Nip/Tuck follows the lives of two Miamiplastic surgeons, Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon). The show, while not strictly a soap opera, has some story arcs. In its debut season, Nip/Tuck was the highest-rated new series on Americanbasic cable, and the highest rated basic cable series of all for the 18-49 and 25-54 age demographics. The first season averaged about 3.25 million viewers an episode. Nip/Tuck is rated TV-MA, for mature audiences.
Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) - A plastic surgeon nearing middle age and trying to come to terms with the choices he has made in his life. Runs the McNamara/Troy plastic surgery practice with his best friend, Christian Troy. Married to his college sweetheart Julia McNamara for 17 years (currently divorced). Has two children - Matt McNamara and Annie McNamara.
Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) - A womanizing plastic surgeon nearing middle age. Sean McNamara's best friend and business partner. Biological father of Matt McNamara. Kimber Henry is his on-again/off-again girlfriend.
Julia McNamara (Joely Richardson) - Sean McNamara's wife of 17 years, mother to Matt McNamara and Annie McNamara. Dropped out of medical school to raise her son. Runs De La Mer, a day spa for surgery patients in recovery.
Matt McNamara (John Hensley) - Sean and Julia's troubled teenage son. Christian is his biological father.
Liz Cruz (Roma Maffia) - Head anesthesiologist for McNamara/Troy and De La Mer. Often portrays the 'voice of reason' of McNamara/Troy. She is 40-something, strong-willed, empathic, atheist, and a lesbian.
Kimber Henry (Kelly Carlson) - Christian's on-again off-again, girlfriend whom he met in the pilot episode. Has been a model, porn actress, and porn producer.
Gina Russo (Jessalyn Gilsig) - A troubled, bitter sex addict in her mid-30's. HIV positive. Often plays the foil to Christian Troy's cavalier playboy. Runs the De La Mer surgical recovery spa with Julia.
The Carver - A masked serial rapist who disfigures his victims by cutting a deep slash on either side of their mouths, resembling a smile. Revealed to be Quentin Costa.(Seasons 2-3)
Quentin Costa (Bruno Campos) - An openly bisexual plastic surgeon originally from Atlanta. Briefly a limited partner at McNamara/Troy. He often has conflicts with both Christian and Sean. (Seasons 2-3)
Ariel Alderman (Brittany Snow) - A racist girl from Matt's high school. Briefly romantically involved with Matt. (Season 3)
Dr. Merril Bobolit (Joey Slotnick) - Former classmate and competitor of Sean and Christian. Bottom of his class in med school, shady, and jealous of Christian and Sean. (Seasons 1-2)
Suzanne Epstein (Nancy Cassaro) - Julia's self-absorbed friend. Her daughter is Annie McNamara's friend. (Seasons 1-2)
Cara Fitzgerald (Keri Lynn Pratt) - The girl Matt McNamara and Henry Shapiro hit with a car. She is later attacked and sexually assaulted by Henry. (Season 1-2)
Mrs. Grubman (Ruth Williamson) - A client of McNamara/Troy with a plastic surgery addiction. Clever and manipulative. (Seasons 1-2)
Sophia Lopez (Jonathan Del Arco) - A male-to-female transexual who developed a friendship with Liz. (Season 1)
Kit McGraw (Rhona Mitra) - A British detective brought in to solve The Carver case. It was later found out that she was the sister of Quentin Costa. (Season 3)
Annie McNamara (Kelsey Batelaan) - Julia and Sean's young daughter. (Seasons 1-3)
Dr. Erica Noughton (Vanessa Redgrave) - Julia's controlling mother and a practicing doctor of clinical psychology. Believes Julia has wasted her potential by not becoming a medical doctor. (Seasons 2-3)
Nurse Linda (Linda Klein) - Nurse at McNamara/Troy. (Seasons 1-3)
Megan O'Hara (Julie Warner) - Woman who had cancer and a mastectomy and came to McNamara/Troy for breast reconstruction. Had a brief affair with Sean. Deceased. (Seasons 1-2)
Cherry Peck (Willam Belli ) - A transsexual who Matt attacks after finding out she is pre-op. He later befriends her. (Season 3)
Grace Santiago (Valerie Cruz) - Former staff psychologist at McNamara/Troy. (Season 1)
Henry Shapiro (Andrew Leeds) - Matt's friend from high school. (Seasons 1-2)
James Sutherland (Georg Stanford Brown) - Biological father of Wilbur, the baby Christian thought he had with Gina. (Season 2)
Jude Watson (Phillip Rhys) - A college student who befriended Julia when she went back to medical school. Deceptive. Briefly an intern at McNamara/Troy. Prostitute for middle-aged women. (Seasons 1-3)
Dr. Barrett Moore (Alec Baldwin) - A plastic surgeon famous for his transgender surgeries, had a close relationship with Ava Moore. (Episode 2.16 "Joan Rivers")
Joan Rivers (Herself) - Has so far appeared twice in the series. (Episode 2.16 "Joan Rivers" and Episode 3.7 "Ben White")
Nicole Morretti (Anne Heche) - A mob-wife turned FBI informant. Now in the witness protection program. Current whereabouts unknown. (Episodes 3.7-3.9)
Gail Pollack (Kathy Baker) - the biological mother of Christian Troy, who was raped by Christian's biological father.
