'Huge' - ABC Family

Richard Dower

Read this important part - "My So-Called Life" creator Winnie Holzman wrote the script with her daughter, Savannah Dooley.

Now tell me that ain't a star name to write the script!


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i031c2a0e5aa87f8178b3bc3c6384a004

Richard Dower

It has received a 10 ep. order: http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/27/abc-family-announces-pick-up-of-dramas-huge-and-pretty-little-liars/40394

Richard Dower

The interesting aspect of this is, the pilot has not even been made and no cast exists as yet, a casting call is currently underway with filmimg slated to start March 29th.
It's interesting to note that ABC Family must really like the show, based on them just having a pilot script.

You wonder if it's because of Winnie Holzman being attached or the fact it's an Alloy Entertainment product......Alloy are behind The Vampire Diaries/Gossip Girl/Privileged/Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 1/2.

Richard Dower

http://modoration.com/2010/02/25/abc-familys-nationwide-casting-call-for-huge/

Basq

Watched 'My So Called Life' again recently after fond memories of it as a young un'... hasn't aged well at all. In fact, it was damn dreadful!

Richard Dower

I watched the first 10 eps. a few months back...i thought it stood up ok, imo.

Richard Dower

http://www.disneydreaming.com/2010/05/16/hayley-hasselhoff-talks-about-abc-familys-huge/

http://www.accesshollywood.com/abc-family/dish-of-salt-hayley-hasselhoff-and-nikki-blonsky-are-huge_video_1228657

Richard Dower

Starts Monday June 28th: http://abcfamily.go.com/shows/huge

Richard Dower

1 min promo video up on the website now: http://abcfamily.go.com/shows/huge

JP Liz V1

I predict this show wont be a "huge" hit with viewers

Richard Dower

^ not sure Liz, i think it might be quite controversial.

Richard Dower

^ hey...thanks for posting, if you do a search i have "promoted"/supported alot of ABC Family's show, big fan of the channel....i started out with Kyle XY (still pissed at the cancellation btw) and Wildfire.

Huge seems a rather different show, hopefully it'll be good and catch on, but i'll reserve judgement until the pilot next Monday. Why did you guys schedule Make It Or Break It at 10pm????....surely that'll kill the ratings?, why not have it on Tuesdays with Pretty Little Liars as it's lead in?

Anyways, looking forward to the third ep. of PLL...enjoying it thus far.

Richard Dower

Well i suspect PLL will be a ratings winner this Summer, waiting for ep.3 numbers to come in, but i suspect it'll get picked up for another 10 episodes pretty soon.

Richard Dower

Heads up!....series kicks off tonight!, it's ABC Family's "tripple threat" Monday!

Richard Dower

^ be watching the pilot real soon, along with make It Or Break It...Mondays are always my fave tv night! :-)

Is ABC family shown in Ireland?

Richard Dower

^ ah, no......lets not discuss further.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a235105/blonsky-im-confident-in-swimsuit.html

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/news/a234917/blonsky-shocked-by-huge-billboards.html

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/news/a234686/huge-exec-the-show-is-about-change.html

c00kie m0nster

Oooh. I love love love My So Called Life! Jordan catalano - yum! Anyone seen this is it good? On digital or only available online???? xx

Richard Dower

Press release for Monday, numbers seem very solid across the demos:

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/06/29/%E2%80%9Csecret-life%E2%80%9D-series-premiere-of-huge-second-season-premiere-of-make-it-or-break-it-power-abc-familys-monday/55765

Richard Dower

Finals for Monday....take note of the falloff in numbers for Make It Or Break It:

Secret Life of the American Teenager
- 2.999 million viewers
- 1.9/3 HH
- 1.2/4 A18-49
- 2.7/9 W18-34
- 3.4/13 T12-17

Huge
- 2.533 million viewers
- 1.6/3 HH
- 0.9/3 A18-49
- 1.9/6 W18-34
- 2.9/10 T12-17

Make It or Break It
- 1.830 million viewers
- 1.2/2 HH
- 0.7/2 A18-49
- 1.4/4 W18-34
- 2.2/7 T12-17

At 1.8m MIOBI will NOT survive, ABCF *need* to move it to Tuesdays at 9pm with PLL as it's lead in....unless they *want* to kill the show off!

