Netflix cancels Insatiable after two seasons

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Insatiable has been cancelled by Netflix after two seasons.

The comedy, which is created by Lauren Gussis, stars Debby Ryan as Patty, a woman who has been bullied, ignored, and underestimated for years by those around her because of her weight. After findingy herself suddenly thin, it sees Patty out for payback against anyone who has ever made her feel bad about herself – helped by Bob Armstrong (Dallas Roberts), a disgraced attorney whose true passion is coaching beauty pageant contestants.

Since it began the project has been a controversial one. Audiences online criticised the show’s decision to cast thin actress Ryan as Patty and put her in a fat suit to do it – as well as the show’s presentation of the lead character’s transformation as the starting point for a comedy, in a way that could potentially trigger viewers’ own eating disorders.

Nonetheless, Netflix renewed the show for a second run, which aired last year. Now, however, the streaming giant has decided not to move to a third, with cast member Alyssa Milano confirming the news on Twitter.

“This is sadly true,” she tweeted. “We had the most fun creating this show. I want to thank the fans who gave us a shot and kept coming back for more. Season 1 & 2 are still streaming. P.S. Any thoughts on who was Coralee’s baby daddy? I guess we will never know.”

The series joins a growing number of cancellations at Netflix, including Soundtrack, another show that had also originated as a pilot at a broadcast network before being picked up by the streamer.

Trailer: Insatiable returns for Season 2 this October

3rd October 2019

Grab your tiaras, because Insatiable is coming back to Netflix this month.

The comedy, which is created by Lauren Gussis, stars Debby Ryan as Patty, a woman who has been bullied, ignored, and underestimated for years by those around her because of her weight. After findingy herself suddenly thin, it sees Patty out for payback against anyone who has ever made her feel bad about herself – helped by Bob Armstrong (Dallas Roberts), a disgraced attorney whose true passion is coaching beauty pageant contestants.

Audiences online criticised the show’s decision to cast thin actress Ryan as Patty and put her in a fat suit to do it – as well as the show’s presentation of the lead character’s transformation as the starting point for a comedy, in a way that could potentially trigger viewers’ own eating disorders. Netflix regardless renewed the programme for a second run, which will premiere on 11th October.

Here’s the trailer:

Insatiable: Season 1 is available on Netflix.

Netflix renews Insatiable for Season 2

13th September 2019

Netflix has renewed the controversial Insatiable for a second season.

The series, which is created by Lauren Gussis, was met with huge controversy even before it premiered. It stars Debby Ryan as Patty, a woman who has been bullied, ignored, and underestimated for years by those around her because of her weight. After finding herself suddenly thin, it sees Patty out for payback against anyone who has ever made her feel bad about herself – helped by Bob Armstrong (Dallas Roberts), a disgraced attorney whose true passion is coaching beauty pageant contestants.

Audiences online criticised the show’s decision to cast thin actress Ryan as Patty and put her in a fat suit to do it – as well as the show’s presentation of the lead character’s transformation as the starting point for a comedy, in a way that could potentially trigger viewers’ own eating disorders.

Nonetheless, Netflix has ordered a second run for the series, which will air in 2019. Here’s the video announcing the renewal:

grab your caboodle. season 2 is coming in 2019. pic.twitter.com/aTBHe3C4GG — insatiable (@insatiable_) September 12, 2018

Insatiable creators defend show against fat-shaming backlash

22nd July 2018

This weekend marks the deluge of countless new trailers and teasers, as San Diego Comic-Con hits the web with a major shot of hype to franchise fans around the world. One trailer that has repeatedly dominated debate this week, though, slipped online just before the event kicked off: Netflix’s Insatiable.

The show, which is created by Lauren Gussis, stars Debby Ryan as Patty, a woman who has been bullied, ignored, and underestimated for years by those around her because of her weight. After finding herself suddenly thin, it sees Patty out for payback against anyone who has ever made her feel bad about herself – helped by Bob Armstrong (Dallas Roberts), a disgraced attorney whose true passion is coaching beauty pageant contestants.

“This story is full of some crazy shit,” promises the trailer for the show, which premieres on Netflix in August.

Audiences online, though, have already singled out what they believe is the craziest thing in the programme: that the show has cast thin actress Ryan as Patty and put her in a fat suit to do it. People have accused the series of fat-shaming, and questioned the trailer’s presentation of the lead character’s transformation as the starting point for a comedy, in a way that can potentially trigger viewers’ own eating disorders.

I’ve never felt more degraded as a human or triggered back into a decade of eating disordered thoughts. @netflix @DebbyRyan — Dani Adriana (@iamdaniadriana) July 19, 2018

They put a thin actress in a FAT SUIT ⛔️ and portrays her as a sad virgin fatty ⛔️ who then WIRES HER MOUTH SHUT ⛔️ to lose weight ⛔️ and then gains confidence and self-worth? ⛔️ No. No. No. No. No. Just cancel this triggering, fatphobic, damaging garbage. BYE. https://t.co/7f5WspfLcu — Sofie Hagen (@SofieHagen) July 20, 2018

CW: weight loss, fatmisia/fatphobia, eating disorders Hi, hello, @netflix? FAT SUITS ARE NEVER OKAY. Selling a weight loss revenge story to teens who are already at high risk for eating disorders is NOT OKAY. This is gross and I’m mad as hell. https://t.co/Zd8cP7hHi1 — Amanda Elliott (@AmandaApparel) July 19, 2018

Debby Ryan has since taken to Twitter and Instagram to defend the show.

“As someone who cares deeply about the way our bodies, especially women’s, are shamed and policed in society, I was so excited to work on Insatiable because it’s a show that addresses and confronts those ideas through satire. Satire is a way to poke fun at the hardest things, bring darkness into the light, and enter difficult conversations,” she posted.

