ABC Family will surely be stirring up controversy next week (this is nothing new to the network; have you seen “The Secret Life of the American Teenager“?!) when it premieres the new comedy/drama “Huge” starring Hairspray‘s Nikki Blonsky.
The show centers on Blonsky’s character, Willamena, a rebellious teen banished to weight-loss camp by her parents.
Based on Sasha Paley’s book of the same name, “Huge” follows the lives of the campers and staff as they (according to the official ABC web site), “look beneath the surface to discover their true selves and the truth about each other.”
Though my schmaltz detector tends to go off any time a show explores teens exploring themselves (in the spiritual sense, not in the American Pie sense), “Huge” has some great things going for it.
For one, the series is written by Winnie Holzman and her daughter Savannah Dooley. Holzman is one of the mega-geniuses behind ’90s cult phenomenon “My So-Called Life,” and that earns her some serious points. Not to mention, she also penned the book for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.
Blonsky has already proven she can hold her own, taking on the role of Hairspray‘s Tracy Turnblad, originally made famous by Ricki Lake. Plus, Hayley Hasselhoff stars alongside Blonsky, and who doesn’t want to see The Hoff‘s daughter in action?
We’ll be tuning in to ABC Family on Monday night at 9pm to catch the series premiere. If you do too, let us know what you think. I’ll be posting a recap next week, as well as an interview with Blonsky, so make sure to check back!
Oh, here’s the trailer:
— Michelle Konstantinovsky is a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and an avid admirer of shiny objects and preteen entertainment. It would be nice if you visited her website: www.michellekmedia.com. Also, she may learn to use Twitter more effectively if you follow her @michelley415.
I kept seeing ads for this show all over the place at my local mall. I’m skeptical but also hopeful–in the trailer, Blonsky seems to be talking some fat-posi 101 stuff. We’ll see!
Dam I hate I dont get abc where I live…
I hope I get to see this show, I really love Nikki Blonsky
I loved the scene where she’s dealing food out of the bathroom. So messed up but so funny! Too bad the only character who is comfortable with her body is kind of mean and spiteful though.