Quirky ‘Nip/Tuck’ another FX original

FX has taken an approach to original programming that other basic cable channels ought to emulate.

They’ve gone slow but steady, choosing projects carefully and not oversaturating the market, focusing the spotlight on one series at a time. Pushing the envelope standardswise doesn’t hurt, either.

First came the Golden Globe-winning cop drama “The Shield,” starring Emmy winner Michael Chiklis as brutal L.A. detective Vic Mackey. Then came the half-hour dramedy “Lucky,” starring John Corbett as a frequently backsliding gambler in Las Vegas.

FX continues its winning streak with the quirky hour-long drama “Nip/Tuck,” a show that disproved the adage that beauty is only skin-deep. It debuts with a 90-minute premiere at 10 tonight.

“Nip/Tuck” is set in the plastic-surgery practice of two old schoolmates, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy.

McNamara (played by Dylan Walsh, “Nobody’s Fool”) is the surgical talent. He’s also emotionally closed off, which is alienating his wife, Julia (Joely Richardson, in her first American series) and teen-age son. He’s on the verge of a midlife crisis, although he’s unwilling to admit that to himself.

Troy (Julian McMahon, “Profiler”) is the roguish playboy, the salesman of the pair. With his eye on the prize of success, he ofttimes makes bad choices, such as financially strong-arming a Colombian drug lord who needs plastic surgery to escape pursuit, a move that ends up biting Troy in the butt.

Their practice threatens to implode in the opener, as does McNamara’s marriage. Much pent-up bad feeling spills out across the screen.

The series takes advantage of its settings. It’s based in Miami, and yet McNamara still hasn’t bothered to learn how to speak Spanish. (There’s also an Elmore Leonard-like ending in the opener.) The operating-room scenes are graphic, not for the weak of stomach.

In the opener, the back stories of the main characters are only hinted at. That’s an area that’s rich to mine for creator Ryan Murphy (the underrated “Popular”) and his fellow executive producers.

“Nip/Tuck” has a few flaws, but nothing that a little elective surgery couldn’t cure.