This is a Refreshingly honest show. And it is finally been shown in the UK. It takes a great deal of guts for anyone to show themselves at their weakest. that scene when she meets the three nbc producers and she pushes her oversize self as if she was miss universe herself is TV at its best. I love the writing (or structure as I am not sure they followed a script) and the acting. Why is it that shows such as this and Arrested Development don't find a place in the US? I think they would love to have more shows like that here in the UK. And i would give Kirstie Allie an emmy and not to the standard network comedians or drama actress.

Kirstie Alley, Bryan Callen and Rachael Harris need to be in every television show and movie (TV movies included) ever. The three of them are amazing. I have always been a fan of Kirstie's, but "Fat Actress" was my introduction to Callen and Harris. I can't believe I have never seen or heard of them before, they are amazing.The fact that Kirstie was fat shouldn't really matter. What's wrong with a "fat actress" starring in a blockbuster film? There are plenty of fat and over weight men starring in films and television, but women? That's almost unheard of, and often scrutinised when they are. I applaud Kirstie for taking such a risk with "Fat Actress", as it is such a fantastic show, but in all honesty, i think to the general viewer it was mostly a "hit and miss" sort of show. A lot of the humor would have gone straight over the head of people who don't necessarily know what Kirstie, Bryan or Rachael were talking about.Another gripe I have with the show overall is that it wasn't long enough. 7 episodes? Is that all we get?! I know she was losing weight towards the end of the series, but it would have been fantastic to have at least 12 episodes. The episodes that we do have though are hilarious and can be watched over and over again (if one desires).Being sort of a mockumentary style show, as it isn't really a sitcom being that Kirstie is playing herself, the flow of the show is different to regular comedies, and there will be extended times where Kirstie, Bryan and Rachael will just be sitting down talking - which is fine, they were some of the funniest moments! Be warned though, there is a lot of swearing! Kirstie is in top form here, as usual, her comic timing is great, and she (despite making fun of herself) carries so much sophistication with her. Bryan Callen is a real hottie, and amazingly funny. Rachael Harris has the best hair, and she is super smart. The DVD features an episode with commentary by the three of them, and it is so fun to hear them talking about their show. They seem to all really get on well, and enjoyed working on the show.Their are guest stars galore in "Fat Actress", from Kirstie's good friend John Travolta playing himself, and his wife Kelly Preston playing super-bitch Quinn Taylor Scott who eats tissue paper for lunch, to NBC executive Jeff Zucker playing himself (so funny), Melissa Gilbert and Rhea Perlman both make small appearances, McG plays himself, Leah Remini is terrific playing herself, and Mayim Bialik is awesome, but only features in two episodes. There is also a lot of name dropping and references to Kirstie's other works, which is very fun.So, while the series was short lived, this seven-episode show was a terrific gem. I hope to see a lot more of Bryan and Rachael in the future, and that Kirstie continues her success throughout her career. Overall, I give this series 8/10, it losing points for reasons mentioned earlier. Give it a watch, as long as you prepare to be offended, and end up laughing hard out.

