July 12, 2007

Blogging TCA: A Nip Here, A Tuck There

Seth Arenstein, at the TV Critics Association summer press tour, finds out what FX has in store

TUCKERED OUT: FX's Nip/Tuck panel at TCA: (L-R) Ryan Murphy, Julian McMahon and Dylan Walsh.

Aussie Julian McMahon (Dr. Christian Troy) seems as out there as his devil may care character on FX's Nip/Tuck. During his TCA panel for the show, he takes a phone call on stage from his mother and later says  "we need to raise our kinky factor this season." Threesomes, we are told, don't faze him. "I've done that already," he says.

He also pitches an ending for the series that involves his medical partner (Dylan Walsh as Dr. Sean McNamara) taking a shower while a character lurks through the house, enters the bathroom (with Psycho-type music playing), pulls back the shower curtain and ... it’s Dr. Troy, who says, "We can finally be together." Creator Ryan Murphy has (mercifully) rejected the pitch.

While last season featured multiple guest stars (such as Rosie O'Donnell as Dawn Budge — who Murphy confirmed is coming back), its new season, its 5th, will return "to the family,” Murphy says. The series' action also moves this season to Beverly Hills, not Miami, where seasons 1-4 were based. The docs will be competing with other Beverly Hills plastic surgeons and will be consultants to a medical reality TV show. Nip/Tuck's TV show-in-a-show will feature Bradley Cooper and Oliver Platt.

• EARLIER: Blogging TCA: Thanks for Sharing