TV Jots

Will Rookie Live Up to Title?

ABC Family has another new young adult-oriented original series premiering on June 28 called Huge, and this hourlong drama has a welcome twist.

Twenty-one-year-old Hairspray star Nikki Blonsky headlines the newbie as plus-sized Willamina Rader, better known as Will, who heads off to a weight-loss camp called Camp Victory armed with personality — and attitude — to spare. There, she meets her fellow campers who also yearn to become thinner, which would probably be much easier to achieve if Will wasn’t selling them her spare food on the sly. I smell a troublemaker with personal issues.

Blonsky’s camp-aged castmates include 17-year-old Hayley Hasselhoff (yes, daughter of Baywatch David) as newly and unexpectedly popular Amber, 18-year-old Raven Goodwin (Good Luck Charlie) as shy book lover Becca Huffstatter, Harvey Guillen (Miss Guided) as funny yet self-loathing Alistair, and Ashley Holliday (Discreet) as earnest and well-liked Chloe Delgado. The icing on the cast cake is Whedonverse player Gina Torres (Standoff, Alias, Firefly) as dedicated Camp Victory overseer Dr. Dorothy Rand.

Love the cast, expect to love the show. Tune in at 9pm ET tonight for the opening episode “Hello, I Must Be Going,” which introduces the various regular cast members and a heap of good old summer-camp conflict. A brief sneak peek follows, featuring Blonsky showing how to work it. Like I said, troublemaker, no doubt.