“I have to laugh at my pain, otherwise I’ll dissolve and weep and get stuck instead of working through it. It’s a coping mechanism and, for a lot of people who are telling these stories, a healing mechanism. Over the last few days I’ve seen how many voices are protective and fiercely outspoken about the themes that come into play in this story. I’m grateful for that, and comforted by it, because I want those stories told right too.”

“Twelve years into my own struggles with body image, struggles that took me in and out of terrible places I never want to go again, things I choose every day to leave behind, I was drawn to this show’s willingness to go to real places about how difficult and scary it can be to move through the world in a body, whether you’re being praised or criticized for its size, and what it feels like to pray to be ignored because it’s easier than being seen,” she added.

“It was very important to Lauren Gussis, our writer and showrunner from whose brain and heart and life the character of Patty was born, as well as to me, that any scenes where Patty was heavier don’t use her size as a punchline, and never justify the abuse she suffers. The humor is not in the fat-shaming (or thin-shaming, slut-shaming, virgin-shaming, ‘glam-shaming,’ for fans of Arie’s season of the Bachelor…). The redemption is in identifying the bullies and saying ‘this is not okay.’ We’re not in the business of fat shaming. We’re out to turn a sharp eye on broken, harmful systems that equate thinness with worth.

“I hope fans will wait and watch the show before passing judgment,” she concluded. “If you go for this ride, I think you’ll recognize both yourself and the things that make you mad about our fractured and beauty-obsessed culture.”

Gussis also asked fans to “please give the show a chance”, saying that the show is intended as “a cautionary tale about how damaging it can be to believe the outsides are more important – to judge without going deeper”.

This is my truth. @insatiable_ pic.twitter.com/xbs3YtueCQ — Lauren Gussis (@GussisLauren) July 21, 2018

The series premieres on Netflix on 10th August. Read on below for the trailer:

If you have been affected by the trailer for Netflix’s Insatiable, or you need to talk to someone, Beat is a charity that provides a free helpline for adults and young people offering support and information about eating disorders. Lines are open 365 days a year. Call 0808 801 0711 from 12pm to 8pm during the week and 4pm to 8pm on weekends.

Netflix’s Insatiable set for August premiere

10th July 2018

Debby Ryan’s Insatiable will premiere this August, Netflix has announced.

The dark, twisted revenge comedy, starring Dallas Roberts and Alyssa Milano, sees Ryan play Patty, who has been bullied, ignored, and underestimated for years by those around her because of her weight. But now that she finds herself suddenly thin, Patty is out for payback against anyone who has ever made her feel bad about herself. Bob Armstrong (Dallas Roberts), a disgraced attorney whose true passion is coaching beauty pageant contestants, is the only one who sees Patty’s potential, and takes her under his wing – first as a legal client, and then as a pageant contestant whom he coaches toward becoming the top pageant queen in the country. But Bob and his wife Coralee (Alyssa Milano) have no idea how deep Patty’s rage goes, or how far she will go to exact revenge on anyone who has ever wronged her. Bullies beware: revenge is sweet and if you cross Patty, you’ll be her next treat.

The show, which started out on The CW, is created by Lauren Gussis (co-exec producer on Dexter), who EPs alongside Ryan Seacrest, Nina Wass (Shades of Blue), Andrea Shay, Todd Hoffman, Dennis Kim and Andy Fleming. All 12 episodes land on Friday 10th August worldwide. Here’s the video announcing the release date:

Netflix picks up CW’s Insatiable for original series

12th June 2017

Netflix is increasingly stepping up its original content game, commissioning new projects left, right and centre. Now, it’s even picking up projects from other networks, as it orders a new series, Insatiable, based on a failed pilot at the CW.

The network, which is home to such shows as iZombie, Arrow, Supergirl, Reign and, of course, Riverdale, passed on the project, despite its impressive credentials – it’s created by Dexter’s Lauren Gussis and stars Debby Ryan and Dallas Roberts. Indeed, with the network renewing a hefty 11 existing programmes – including the high-profile Riverdale – and picking up Dynasty and Valor, two of its other 2017 pilots, the CW’s budget was effectively maxed out. With Insatiable reportedly different in tone to anything else on the slate, it’s easy to see how it got the chop.

Described as “darkly comedic” by Deadline, the pilot (produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions and Storied Media Group) is said to have a premium vibe, which makes it equally easy to see why Netflix would show an interest. Written by Gussis, with Andrew Fleming directing the pilot, Insatiable is inspired by real-life Southern lawyer and beauty pageant coach Bill Alverson, following Bob (Dallas), a disgraced civil lawyer-turned-beauty pageant coach, who takes on Patty (Ryan), a vengeful, bullied teenager as his client.

Joining Dallas and Ryan are Christopher Gorham, Erinn Westbrook, Michael Provost, Sarah Colonna, Kimmy Shields, Irene Choi and Alyssa Milano. Gussis is an exec producer on the project, alongside RSP’s Ryan Seacrest, Nina Wass and Andrea Shay of RSP, plus Storied Media’s Todd Hoffman and Dennis Kim.

Netflix has reportedly ordered a full 13-episode season, turning the CW’s pilot into a Netflix original. This is the first scripted series brought to Netflix by recently hired VP of Content, Bela Bajaria, who was former president at Universal TV. It is not, though, the first time such a thing has happened: only a couple of years ago, Amazon picked up CBS’ Sneaky Pete and turned it into an Amazon Studios original, which premiered this year. Netflix and CBS TV Studios, meanwhile, are far from strangers, with the CW’s Riverdale airing on Netflix in the UK and CBS’ new Star Trek series (an exclusive for its streaming platform, CBS All Access, in the US) airing on Netflix everywhere outside of America.