Fat Actress

The series was largely unscripted; each episode was based on a story outline with the actors mostly improvising their dialogue.

The storylines were drawn from an exaggerated version of Kirstie Alley's real-life experiences, and some of her actual friends appeared as themselves to blur the line between truth and fiction.

Fat Actress was announced in July 2004 with plans to produce six episodes starting that fall, though seven episodes were ultimately produced.

Rachael Harris and Bryan Callen were cast in September 2004.

Filming took place in Los Angeles, California.

The series premiere gave Showtime its highest series ratings ever, a record that stood until October 2006, though viewership dropped sharply after the first two episodes.

A week after its premiere, Showtime rushed the DVD release to capitalize on the show's unusually high buzz, releasing it on May 24, 2005 instead of the usual six-to-nine-month wait.