Here’s Why Terry Dubrow Was Missing from Hulu’s ‘the Swan’ Documentary

by · Thought Catalog
Ethan Miller / Getty Images

TV + Movies

By Chrissy Stockton

Updated 45 minutes ago, September 29, 2026

Hulu’s “The Swan: Behind the Mirror” revisits a Fox reality show that put women through extensive cosmetic procedures — but one of the show’s original surgeons is conspicuously absent. Terry Dubrow doesn’t appear in the documentary at all. The film premiered September 29, 2026, and features former contestants, crew members and Dr. Randal Haworth.

Dubrow, 68, performed surgeries alongside Haworth on “The Swan,” which began in 2004 and ran for two seasons. A message at the end of the documentary notes that he declined to be interviewed.

Terry Dubrow and Heather Dubrow pose together at the GLAAD Tidings event in Los Angeles on December 17, 2025. Photo by Phillip Faraone / Getty Images.

According to director Erin Lee Carr, there was a reason for that declining. Carr told Variety that Dubrow wanted to be paid for an interview — an amount she said was under $100,000, but still a sum she felt made no sense for a documentarian to pay an expert. Dubrow himself hasn’t publicly addressed the Hulu film.

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Terry Dubrow and Heather Dubrow pose together at the Vanderpump Hotel grand opening in Las Vegas on June 11, 2026. Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images.

He has, however, talked about the original series elsewhere. On the “We Need to Talk With Paul C. Brunson” podcast, Dubrow described a planned Season 3 in which he would have operated on two triplets and Haworth on the third, so the results could be compared side by side. Fox canceled the show before that season was ever made. And in a 2024 Vice TV special, Dubrow called the production exhausting, estimating that the surgeons performed roughly 200 operations over just two weeks.

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