Actresses take note:  keeping all your original body parts may help you get cast in a “period” drama. Such was the case when Starz network came to Miami Beach to shoot “Magic City,” a 1959 drama. The Miami Herald reports that Starz, adamant about casting actresses without breast implants, ran into trouble: “I’ve actually had better luck finding synchronized swimming groups than I did finding real boobs,” said the casting director when looking for locals to act as extras.

“Magic City,” like a lot of premium cable shows that feature skimpy attire or full frontal nudity, place breasts front and center, so it’s vital that these breasts reflect 1959….a period in which bodies looked different. According to the Miami Herald, the casting director ran into a lot of problems. Today’s Miami women not only have breast implants but also have enhanced buttocks and lips; tattoos and waxed bikini areas. “The women are too skinny and the men have shaved chests and are too ripped. Down here everyone is so fit. Girls had fuller figures back then.” Tara Solomon, a Miami glamour maven, calls Miami “a land where excess is validated…a land where mucho mas is just enough.”

Casting director Marinella had to be innovative to cast his show. He found his classic full-figured, unenhanced actresses in burlesque clubs. The only problem was that they had plenty of body art that needed covering up.

The Huffington Post states, “Last year, about 1.6 million people underwent surgical cosmetic procedures according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), spending $10.4 billion, with breast enhancements taking the top spot for women. At 49 percent, the largest age group getting boob jobs are 19- to 34-year-olds, and the South Atlantic states boast a whopping 18.8 percent of the nation’s surgical providers.” With breast augmentation and fitness as leading trends, it’s no wonder that casting directors are hard-pressed to find naturally voluptuous extras.

Of note, there are parallels to this problem in South Korea. There, when they do a period drama, they have trouble finding actresses that have not had “double-eyelid” surgery.