Last year I read the novel Dietland by Sarai Walker. I loved how it flipped a big finger at the beauty industry (weight loss, fashion, and cosmetics). Protagonist Plum Kettle writes an advice column for teen girls but mostly hides out in her apartment awaiting the day she can have weight loss surgery. Suddenly stalked by a mysterious woman in bright tights, Plum’s adventure leads her to an underworld of conformist busting women who may have something more sinister up their sleeves. Plum must deal with body image, mean girls, and danger as she decides whether on not to follow through on her surgery or learn to love the skin she’s in.
Caution: this book contains fat pants, baked goods, radical feminists, and some explicit descriptions of the porn industry.
AMC won the multi-network bidding war to bring Dietland to television. The ten episode series from Marti Noxon, (Unreal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will premier June 4th.
Only time will tell how the novel translates to television. The teaser trailers appear a bit more light hearted than the novel, which takes a dark turn early on. If the series is true to the book it may be disturbing to some viewers. The casting looks promising with Julianna Margulies (ER, The Good Wife) as Plum’s mean girl boss and Joy Nash (Twin Peaks, The Mindy Project) as Plum Kettle.