10pm is too late for their target audience, a 1.4 in the W18-34 target demo is dire news for MIOBI.

Richard Dower

OK, so i saw the premiere of Huge....what did i think?, Nikki Blonsky had some genuine LOL moments, especially at the start and her striptease. I was really lking Caitlinn....but then they took her off the show!!!!...what the hell?

Haley Hasselhoff is strangely quite attractive, but i'm rooting for Poppy!...she seems like alot of fun. You've got alot of overweight teenagers at fat camp, and i guess each week we'll explore body issue, positive messages etc. - Willamena is cool with her body, and even fatter person is waiting to get out etc.

Know what?...i'm all for being positive and comfortable with your body etc. - BUT....being overweight is as much a HEALTH issue then anything else!, i do hope the show puts out it's unhealthy to be sooo overweight.

I'm not 100% sold on the show tbh, i'll watch it but it's not my type of show per se, i did like the fact the pilot used alot of handheld camera, rather different approach for an ABC Family show.

Winnie Holzman and her daughter did an ok job from a writing perspective, but it's not a patch on My So Called Life, it's early days but imo i don't think it'll be a big hit or last, lets be real, majority of shows on ABCF are escapism, i'm not sure how fat kids will go down, maybe i'm wrong, maybe the viewing demographic can relate.

I personally can't.

nothing

Watched this last night, and LOVED it. Think it's a great concept for a show, and can see it being a hit. ABC Family does it again.

Richard Dower

ABCFamily wrote: »

Hi Richard! Just wanted to jump in really quickly to tell you that it was just announced that Make It or Break It will be moving to the exact time and day you asked for on Tuesdays at 9/8c, after Pretty Little Liars. This new schedule will begin with the third episode, on July 13. Read about it here! Have a happy fourth of July weekend!

A very wise move!....people were starting to wonder if ABCF were deliberately trying to sabotage the show! :eek:

Richard Dower

Ep. 2 of Huge is now out, lets see if it improves from the pilot.

Richard Dower

So, ep. 2 - not as good as the pilot, less humour....thing is, they just *touch* on topics that could realistically effect fat teen kids, but they never delve any deeper. It's like they are afraid to dig deep.

None of the characters thus far are explored, besides Nikki Blonsky, Torres and Dooley all the other actors are woeful, but i guess it might be there first real acting gig or something.

I just can't see this catching on in the long term, it'll probably get a full season....but are they going to set every ep. in fat camp?, what about timeline?....say four seasons cover 2 months at fat camp?

If they leave fat camp and we see more of there homelife and school life *that* might be interesting, thing is....all the kids are in a safe bubble at fat camp, level playing field. I'd like to see what these kids go through in the outside world, the hateful comments, the predjudice they endure etc.

That would make for interesting viewing, but being in fat camp all they seem to do is exercise and talk about boys, the show has a unique oppertunity to show what it's really like for fat teens with this show, don't throw that away!

Richard Dower

Ratings for Monday:

Secret Life of the American Teenager
- 2.989 million viewers
- 1.9/3 HH
- 1.2/4 A18-49
- 2.5/9 W18-34
- 3.3/14 T12-17

Huge
- 2.144 million viewers
- 1.4/2 HH
- 0.7/2 A18-49
- 1.6/5 W18-34
- 2.6/9 T12-17

Make It or Break It
- 1.716 million viewers
- 1.1/2 HH
- 0.6/2 A18-49
- 1.3/4 W18-34
- 2.0/7 T12-17

Sooner MIOBI moves to Tuesdays the better!, say what you will about Secret Life...but you can't deny it's a ratings powerhouse.

