The Biggest Loser examined in new docuseries
On the small screen, reality TV was just starting to become a thing. We winced at insults on American Idol, and we watched cutthroat gameplay on Survivor. And, in 2004, a show debuted that addressed the obesity crisis in a way we'd never seen before: The Biggest Loser.
The NBC series initially aired for 18 seasons until 2016, chronicling contestants' weight-loss journeys with ever more provocative means. They vomited during workouts, gorged on junk food in temptation challenges, listened as trainers screamed in their faces. At one point, they pulled two-ton cars for half a mile.
More than two decades after The Biggest Loser debuted, Netflix is releasing a three-part docuseries that examines the show, its controversies and its legacies — for better and worse. Fit for TV: The Reality Behind the Biggest Loser starts streaming Aug. 15.
Past contestants, trainers, producers and medical professionals all sit down for interviews. Among the contestants is Season 8 winner Danny Cahill, who lost 239 pounds in six-and-a-half months and won the $250,000 prize. He's since gained much of the weight back.
There's also Tracey Yukich, the 'villain' of Season 8 who collapsed during a run on the beach. 'My organs were literally shutting down,' she recalls.
Joelle Gwynn, the target of much frustration in Season 7, remembers wondering if the show was intentionally mocking her for ratings. 'People like making fun of fat people,' she says simply.
Trainer Bob Harper, longtime host Alison Sweeney and executive producer JD Roth also share their perspectives.
Noticeably missing? Tougher-than-tough trainer Jillian Michaels, original host Caroline Rhea and Season 15 winner Rachel Frederickson, who weighed just 105 pounds at the finale and convinced many that the show had finally gone too far.
'We were not looking for people who were overweight and happy,' Roth says at one point. 'We were looking for people who were overweight and unhappy.'
Some contestants say in the docuseries that The Biggest Loser was the best thing to ever happen to them. Some say it was the worst.
Meanwhile, some viewers considered The Biggest Loser weight-loss inspiration wrapped up in a watchable format. Others said it perpetuated stereotypes while causing physical and emotional harm.
Where's the line between entertainment and ridicule? As Harper says in the docuseries, 'To see us in a gym yelling, screaming — that's good TV.'
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