Some critics call it fat exploitation, others call it a worthwhile reflection of reality; however you want to see it, weight-focused television has come to Asia. We caught a glimpse of it in Ugly Betty - about a (not really) dumpy, frumpy Hispanic girl working in the image-conscious world of fashion publishing. Then, following the suc- cess of its American progenitor, reality series The Biggest Loser Asia (Hallmark; Tuesdays at 9pm) launched last month, with ample contestants trying to take off the extra kilos.
Weighing in this week, we have supernatural comedy Drop Dead Diva (Sony Entertainment Television; Wednesdays at 9pm), about a vapid, size-zero model-wannabe, Deb, who dies but, due to an administration error at the Pearly Gates, returns to life in the plus-size body of Los Angeles lawyer Jane Bingum. A further twist sees the new Jane 'returning' to her job at the law firm - with legal smarts intact but none of her personal memories - to find her former fianc?, still mourning the death of Deb, as a new hire. The only people who know her full identity are her best friend, model Stacey, and her guardian angel, Fred.
Predictably, the formerly fit Deb and her best friend have a hard time with Jane's full figure and lack of style - but don't expect any fat jokes. The comedy and substance come from what the airhead within chooses to do with her new-found intelligence. Deb-as-Jane has to jump into the deep end of the cut-throat politics of the firm and the legal system, aided only by her loyal assistant, Terri.
Drop Dead Diva shamelessly channels Legally Blonde for the ingenuity Jane brings to her job - and it works, thanks to the acting chops of Brooke Elliott, who inhabits the role of the new Jane as if she were born for it.
Veteran funny gal Margaret Cho, who brings to the table her pedigree comedy as Terri, describes the show as something 'women would want to watch with their daughters and families and feel good about themselves'.
As someone who has experienced her share of body-image issues publicly, Cho tells Channel hop, 'Everyone has these feelings of insecurity and doubt - and not being what society would have you be. That's part of what the show is about. People [here] will really fall in love with the humour and humanity of it.'
