By Jonathan Toomey,Tv Squad
October 27,2008
The wait is finally over. After having its last season cut short from 22 episodes to 14 due to the WGA Strike, Nip/Tuck is set to return in January 2009 and FX has been airing some great promos to get fans ready.
However, because of the strike, episode number counts, renewal news, and other tidbits of info all sort of got mashed together. So here's what I'm guessing is going to happen after the New Year...
As I mentioned, season five was supposed to be a full network length season of 22 episodes (rather than a traditional cable season of 13 to 15). Only 14 aired and that means eight episodes were left hanging. So here's where things get a little ambiguous. You may recall that back in early 2007, after season four, FX renewed the show for three final seasons - meaning it would end after season seven. Great news, right? That means we should have expected the double length season five, plus two more seasons.
Not so fast. From everything I've read, the new season in January will not be billed as "Season Five, Part Two," but rather as a new "Season Six." With only eight episodes, it makes sense that potentially five more would be added to get it to 13 installments. During this year's TCA, FX President John Landgraf announced that they were giving Nip/Tuck 19 final episodes and that it would end in 2011. OK... so assuming five of those 19 get added to season six, that would mean season seven (the last one) has 14 episodes. Do the math in your head if you'd like, but there's really only one thing to draw from this mess - we're losing out on one season of Nip/Tuck since part two of season five has become its own season. The show will end with an even 100 episodes, but had season five not been split, there probably would have been anywhere from 107 to 111 episodes upon completion.
OK... I'm done ranting. In the grand scheme of things, this really isn't a big deal. While I'm excited that the show is going to get a proper ending, I guess I feel just a tiny bit gypped. Although, having exactly 100 episodes is kind of nice. FX sold The Shield into syndication and that will only have 88 episodes upon its completion. I'm not sure what, if any network, would buy Nip/Tuck up after its run though.
In related FX news, Glenn Close was on Rachael Ray last week and she confirmed that Damages will also return in January.
