When Sasha Paley wrote her "young adult novel" about weight problems that are all too common in today's youth, she could have more than likely foreseen the popularity of a television series based on the concept. It is an enormous problem for many young people today and by addressing it within the context of a popular TV program it will be seen by many and perhaps help some who are struggling with their weight. A summer camp dedicated to weight loss, Camp Victory is the destination for the cast of "chubbies" determined to lose weight and become healthier along the way to becoming popular in school. Written capably by Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life) and her daughter Savannah Dooley, the cast includes Nikki Blonsky playing Willamena, filled with resentment for being sent to "fat camp" by her parents, Hayley Hasselhoff is Amber, thinner and prettier than the rest but lacking self-confidence, and Raven Goodwin who plays Becca, bookworm who is painfully shy and becomes fast friend with Willamena. Good writing and a talented cast make this semi reality show well worth watching.

"Sex and the City" is an American television show that aired on HBO from 1998 to 2004. The series is based on the book of the same name by Candace Bushnell and follows the lives of four women living in New York City. The show explores their romantic and sexual escapades, careers, and friendships.

"The Comeback" is a television series that aired on HBO in 2005 and 2014. It follows the story of Valerie Cherish, a washed-up actress who tries to revive her career by starring in a reality show. The show is shot in a mockumentary style, with the cameras following Valerie around as she navigates the ups and downs of her life.

The Bernie Mac Show was an American television sitcom that aired from 2001 to 2006. It followed the story of Bernie Mac, a comedian, and actor, who takes in his sister's three children after she enters rehab. The show was based on Bernie Mac's stand-up comedy and personal experiences with his own family.

Up Here is a musical romantic comedy show that premiered on Hulu in March 2023. It was developed by Steven Levenson, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, and Danielle Sanchez-Witzel. The show centers around a group of people in New York City who are searching for love and connection.

As he championed "the new journalism" in the late sixties, Tom Wolfe suggested no one ever would write anything truly compelling"”fact or fiction"”about the suburbs; he asserted, "There is no life there." During the New Depression, however, the suburbs have gone ghetto, suddenly teeming with life and depravity; and television writers are producing all kinds of compelling stuff about what they have discovered beyond the white picket fences. Witness Showtime's smash-hit "Weeds," the life and times of a "proper" suburban widow keeping-up appearances while she deals more dope than a six-pack of Mexican cartels. As in "The Office," the basic premise for "Weeds" is an import from Great Britain, adapted from the British film Saving Grace which showed a widow and her gardener conspiring to maintain the widow's lifestyle by supplying the locals with their favorite herbal refreshment. Critics frequently compare "Weeds" with American Beauty for its exploitation of the idea "Normal is the face we wear to cover how f***ed-up we are." By contrast with "Desperate Housewives," Nancy Botwin, our entrepreneurial heroine, has far more good reason for desperation than her difficulty achieving orgasm; she has a house, a mortgage, two sons, and a reputation. Since Bonfire of the Vanities tanked and "Weeds" flourished, Tom Wolfe may have to consider the distinct possibility that there is no life in Manhattan.