Americans dearly love their reality shows. We also enjoy waching fat people slaving away to shed girth.
So a new weight-loss show is coming to the Valley this weekend to try to find the next flab-to-fitness story to feature in one of its episodes.
The show has a working title called Obese and looks to chronicle a person's year-long journey to slim down.
Allison Kaz, the show's casting producer, says the program will be like nothing we've ever seen before.
"This show isn't a contest," she says. "It's something completely different. There's no games, no eliminations; we just want to watch the most important year of someone's life."
A television show exploiting someone's cellulite for ratings? Pretty sure we've seen that before.
The show is looking for some of the fattest fatties the Valley has to offer. Kaz says male cast members should need to lose at least 200 pounds, while women should need to unload about 150 to be considered.
The show will monitor the fattys' transformations over a year as they work out and diet -- and, of course, what's a reality show without a few tears along the way.
We asked Kaz why the Valley was chosen as one of the six places the show is holding auditions, and she says: "We're looking for big personalities. I know Mesa has always been on the nation's 'fattest cities' list."'
Looks like we got ourselves a little bit of a reputation. Well, at least Mesa does.
Kaz says the show is prepared to set up each participant for success and encourages as many chunkers as possible to show up for auditions at the Superstition Springs Center on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
For a little extra incentive, click here for a list of restaurants featured in the mall's food court -- we're talkin' Cinnabons, dude.
