Nip/Tuck

Production

Ryan Murphy found the spark for Nip/Tuck in the makeover segments of The Jenny Jones Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. The series became a cable phenomenon: its first season was the top-rated new basic cable show in America and set all-time ratings records for the 18–49 and 25–54 age groups. The fifth season began on October 30, 2007, but the 2007 Writers Strike delayed the second half until January 6, 2009.

FX ordered 19 more episodes, which aired starting October 14, 2009, with a Christmas break before the final episodes in January 2010. The 100th and last episode was filmed on June 12, 2009, without Murphy, who was in India scouting for his film Eat, Pray, Love. The show also led to the plastic-surgery reality series Dr. 90210.

U.S. television ratings

Nip/Tuck became an instant cable hit from its 2003 premiere. For its third season, FX aired the show solely in fall 2005 instead of summer, a move FX president John Landgraf called a 'huge risk' due to fall network competition. The Carver story arc attracted a larger audience, culminating in the December 20, 2005, two-hour season finale 'Cherry Peck/Quentin Costa', which became the most-watched scripted program in FX history with 5.7 million viewers.

Of those, 3.9 million were in the 18–49 demographic, making it the number-one episode among that key advertising demographic of any cable series in 2005 and the largest demographic number for any single telecast in FX history. Three episodes rank as the three most-watched scripted programs ever on FX: the second-season finale 'Joan Rivers' (5.2 million viewers), the third-season premiere 'Momma Boone' (5.3 million viewers), and the third-season finale.

The fourth-season premiere on 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, and ranked as basic cable's top-rated season premiere in the 18–49 demographic for 2006.

Broadcast

In Australia, the series aired on Showcase and Nine Network; in Canada on CTV and Series+; in France on M6; in New Zealand on TV One, TV2 and Canterbury Television. In Ireland, it began on TG4 from June 2, 2004. In the United Kingdom, Sky One acquired the series weeks before its US debut and premiered it on January 13, 2004. Channel 4 aired the first two seasons before dropping the show.

In 2007, Nip/Tuck moved from Sky One to FX UK. It also aired on Sky Living. In South Africa, it premiered on M-Net in January 2004, moved to M-Net Series for season five, and later aired on SABC 3 in 2007.

Home media

The entire series is available on DVD. In the United States (Region 1), all six seasons and a complete series set were released through Warner Bros.

Home Entertainment between 2004 and 2010. The fifth season was released in two parts due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which forced a mid-broadcast hiatus. Warner Bros. released the first 14 episodes as one set and the remaining 8 episodes as a separate set; a complete fifth season set was never released in the United States.

In the UK (Region 2), Australia and New Zealand (Region 4), the fifth season was released as a complete set. Season four was released on both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats in the United States on September 4, 2007, the only season to receive those releases. The DVD sets include special features such as three 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'), a gag reel, deleted scenes, a music video for 'A Perfect Lie', and a teaser trailer.

Did You Know?

• Ryan Murphy stated that the medical cases on the show are '100 percent based on fact'.
• The series was initially set in Miami but relocated to Los Angeles at the end of the fourth season.
• Each episode after the pilot is named after one of the patients scheduled to receive plastic surgery.