For Dylan Walsh, working on "Ni\n\nTuck" these days feels like he's doing an altogether new series.
"This is a whole universe away from where we started," Walsh says in his trailer between his work on scenes.
As "Ni\n\nTuck" cuts into its fifth season, the show is undergoing major changes.
Shifting the action from Miami to Hollywood, the story has doctors Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) and Sean McNamara (Walsh) setting up their plastic surgery practice as small fish in one big, ugly pond.
The main cast remains intact as the stories eventually bring them all to the West Coast for one reason or another.
Twenty-two episodes will be produced, up from the 15 done during a typical season for the cable drama.
Guest-star appearances are also getting beefed up. This season, Oliver Platt, John Schneider, Lauren Hutton, Tia Carrere, Bradley Cooper, Portia de Rossi and Rosie O'Donnell are among those scheduled to appear.
People are also reading…
O'Donnell reprises her role as a lotto winner who splurges her winnings on plastic surgery. Platt, who'll play a Hollywood insider, will bring an element of straight-out comedy to the dark drama that has become a "Ni\n\nTuck" trademark.
One early storyline will have McNamara and Troy becoming consultants on a medical TV drama, allowing "Ni\n\nTuck" to spoof "House," "Grey's Anatomy" and even itself.
Behind the scenes, the way the work is done has undergone a metamorphosis, too. The freedom to improvise is there, a loosening of the scripted reins from series creator Ryan Murphy.
"That's a change, just in terms of what the process was," Walsh says. "I think it's great for the show just to bust it out."
On paper, all the changes "seem great," Walsh says, but he is reserving judgment until more of the season is completed.
"We've had some good seasons. We have some that were a little less good," he says. "I don't know where this will land."
Walsh figures die-hard fans of the show deserved this transfusion of new blood.
"What I like about Ryan is that he doesn't give a (darn). He cares about moving forward, finding something new and stretching it," Walsh says.
Such changes so late in a series run are sometimes indicative of creative desperation. Yet, "Ni\n\nTuck" remains vital to FX, a signature drama for the channel and a series that retains millions of loyal followers.
"The show has always been about transformation," Walsh says. "(Sean) is a guy who is seemingly always in a midlife crisis. We talk a lot about the 'geographical solutions' to one's life.
"Well, he's part of that. Whether that means he'll completely find happiness — and I know he won't — I love that he's trying something new. He's in a new place, and he's trying to seize the day.
"It's almost mythological, this idea of a fresh start, and he thinks he has it."
On TV
"Ni\n\nTuck" airs at 11 p.m. Tuesdays on FX.
Faculty concerned about changes to U of A admissions policy