Richard Dower

New ep. tonight for anyone interested.

Richard Dower

Holy Batwings!...look at Haley Hasselhoff now: http://tweetphoto.com/31589924

She'll need a fat suit to star in Huge now! :-) (well done girl)

Richard Dower

Ep. 3 was the most juvenile and childish thing i've ever seen!, it was like written by Dooley and Holzman, and it was written for no one over 10 years old!

Are the creators tryna recapture there youth with this show?...role playing, even Gina Torres was acting like a 12 year old with a major crush, shockingly bad episode.

I have to say i am NOT liking this show at all, in fact it's been relegated to standard def. viewing, it dosen't deseverve a 720p!

Richard Dower

HOLY CRAP!...look at the DROP off in ratings for Huge!

Secret Life of the American Teenager (8pm)
- 3.091 million viewers
- 1.8/3 HH
- 1.2/4 A18-49
- 2.5/8 W18-34
- 3.3/13 T12-17

Huge
- 1.889 million viewers
- 1.2/2 HH
- 0.7/2 A18-49
- 1.5/4 W18-34
- 1.9/7 T12-17

Wow!...massive drop, i guess others were turned off by this ep. as much as i was!!

Richard Dower

Ratings for Monday, i *knew* this show would not take off:

Secret Life of the American Teenager (8pm)
- 3.043 million viewers
- 1.8/3 HH
- 1.3/4 A18-49
- 2.9/9 W18-34
- 2.9/12 T12-17

Huge
- 1.481 million viewers
- 0.9/1 HH
- 0.6/2 A18-49
- 1.2/3 W18-34
- 1.4/5 T12-17

Now it comes down to WHO or what show does ABC Family want to keep?....Huge or Make It Or Break It?

If i had a choice i'd renew MIOBI for another 10 eps. and axe Huge, then develop another show.

Richard Dower

Monday nights ratings, the important numbers are W18-34 and T12-17...big difference.

Secret Life of the American Teenager (8pm)
- 2.706 million viewers
- 1.7/3 HH
- 1.1/4 A18-49
- 2.9/9 W18-34
- 3.2/13 T12-17

Huge
- 1.368 million viewers
- 0.9/1 HH
- 0.6/2 A18-49
- 1.3/4 W18-34
- 1.3/5 T12-17

Richard Dower

Huge was a bit up from last week, but the target demo was down...last nights ep. was a bit better then last week, with willa seeing Amber kissing one of the camp councellors...which is what this show needs, a bit of drama!

Secret Life of the American Teenager (8pm)
- 2.647 million viewers
- 1.8/3 HH
- 1.1/4 A18-49
- 2.6/8 W18-34
- 2.4/10 T12-17

Huge
- 1.412 million viewers
- 1.0/2 HH
- 0.5/1 A18-49
- 1.1/3 W18-34
- 1.6/6 T12-17

With three episodes left i'm hoping ABCF axe it, it really is dreadful stuff....the acting is woeful, scripting terrible...i'm embarrased for Gina Torres, she acts like a 12 year old on the show with daddy and fatty issues. MIOBI FTW!

Richard Dower

Well slap me around the face with a wet kipper!...an episode i actually enjoyed!, finally a bit of depth, bit of emotionl resonance and consequences of a student/teacher relationship. How a cruel joke can hurt someone, the dialogue written with clear subtext about the teacher tryna tell his student "it's over" by using metaphores.

Best ep. of the season, but that's not to say it was amazing....it was just the best ep. of a very poor series.

Richard Dower

After last nights ratings i think Huge is toast!....over the season it has dropped week by week save for one or two eps., it's the key target demos that really matter and it's dropped every week:

Secret Life of the American Teenager (8pm)
- 2.826 million viewers
- 1.6/3 HH
- 1.1/4 A18-49
- 2.3/8 W18-34
- 2.8/12 T12-17

Huge
- 1.344 million viewers
- 0.8/1 HH
- 0.5/1 A18-49
- 1.2/3 W18-34
- 1.3/5 T12-17

IMO it does not deserve to be renewed, whereas Make It Or Break It has better numbers, is an established show, is actually a much better show + deserves to be renewed!

