For McMahon, best known for his seven-year stint as playboy plastic surgeon Christian Troy on FX’s Nip/Tuck (2003-2010), the decision to trade designer suits for an FBI uniform, and commit to another ongoing series, hinged on two words - - Dick Wolf. “When you get something from Dick Wolf, it’s not something you just casually look at,” he noted during a recent interview with MediaVillage. “Just look at what he’s done, and on top of that, from a personal standpoint, he’s been doing it for a long time. He knows how to run a production. He starts at one point and finishes at another. I’ve been on a lot of productions where things go a little haywire and the next thing you’re there for 20 hours a day.
“It’s tough keeping that kind of schedule going,” he continued. “So that was another big part of it. I [also] get along really well with the guys at CBS, so there was a combination of a lot of things that contributed to my desire to do this.”
After limiting work life to California for the better part of the last 18 years and raising his daughter, McMahon was also looking for a change of scenery. “I was looking for something stable in doing FBI, something that would [maybe] take me out of California for a little while,” he explained. “Raising my daughter put a restriction on where I worked, and I was kind of just looking to get out. I mean I love California, and I could spend the rest of my life here, but I’ve spent most of my life here and wanted to do something different.”