TV was different in 2003. If you wanted original scripted series, you watched network TV or you went over to HBO. Original cable series were few and far between. FX had previously introduced The Shield to critical acclaim and ratings success, and that opened the door for Ryan Murphy’s trashy, relentlessly misanthropic, and completely addictive new series. At the time, if a cable channel put serious money into a project, you sort of assumed it was going to be a high quality critical darling. And then Nip/Tuck came along with a premiere that involved a Botoxed penis, the leads feeding a dead pedophile to crocodiles, and the cruel marking of a naked woman to point out her flaws.
