‘Nip/Tuck’ wraps its series finale
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‘Nip/Tuck’ wrapped its 100th and final episode on June 12. FX’s plastic surgery drama broke viewing records, captured the zeitgeist and made us all think about youth and beauty differently in its own crazy way.
The Times visited the Paramount set on the last week of production and observed one final family dinner scene and interviewed the cast. Stars Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon both said they were excited about the future and reflected about a series that launched as cable’s No. 1 show.
Walsh: ‘As a whole experience, it happened right in the middle of my life. I was 39 when I started. I’m 45. This is my midlife. My midlife I’ve spent processing and airing out all my issues through this character on this show who is going through his own midlife. He had midlife crisis every week. This is a huge thing in my life. And it’s been a roller coaster. A lot of ups and downs. The first two years, you felt the ascent. We were always going up -- we were critically acclaimed. We also were the envy of certain networks because we had a buzz. It wasn’t your average buzz. It was a pretty special thing. We had Annie Leibovitz doing a billboard. That was a constant feeling of ascent. Inevitably, you plateau. You level off and then you gotta live that. That’s gonna be tricky and you get lost in terms of egos and the attention you were getting, and it changes. And then, we kept delivering ratings, which is what the network wants. We feel -- we know -- that we’ve lost some of the critical acclaim so then the show is a different thing. So the show means something different to me now. And I’m grateful. I gave back what it gave me. I think it’s ending when it should end for everybody.’
McMahon, speaking about his self-centered character, Christian, and whether he’s grown up by the time the series ends:
‘God, you’d hope! I mean, it’s hard to say that about these characters because they’re all so ridiculous. You know, part of me thinks, ‘Yes, of course.’ And part of me thinks ‘Who cares? It’s a TV show.’ Let’s not take it too seriously. It’s been a roller coaster ride of pretty extraordinary characters, and I think that’s good enough. It always had a tongue-in-cheek value to it. It always poked at itself and the characters poked at themselves and each other and, you know, that’s what we gave.’
To read the full story on ‘Nip/Tuck,’ go here.
-- Maria Elena Fernandez
Photo: Julian McMahon, left, and Dylan Walsh. Credit: FX