TVSquad

A while back we told you about a new FOX reality show titled The Fatchelor. That was actually a cute nickname for the show More To Love, which features an overweight guy looking for love with an overweight gal. Or maybe any gal, though this preview below does seem to say that he wants one with more meat on her bones. But the question is, will you watch this? And if so ... why?

Last week we had the did she or did she not swear semi-controversy on The Biggest Loser, and this week we have a blue team falling apart. We also have a controversy that might actually damage the show: the contestant shown finishing a marathon the other night didn't really finish it.

At the end of the episode, they showed contestant Dane crossing the finish line after completing a 26-mile marathon in Arizona. This was supposed to be an uplifting moment, where one of the players lost weight and actually struggled to finish the marathon with his family and friends around him, cheering him on. The problem? He actually didn't finish the race himself. Along the route somewhere, a van picked him up and drove him to the finish line, and he crossed the line with his wife and kid.

I realize that the title of this post is courting a little controversy, but I think it's a question worth asking. Before we begin though, let me say this: I am not a "fattist". I've been very quickly saying goodbye to my own slim self one pizza slice at a time. Also, I'm a big fan of Santa Claus and William Howard Taft. Plus, I think that the FDA should require syrup on everything -- including syrup.

Okay, now that I've headed off all angry comments with that disclaimer, let's get to the meat of the matter: would it be possible for an overweight woman to win American Idol?

NBC's The Biggest Loser is looking for contestants for its next show. The network is holding open casting calls across the country this month and early next month. From what I've seen of the show, they like to have people on who have dramatic stories and/or outgoing personalities. Plus, you need to be competitive. NBC's announcement says it's looking for people who

If you need to drop a significant amount of weight, this is a good way to go. Sure, it's on national television and is humiliating, but it has been so shockingly successful for so many candidates.

Cities and dates for casting calls are after the jump:

The Biggest Loser, the I-can't-believe-people-watch-this show on NBC, has been renewed for a fourth season.

Honestly, I don't know anyone who watches this show, and I've never heard of anyone who actually talks about it either (other than the coverage here at this site of course, but only because I work here). It's like NCIS, only for people who have to lose weight in a humiliating fashion. But somehow, it has become a successful show for the network, a show that NBC can actually count on to bring in consistent numbers.

I'm happy that people go on the show and lose weight and that some of them even have "life changing results," as NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly says. But I have no interest in watching it. First, it's a reality show, and I'm very choosy now in what reality shows I watch. And I also don't know why overweight people (or most other reality show contestants) would want to go on a show like this.

People watch this show, but they don't watch other NBC shows like Kidnapped (and enough of you don't watch Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights)? Sigh.

In tomorrow's issue of People magazine, American Idol and E! television host Ryan Seacrest reveals that he used to be quite pudgy. At age 13, he weighed 180 pounds because he was a junk food junkie. He says, "I was overweight because I used to come home and eat a cookie sheet of nachos and watch Oprah every day of my life." Oprah? Really? Seacrest says he used to be teased by his classmates about his weight (but not about Oprah?) and he dreaded going to the beach because he didn't want anyone to see him with his shirt off. Now Ryan is 157 pounds, he runs four miles a day, and has a personal chef. The upcoming article in People also includes diet secrets from other television stars like Leah Remini (King of Queens) and Kelly Osbourne. I would say the secret is already out: get rich so you can pay a personal trainer and a chef.