Network: Showtime; Genre: Improv Comedy; Content Rating: TV-MA (for profanity, suggested sex, graphic sexual dialog); Available: DVD; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4); Seasons Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season) Kirstie Alley has gained quite a bit of weight since her days on "Cheers" and "Veronica's Closet". She's fat. Hilarity ensues. "Fat Actress" follows this thread-thin premise in which Alley, as herself, tries to claw her way back onto TV in Hollywood despite her now increased size. We're also supposed to forget (one of the many leaps in logic the show requires) is that the only reason Alley is in this position in the first place is because at one time Alley was Hollywood Hot and reaped all the benefits that come with. She's now fighting the beast that created her because she never developed a Plan B to fall back on.Acknowledging at the top that the slings and arrows actresses like Alley suffer from the celebrity tabloid culture is deplorable, I have to also admit that any show spitting back isn't automatically good either. But any hope for an intellectual discussion about showiz superficiality, or even a forceful attack on the culture, flies out the window from the beginning when the show sinks like a stone into "black man's c***" jokes David Brent wouldn't tell in episode 1 and a protracted laxative sequence that consumes the majority of episode 2."Fat Actress" is a packaged hissy fit for Alley in which she (literally and frequently) whines, screams, cries, throws herself around her mansion and generally acts like a toddler in a movie theater. Alley uses the soap box forum given to her by Showtime and some money freed up from the cancellation of "Dead Like Me" to let loose all the anger she has bottled up at the tabloid press over the years. Her self-loathing swallows up everything on screen. It is a punishing experience.Alley and co-creator Brenda Hampton ("7th Heaven") have studied Larry David's HBO improve comedy "Curb Your Enthusiasm" intently and recreate the formula pretty much verbatim. But here is the thing. While the dialog in "Curb" is improvised, giving the show that wonderful conversational rhythm, David and his players have a focused idea as to where the story is going to go. Here nobody seems to know what is going on. "Fat's" unfolding stories are a disorganized mess making almost no sense from minute to minute. Case in point, the finale involving Alley, a bathtub, NBC president Jeff Zucker and a $2 million development deal is so disjointed it requires us to put the pieces back together like a puzzle. The show nonsensically swings from self-loathing to self-indulgence at the drop of a hat (witness "Cry Baby McGuire" where Alley goes from a lonely depression to being whisked away to a billionaire's cabin).And that natural dialog that comes from improve? Alley and Hampton's idea of natural is having the actors screaming over each other, repeating their lines until they think they've been heard. And as you might expect the joke of choice is the age-old "fat joke" - stretched a thousand different ways. What you might not expect is that the show seeks to be as weird as it is broad. Alley dances with little people during a play-date. Kelly Preston, as her extreme weight loose consultant, eats tissues with a pair of chopsticks. Each episode ends with a retro dance number sequence via "Strangers with Candy". It marks the first time any use of "Baby Got Back" doesn't get a free laugh from me.I'm just going to say this and if nobody gets it, nobody gets it. What "Fat Actress" reminds me the most of is the Joe Eszterhas film disaster "Burn, Hollywood, Burn". A smarmy, mishandled Hollywood satire buried under a gluttonous use of celebrities patting themselves on the back using jokes that conceptually may have sounded like a good, cheeky, idea except that none of them ever go anywhere. A painful sequence on the set of a third "Charlie's Angels" film - where Alley is flying through the air on a harness and you can probably take it from there - is a perfect example. What are we supposed to do when Mayim Bialik (having gained a bit of weight herself) shows up and spontaneously dances to the "Blossom" theme? Or with Kevin Nealon as a psychotic neighbor whom everybody knows beat a murder rap? Or the revelation that McG has a "stunt director"?Another spectacular miscalculation is the use of Jeff Zucker (in an atrocious comic turn) to bump up the "cool", "inside Hollywood" factor. That should say it all right there. It you're still watching, Christopher McDonald gets the only laughs as Alley's crack addicted brother. In "Crack for Good" the word "crack" is the punch-line.Bryan Callen and the charming Rachael Harris as Alley's live-in assistant and hairdresser, respectively, do their best to make the show tolerable. In "Hold It", "The Koi Effect" and "Holy Lesbo Batman" (told you it wasn't funny) they are the shining points in this otherwise bankrupt production. You almost get the feeling that if "Fat" wasn't already a runaway train, they would know how to turn it around. In "Hold it" when the two are running around trying to meet the unreasonable demands of their pampered boss as well as keeping her from making a fool of herself, I started getting the idea that THIS is what the show should really be about."Fat Actress" is total mess. One of the most disorganized, angry, convoluted and miserable shows in quite a while. It isn't a pointed satire of Hollywood superficiality, it doesn't have a message, it is about Kirstie Alley and only Kirstie Alley. That which was retroactively proved when Alley decided to end the show after she lost her own weight. Sorry, all other fat actresses, you're on your own.½ / 4

This show is a reality show depicting Kirstie Alley's search (as an overweight woman) for a job as an actress in a movie or a TV show as an overweight woman. Although she is famous and beautiful, she faces size discrimination at every job she applies for - except weight loss commercials. Kirstie is brave and strong in the face of this discrimination, and she does a wonderful job setting the stage for the entrance of fat women onto the Hollywood screen. This show is funny and thought provoking. Its take on eating, body acceptance, and human relationships is a breath of fresh air. In addition, it's good to see a voluptuous women like Kirstie as a main character of a show instead of the "funny sidekick" or throwaway bit part. This show is a breakthrough, and I hope to see a second season.