Alley gave a glimpse of the humor and the irony in her battle to lose weight and get back on television in a tough business that prefers the svelte figures seen on the most successful actresses of today. The series was generally unscripted, with each episode emanating from a story outline and the actors largely improvising the dialogue. The storylines were drawn from a heightened perception of Alley's real-life experiences, and some of Alley's friends appeared as themselves in cameos to further blur the lines between truth and fiction.
Cast
Kirstie Alley a successful television and movie star whose weight gain has become the subject of every tabloid imaginable as well as the blight of her existence as she tries to find work and true love in an unforgiving Hollywood.
Kevyn Shecket Kirstie's live-in hair stylist. Unlike Eddie, she is more of a best friend to Kirstie.
Eddie Falcone Kirstie's personal assistant who lives in her garage. He himself is desperate for Hollywood work at any chance he gets he brings up a Hollywood film he did which is "taking film festivals by storm".
Celebrity cameos
Several Hollywood celebrities appeared in the series as themselves:
John Travolta
Mayim Bialik
Kid Rock
Larry King
Merv Griffin
Rhea Perlman
Jeff Zucker
Carmen Electra
Leah Remini
Melissa Gilbert
Recurring
Sam Rascal Kirstie's manager who disappoints her.
Quinn Taylor Scout A young and very famous Hollywood starlet. She is bulimic and helps Kirstie lose much weight as possible, with the craziest and most dangerous diets.
Production
Fat Actress was announced in July 2004, with plans to produce six episodes beginning in the fall. Harris and Callen were cast in September 2004. Filming took place in Los Angeles, California. Seven episodes were produced.
Fat Actress received mixed reviews. Brian Lowry of Variety wrote a negative review, while Entertainment Weekly gave the series a "C-". Nathan Rabin deemed Fat Actress a "failure" in his "My World of Flops" column for The A.V. Club, saying "There is both laughter and poignancy to be gleaned from our culture’s obsession with thinness and cruelty towards those who come up short, but all Fat Actress is after is laughs, the cruder and cheaper the better."
Home media
A week after its premiere, Showtime announced plans to rush the series' DVD release in order to capitalize on an unusually high awareness of the program. The DVD was scheduled for release on May 24, 2005, rather than the usual six-to-nine-month waiting period for most Showtime shows. The series was added to iTunes in February 2006.
