business deals, almost never failing to end up with them in bed. Sean takes his job seriously and often must fix Christian's mistakes.

## Production

According to Ryan Murphy, the series was inspired by makeover episodes of the talk shows The Jenny Jones Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
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, 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 of the memoir Eat, Pray, Love.
The show inspired the creation of the plastic-surgery reality show Dr. 90210.

## Cast and characters
### Main cast

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

### Recurring cast

| Actor | Character | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons |
| Actor | Character | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Kelsey Batelaan | Annie McNamara | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Linda Klein | Nurse Linda | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring | 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 | Guest | | | |
| Kristen Alderson | Abby Mancuso | Recurring | | | |
| Julie Warner | Megan O'Hara | Recurring | Guest | | Guest | | |
| Joshua & Josiah Henry | Wilber Troy | | Recurring | | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Vanessa Redgrave | Dr. Erica Noughton | | Recurring | 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 | 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 | Recurring |
| George Newbern | Dr. Curtis Ryerson | | | | | | Recurring |
| Melonie Diaz | Ramona Perez | | | | | | Recurring |

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 13 | 13 | July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22) | October 21, 2003 (2003-10-21) |
| 2 | 16 | 16 | June 22, 2004 (2004-06-22) | October 5, 2004 (2004-10-05) |
| 3 | 15 | 15 | September 20, 2005 (2005-09-20) | December 20, 2005 (2005-12-20) |
| 4 | 15 | 15 | September 5, 2006 (2006-09-05) | December 12, 2006 (2006-12-12) |
| 5 | 22 | 14 | October 10, 2007 (2007-10-10) | February 19, 2008 (2008-02-19) |
| 5 | 22 | 8 | January 6, 2009 (2009-01-06) | March 3, 2009 (2009-03-03) |
| 6 | 19 | 19 | October 14, 2009 (2009-10-14) | March 3, 2010 (2010-03-03) |

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

## Broadcast

In Australia, the series was broadcast on Showcase and Nine Network; in Canada on CTV and Series+; in France on M6; in Ireland on TG4; in New Zealand on TV One, TV2 and Canterbury Television.
In the United Kingdom, Sky One acquired the series just a few weeks ahead of its US debut, on 8 July 2003, and premiered in the 10:00pm time slot on 13 January 2004. In August 2004, Nip/Tuck began airing on Channel 4, who had already acquired the free-to-air rights to the series before Sky announced they had the first-run pay TV rights. They only aired the first two seasons before dropping the show from its lineup. In 2007, Nip/Tuck moved from Sky One to the British version of the show's home network, FX. It has also since aired on Sky Living.
In South Africa the show aired, after the actual running time, on SABC 3.

## Home media

| Title | Title | Release date | Release date | Release date | Special features |
| Title | Title | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Special features |
| | 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 Women 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).