Everything to know about Netflix’s new obsession: ‘Fit For TV’
Back in 2004, millions of Americans were glued to their TVs, watching strangers step on scales in front of a live audience. The more pounds they lost, the bigger the applause. The Biggest Loser wasn’t just a reality show; it became a cultural spectacle. All that by selling weight loss as prime-time entertainment.
Fast forward to the year 2025, and Netflix brings you a new docuseries, Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser. This show finally lifts the curtain on what was really happening behind the weigh-ins. The three-part deep dive into the show has been trending on Netflix US all week, and once you start watching, it is not hard to see why.
For those who lived through it, The Biggest Loser was impossible to miss. It was never just a show. It would be better to call it a movement. A glossy promise that anyone could transform if they pushed hard enough. The series ran for 18 seasons, created stars out of its trainers, and even inspired spinoffs.
Little did people know that behind all the feel-good montages and the confetti finales, contestants were fighting a battle. A battle of injuries, exhaustion, and sometimes lifelong health consequences. Fit for TV peels back the layers of this pop-culture phenomenon. It brings you candid testimonies, shocking revelations, and the kind of hindsight that makes you question how we ever cheered for it in the first place.
Who is in the docuseries?
The docuseries is directed by Skye Borgman and is not interested in nostalgia whatsoever. It goes straight to the people who lived it. That includes contestants who collapsed during challenges and the winners who gained back the weight and then some. Also, the trainers are defending their methods and producers who still believe they created something meaningful.
It is completely riveting because for every inspiring story, there is yet another that makes you wonder whether entertainment ever cared about health at all.
What does ‘Fit For TV’ show?
Fit for TV spreads its story across three episodes. Each episode pulls back the curtain a little further. Contestants describe the brutal workouts, the extreme diets, and the pressure to shed pounds at any cost. Season eight’s Tracey Yukich recalls collapsing during a beach challenge. She was later diagnosed with a life-threatening condition before being pushed back into the competition. Can you imagine?
Season 15 of the show revealed caffeine supplements being handed out. In fact, the show admitted to this controversy and said they broke their own rules.
The docuseries also gives airtime to those who helped build the empire. Long-time host of the show Alison Sweeney, trainer Bob Harper, and executive producer JD Roth all appear in it. They reflect on what made the show a hit. But through Borgman’s lens, their words do not soften the story. Instead, the glossy TV machine looks colder and more calculated. Why would it not? It was always far less about “lasting change” than viewers were once led to believe.
The rise and the backlash
When The Biggest Loser first premiered in 2004, it felt groundbreaking. People across the country tuned in to watch contestants drop staggering amounts of weight, transforming in front of their eyes. Who wouldn’t? It is peak reality TV with less scope of scripting, as you have to lose weight and also have a backhanded motivation for you to do so.
It was addictive television. You have drama, competition, and the promise of hope. But as the seasons stacked up, so did the criticism. Contestants spoke of disordered eating, broken metabolisms, and long-term damage. Medical experts began questioning whether the pursuit of ratings had bulldozed over basic health.
The turning point came in Season 15, when winner Rachel Frederickson weighed in at just 105 pounds. It sparked outrage that the show had gone too far. By Season 17, NBC pulled the plug, and a 2020 reboot on USA Network fizzled after one short season.
In Fit for TV, you hear the fallout in the voices of contestants who are still living with the consequences years later. It is proof that the show’s legacy is far more complicated than the trophy shots it once delivered.
Why is it trending now?
Part of the reason Fit for TV has hit Netflix’s Top 10 is timing. In 2025, transformation culture is everywhere. You have your TikTok “glow-ups”, Instagram before and afters, and social media filled with a zillion-step skincare routines and wellness hacks that promise to change your life overnight.
Watching this doc feels like holding up a mirror. One that forces us to ask whether we have really moved on from the kind of spectacle The Biggest Loser thrived on.
But it is also just good storytelling. Borgman keeps the pacing tight, weaving between nostalgia, scandal, and raw confessionals. It is bingeable in the way only the best docs are. You finish an episode planning to take a break, then immediately let the next one roll.
At the end of the day, Fit for TV isn’t about dunking on The Biggest Loser. It is about facing the uncomfortable truth of how far TV will go for ratings. Also, how easy it is to cheer along until the damage becomes undeniable. And for Netflix, that’s the ultimate win: turning one of reality TV’s most complicated legacies into its newest binge obsession.