Kirstie Alley to star
in ‘Fat Actress’

Comedy hopes to lampoon
Hollywood’s obsession with weight

Chris Weeks / Liaison file

Kirstie Alley, shown here in 2000, has been mocked by the tabloids for gaining weight.

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updated 6:19 p.m. ET July 28, 2004

LOS ANGELES - Kirstie Alley will take on tabloids, Hollywood and herself in Showtime’s “Fat Actress,” a reality-comedy series about the life of an overweight celebrity.

Alley proposed the series to the cable channel as a “send-up of her own image as well as Hollywood’s obsession with weight and beauty,” said Robert Greenblatt, entertainment president for Showtime Networks Inc.

The 53-year-old actress, heavier than when she starred in “Cheers” and “Veronica’s Closet” and films including “Look Who’s Talking,” has been the subject of unflattering photos in supermarket tabloids.

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The series is co-created by Alley and Brenda Hampton (”7th Heaven,” “Mad About You”); they and Sandy Chanley (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) are the executive producers. Episodes will be based on a story line but largely improvised.

Alley is “so willing to be vulnerable and make fun of herself,” Hampton said. “She just has such a great sense of humor, is a brilliant comedian and so smart.”

Hampton described the series as an “adult comedy” along the lines of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with writer-comedian Larry David (“Seinfeld”).

“But it’s so different because I think women across the country will identify with her,” Hampton said Thursday. “It’s difficult to lose weight and find a relationship no matter where you live. It makes it all the more painful when you’re in the spotlight.”

The half-hour Showtime series, set to begin production this fall, will air sometime next year. Six episodes are planned, Hampton said.