Jillian Michaels Returning to 'The Biggest Loser'
Jillian Michaels will return to The Biggest Loser for season 14 after taking a two season break to start a family with partner Heidi Rhoades.
Jillian broke the news that she would be leaving the show back in May of 2011, but after a two season absence, the mother of two is ready to come back to the show that made her a household name.
The timing couldn't be better for the struggling reality show, which saw ratings continue to decline in season 13. The season, which was plagued by bad attitudes and un-popular contestants turned a lot of long time fans off the show. The show's new production company seemed to have cast and edited the show thinking what the fan base really wanted was lots of drama between the contestants, but many fans complained that what they really watched the show for was the "uplifting" stories and season 13 left them with no one to root for.
Jillian's loyal fan base should give the show a much needed boost. Producers also seem to be addressing the major fan complaint that the show had become too negative and petty by tackling a hot button issue....childhood obesity.
Michaels told the Today show, "You know, the show has chosen to take on something very controversial. They're going to go after childhood obesity. There are going to be three teenagers on each team. They're not going to be on the ranch, and they're not going to be competing. It's obviously something that needs to be handled with kid gloves, but it's something that needs to be handled."
She added, "We won't be getting them on a scale; it's about getting them on a softball team -- things like that. We're very cognizant of how touchy it is, how controversial it is. And yet, of course, that's right where I want to be, right in the sweet spot, right in the frying pan. I couldn't miss an opportunity to be part of it."
After the disaster that was season 13, I'm both excited and nervous for season 14. I've always been a big Jillian fan, so I'm thrilled to see her come back to the show, but I'm nervous about the show attempting to tackle the childhood obesity issue.
Even at it's peak, The Biggest Loser hasn't exactly always taken the high road when it comes to how their overweight contestants are portrayed, so while I'm extremely hopeful that the show will do a better job addressing this extremely important and touchy topic, I'm also a bit worried that they'll muck it up horribly.
For now, I'm cautiously optimistic. Childhood obesity is an issue near and dear to my heart and if the show can pull off addressing this issue in a compassionate and effective way that actually inspires kids and parents to take positive action then the show could not only be doing a public service but redeem itself for some of its past sins.
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