6.6 /10 1 Votes
7.3/10 Country of origin United States/Canada No. of seasons 5 First episode date 30 May 2011 Program creator Tom Forman | 6/10 IMDb Genre Reality Television Original language(s) English No. of episodes 54 Final episode date 8 September 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Starring Chris PowellHeidi Powell Network American Broadcasting Company Similar Extreme Makeover, Extreme Makeover: Home Edi, The Biggest Loser, Heavy, Fat March Profiles |
Extreme Weight Loss (originally titled Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition) is a television program from ABC in which individuals volunteer to receive training and lifestyle changes from trainer Chris Powell and his wife, Heidi Powell. The show is slightly based on the original concept of Extreme Makeover, where individuals receive life-changing makeovers. The exception is that this show focuses primarily on participants losing massive amounts of weight over one year and having a chance to receive plastic surgery to remove the excess skin from their bodies to finish their transformations. The show, however, has faced criticisms over the health implications of rapid weight loss and misleading claims that the fitness trainer stays 3 months with the dieters.
The show did not return for ABC's 2016 summer season, though ABC has not officially cancelled the series in any form and Powell's website continues to encourages application submissions for a future sixth season.
History
ABC announced it had ordered six episodes of the series on October 22, 2009, under the title Obese. On September 20, 2010, Chris Powell was announced as the trainer for the show, renamed Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition. ABC also announced that a second season had been ordered, due to the length of time of filming (one year).
The series officially premiered on May 30, 2011 and was the top summer launch for an ABC series debut since August 2009. The second season premiered on June 3, 2012 at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern)/8:00 p.m. (Central). The third season, now renamed Extreme Weight Loss, premiered on May 28, 2013.
Former contestant Rod Durham died in March 2016.