Richard Dower

Lads, read this article...it really sums up what i've been saying!....here are some quotes:

http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/08/16/is-huge-falling-into-the-fat-trap/

"The thing is, the show has a chance to give voice to the fat community, but ends up being nothing more than 'One Tree Hill' with more pudding and stretchmarks. It completely trivializes what should be its strength: exploring the intricacies of what it's like to struggle with weight in a culture that tells you you look good to your face, then points and laughs when you walk away."

^ 100% agree, Dooley and Holzman have totally BOTCHED the show!, they don't explore any of the deep issues surrounding these fat kids, like i said with a show based in fat camp with everyone fat you DON'T see what it's like to be fat.

They are in a protected bubble, it would be much more interesting to see these kids in the real world, day to day life...in school, dealing with all the nastiness that being a fat kid entails. But the producers have totally lost site of the real issues facing fat kids, it's not just about eating and losing weight....it's about how so called "normal" people treat them in everyday life, but they are too afraid to explore this!

Richard Dower

My weekly ratings report, slightly up from last week.... (season?) mid season finale next week, will ABCF give it another 10 eps.?....

Secret Life of the American Teenager (8pm)
- 2.678 million viewers
- 1.7/3 HH
- 1.1/4 A18-49
- 2.3/7 W18-34
- 3.0/11 T12-17

Huge
- 1.475 million viewers
- 1.0/2 HH
- 0.5/1 A18-49
- 1.1/3 W18-34
- 1.7/6 T12-17

Richard Dower

Mid season/Summer finale ratings, on par with last weeks and it been rather consistent in the 1.3-1.5 million range, but as always it's the demos that matter?...will new head honcho Michael Riley renew the show?, consider ABCF have not announced a renewal as yet, wheras PLL was picked up for a further 12 episodes after just three eps.!

Secret Life of the American Teenager (8pm)
- 2.910 million viewers
- 1.8/3 HH
- 1.3/4 A18-49
- 2.5/8 W18-34
- 3.1/12 T12-17

Huge
- 1.451 million viewers
- 0.9/1 HH
- 0.6/2 A18-49
- 1.2/4 W18-34
- 1.4/5 T12-17

Richard Dower

Woah!....ABC Family has cancelled Huge afer 10 episodes!!!!!!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/news/a280276/abc-family-cancels-weight-loss-drama-huge.html

http://www.deadline.com/tag/huge-cancelled/

IMO...if you read my posts i have been hugely critical of the show...it was dreadful from top to bottom, writing, acting etc. - the single worst ABCF show in years. I'm glad it's axed.

I just hope now Make It Or break It gets it's act together as it's VERY close to cancellation if the next 10 eps. don't hit.

Richard Dower

Who the hell are these 5,000 people tryna save this stinking pile of shiite!!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/news/a280670/womens-website-hoping-to-save-huge.html

The women's website Jezebel has started a petition calling for the ABC Family show Huge to be rescued.

http://jezebel.com/5656117/sign-the-petition-to-save-huge

Interesting article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2010/06/28/a-mutual-passion.html

Dooley signed on at age 21 to write what was originally a TV movie to be directed by Robin Schiff, a family friend.

The movie wasn't made, but her finished script helped persuade ABC Family to turn Huge into a series without putting it through the pilot process - just an order for 10 episodes, sight unseen and in a hurry.

The network's willingness to take such a step had something to do with the fact that Holzman - a writer for thirtysomething; an executive producer of Once and Again; and the creator, in 1994, of the short-lived but highly esteemed teenage drama My So-Called Life - had been persuaded to come aboard.

^ LOL!...bet ABCF are regretting that now, to give it 10 episodes WITHOUT even seeing a pilot????....stupid, clearly it was Holzman being attached that sold it, idiots.