Style Network has an unexpected hit in Ruby, the story of a 457 lb. woman and her journey through weight loss. The series debuted on Sunday with 545,00 viewers, making it the the network's highest-rated series debut ever.
Ruby Gettinger the star of the series, is a genuine Southern charmer. Living in Savannah, she's got friends, (one of whom, actress Brittany Daniel, sold the series to Style), two cute dogs, a nephew, and an ex-boyfriend. And a nutritionist, therapist, doctor and trainer. Gay Rosenthal is the executive producer, and her company gave us Little People, Big World, another unscripted series with unlikely but sympathetic subjects.
Considering how often Style and sister-net E! come close to soft-core (Girls Next Door, Kardashians), Ruby is quite a departure for the cable channels. She's probably the only Sunday school teacher to get a reality series. Television Without Pity regulars like the show, but predict that she'll get surgery.
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