(OK, I was wrong - there is some skin involved. And, um, man boobs.)
Co-created by "The Biggest Loser" producer David Broome and hosted by actress Sara Rue ("Less Than Perfect"), a Jenny Craig spokeswoman and soon-to-be bride, "Shedding" borrows heavily from "Loser's" greatest hits, from the obnoxious scale that can't seem to settle on a number to the even more obnoxious female trainer, Jennifer Cohen, who won't be happy until someone throws up on a treadmill. Broome calls the show the "anti-'Bridalplasty' " and he's right to a point: The couples on "Shedding" are at least in this together.
Even as the brides-to-be are being encouraged by wedding planner Brian Worley to say yes to a dress they'll need months of hard work to be able to squeeze into, their fiances are trying on tuxes that would also look better on harder bodies than theirs.
They're side by side for the wedding-cake tastings, the "Till Death Do Us Part" elimination challenges, the moments when Rue, who otherwise seems to have little to do beyond looking like a great "after" picture, says there's "a twist" involved in something or other. If you watch shows like this to laugh at the contestants (hey, you know who you are), there's going to be considerably less guilt involved in this one.
On "Biggest Loser," Broome told reporters last month, "we're on a death march with our contestants. They literally have one foot in the grave. They are ticking time bombs. This show is lighthearted . . . These are couples that are in love, [and] they want to grow old and get fat together. They're just starting out with half that already accomplished."