Bobbi Broderick (Jill Clayburgh) - a deranged woman who targets McNamara/Troy after she believes Sean has botched her liposuction operation.
Won - Outstanding Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Prosthetic).
Nominated - Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Main Title Design, Outstanding Main Title Theme Music, Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Non-Prosthetic).
Golden Globe Awards (2004):
Nominated - Best Television Series - Drama, Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama (Joely Richardson).
Golden Globe Awards (2005):
Won - Best Television Series - Drama.
Nominated - Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama (Julian McMahon), Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama (Joely Richardson).
Julian McMahon is the third son of Sir William McMahon, the former Australian Prime Minister, and his wife Lady Sonia McMahon
Valerie Cruz, the actress that played Grace Santiago in the first season, originally auditioned for the part of Julia McNamara.
The Parents Television Council has begun a national campaign to remove the show from FX. This didn't stop Sony from being the sole sponsor of the season 3 premiere.
XM Radio sponsored the 2nd season opener commercial free.
Stacker 2 sponsored the 2nd season finale commercial free.
The 2nd season finale drew over 5 million viewers, making it the third most watched program ever on FX.
The opening theme of the show is performed by The Engine Room.
On Halloween Day, 2005, Peter Braunstein allegedly disguised himself as a firefighter and assaulted a woman in an attack believed to be inspired by The Carver. [2] He was captured on December 16, 2005 [3].
The 3rd season premiere (September 20th, 2005) drew roughly 5.3 million viewers beating the 2nd season's finale of 5 million viewers and making it the second most watched program ever on FX[4].
The 3rd season finale, "Cherry Peck / Quentin Costa" (December 20th, 2005), drew 5.7 million viewers, making it the most watched program on FX ever. Of those 5.7 million viewers, 3.9 million viewers were in the 18-49 age group demographic, making it the highest watched cable series for 2005 [5].
In the first series, Roma Maffia's character (Liz) has the surname Winters. From series 2 onwards, her surname has changed to Cruz.
Each episode is named after a character undergoing plastic surgery in the episode.
Dr. Christian Troy's character was originally named Dr. Christian Vega. The name was changed when Julian McMahon was cast in the role.
Series creator Ryan Murphy has stated that the medical cases featured on the show are "100 percent based on fact" [6].
In Episode 1.13 ("Escobar Gallardo"), the featured surgery involved a druglord changing his appearance via plastic surgery. In July of 1997, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, one of the world's most powerful drug traffickers at the time, died while having plastic surgery to drastically alter his face (and while having 3 1/2 gallons of fat sucked from his body).[7]
In Episode 2.4, ("Mrs. Grubman"), the featured surgery involves a patient addicted to plastic surgery. Plastic surgery addiction is a real phenomenon, and is believed to stem from a psychological condition called Body dysmorphic disorder in many cases.
In Episode 2.9 ("Rose and Raven Rosenberg"), the featured surgery concerned the separation of two adult conjoined twins. While there have been many cases of conjoined twin separation, the surgery featured in this episode shares some details with the 1991 separation of Gracie and Rosie Attard, which resulted in the death of Rosie.[8]
In Episode 2.10 ("Kimber Henry"), a surgery in the show involved a male writer/humorist getting breast implants as resource material for a new book. This shares some similarities with the story of Canadian Brian Zembick, who in the year 2000 got breast implants to win a £45,000 bet. Unlike the patient on Nip/Tuck, Zembick decided to keep his breasts, and later displayed them to the world on an episode of The Man Show.[9]
In Episode 3.1 ("Momma Boone"), the featured surgery appears to have been based on a 480-pound Florida resident, who died after emergency workers tried to separate her from the couch she had lived on for 6 years.[10]
In Episode 3.9 ("Hannah Tedesco"), the featured surgery was a facial transplant. In November of 2005, a French plastic surgeon performed the world's first (partial) face transplant[11]. While the real-life surgery was performed after the episode first aired, face transplant surgery had been a theoretical possibility in the plastic surgery community for some time.
In Episode 3.13 ("Joy Kringle"), the featured surgery involves a woman who unknowingly has carried a petrified fetus inside of her for 17 years. While this sounds like something from a Hollywood screenwriter's imagination, Lithokelyphopedions (or "stone babies") are a real, albeit rare phenomenon that result when a fetus dies during an ectopic pregnancy. Two recent cases reported in the news include a 49-year-old fetus found in a 76-year-old woman (2000), and a 39-year-old fetus in a 67-year-old (1999).[12]