“Save ‘Huge!’” Petition

Television aficionados who love Huge more than a chubby girl loves Cheetos have taken their campaign to save the series to the worldwide web.

Editors with Jezebel.com have launched a campaign to save the Nikki Blonsky-led show about a group of overweight teenagers and their adventures at fat camp less than a week after ABC Family pulled the plug on the freshman comedy due to poor ratings. Huge, which enjoyed a sizeable audience for its series premiere in June, says goodbye to audiences after just 10 episodes. Over 5,000 fans, however, have signed a petition to save the cult series from cancellation, arguing that the program represents people of size in a realistic way.

“Entertainment comes in so many different forms: police dramas, hospital shows, teen soaps, spy thrillers… and overweight characters are few and far between,” says Jezebel writer Dodai Stewart said.

“Huge was different, of course, because although the show was about teenagers at a weight-loss camp, weight loss was actually just a fraction of the issues the kids (and adults) were dealing with. The characters juggled dilemmas relating to crushes, self-confidence, popularity, rumors, toxic friendships, sexual urges, family drama, jealousy, embarrassment, sexual orientation, creativity, lying, cheating, rebellion, body odour, nerdiness and body image. In other words, it reminded us that fat people are people. Humans,” Stewart adds.

“Teenagers are so susceptible to negative thoughts (and messages) about their bodies. Huge created a world in which your body matters, but it’s not the only thing to focus on. The characters, played by actual overweight teens, were smart, creative, funny, athletic, caring and generous… so much more than just fat.”

The show debuted to a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic last June, attracting a solid 2.53 million viewers. At the time, ABC Family bragged that it was their biggest series launch to date among women 18-49 and second largest in adults 18-49 and women 18-34. The numbers took a nosedive in Week 2 and slowly kept dropping off. By Week 8, Huge hit a series low, earning just a 0.5 rating in the demo and attracting 1.34 million viewers.

To Join The Campaign To Save Huge, CLICK HERE!