Alley gave a glimpse of the humor and the irony in her battle to lose weight and get back on television in a tough business that prefers the svelte figures seen on the most successful actresses.

The series was generally unscripted, with each episode emanating from a story outline and the actors largely improvising the dialogue.

Several Hollywood celebrities appeared in the series as themselves: Fat Actress was announced in July 2004, with plans to produce six episodes beginning in the fall.

[citation needed] A week after its premiere, Showtime announced plans to rush the series' DVD release in order to capitalize on an unusually high awareness of the program.

Club, saying "There is both laughter and poignancy to be gleaned from our culture’s obsession with thinness and cruelty towards those who come up short, but all Fat Actress is after is laughs, the cruder and cheaper the better.