Dr. Michael Salzhauer, the Miami plastic surgeon known for his outrageous marketing efforts, has never been one to shy away from publicity. He wrote a book for children promoting plastic surgery. He created an app, named for reality star Heidi Montag, to let patients visualize the way they'd look after they went under the knife. And he's the man behind "Jewcan Sam, a Nose Job Love Song," which racked up as much controversy over its alleged use of Jewish stereotypes as it did hits on YouTube.
Now he's landed his own reality TV show.
Cable channel WE tv announced yesterday its plans for Dr. Miami, an unscripted series starring Saltzhauer. It'll be produced by 2C Media, the local company behind shows including Airport 24/7: Miami and Swamp Wars. WE
"We love this show because Dr. Salzhauer is a completely unique and authentic individual who is at the top of his profession and using social media in an innovative and powerful way,” WE tv President Marc Juris said in a news release that names El Schnoz's proficiency at Snapchat among his reality TV qualifications. (The doctor has posted "in-progress" snaps of surgeries including nose jobs, breast augmentations, and Brazilian butt-lifts.)
“Plastic surgery shows have become a staple of unscripted TV," Juris continued, "but a surgeon using Snapchat and other social platforms to literally [sic] bring fans into the operating room represents a bold and fresh twist that connects old and new media and will give us additional opportunities to attract and engage WE tv viewers."
With his brash rhetorical style and habit of courting controversy, Salzhauer seems destined for a reality series. In an extensive 2012 New Times cover story, the doctor describes "unzipping the nose," rattles off a culturally relevant one-liner ("I went to medical school, not Harry Potter's school for wizards"), and lists a remarkably grisly qualification for performing plastic surgery:
"It's like barbecue," he says nonchalantly. "You've got to get used to the smell of burning flesh to be a surgeon."Salzhauer is seemingly less blasé about joining the network of Braxton Family Values, Kendra On Top, and Million Dollar Matchmaker.
"I have always been a fan of their shows," he said in a release, "and I'm so excited to open up my door and my patients to their viewers.”
