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The Biggest Loser 13

Biggest Loser producer admits twist should have been revealed earlier; quitters can’t talk

by Andy Dehnart 19 Apr. 2012 | 4:15 pm

The executive producer of The Biggest Loser who appeared on Tuesday’s mutiny episode said he thinks producers should have told the cast earlier that someone would be coming back, but this season only “implied” that. Meanwhile, Buddy Shuh and Mark Cornelison are not allowed to talk to the media and explain exactly why they quit the show.

In an extensive interview with the New York Post, executive producer Todd Lubin–who was shown on Tuesday’s episode talking to the five cast members–says a lot of interesting and honest things. Most significantly, Lubin acknowledges that the contestants “made one good point: We should have been clear from the beginning [about the returning-contestants twist]. We did that last season, on Day One, but this season it was only implied and then happened so late in the game.”

Regarding their decision to break the fourth wall, Lubin said, “How can you have two people be gone and not tell the viewers? … We’re not into faking anything, and there’s not a lot we want to hide on this show,” he said. “We struggled in the editing [process] because I still didn’t understand what they were doing or what they were talking about.”

Gee, where could we find that information? Here comes the irony: Buddy and Mark are “restricted from speaking to The Post because they’re still under contract to the show,” the paper reports. Forehead slap.

Just once, it’d be incredible if a network or production company didn’t hide behind contracts and let their casts talk about whatever controversial thing happened–but then, that means the story is no longer in their control.

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

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