DVR This: Tia Carerre joins Nip/Tuck

It’s a major treat that Nip/Tuck’s fifth season premiere rolls out tonight with Christian Troy and Sean McNamara carving out a new homebase in Hollywood. While I would have totally snagged a dominatrix costume to get close to dreamy doctors, Tia Carrere beat me to the handcuffs. She’s joins the cast as Mistress Dark Pain, a professional punisher who whips Tinseltown's darkest fantasies into shape. As Tia tells me, she’s personally qualified for the role. “There’s a restaurant in New York City where you can dine and be dominated,” Tia says. “I was filming a movie next door, so we used to eat there. You can go in for a lunch of chicken fingers and toe sucking.”

Cast once again as a sexy temptress, Tia’s not complaining. “Someone wanted me to play the ingénue in a movie, and I said that’s not as much fun. As the bad girl, you can go further with more latitude.”

A fan of Nip/Tuck since its first season, Tia’s pleased the show took a change of address. “I loved that they moved to Los Angeles. It really is ground zero for their line of business.” Tia’s keeping mum on whether the docs will become her faithful disciples, but she did impart some practical advice on working in latex. “It’s is a very delicate material. I’ve poked holes in it a couple of time with my fingernails,” she shares. That obviously hasn’t swayed her from becoming a disciple of the fabric herself. “I’m trying to talk them into loaning me the outfit,” she chuckles.

Nip/Tuck, season premiere, airs Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 10 p.m. on F/X.