If you were a fan of TLC growing up, I’m sure you’re familiar with the show “Freaky Eaters”. It was quite famous back in the 2010s and garnered a significant fan following. That’s why it was a bit of a shock when it came to an abrupt end after two seasons. So why was the TV show
‘Freaky Eaters’ canceled?
The show was well-known for being controversial with a ton of negative undertones that talked about unhealthy eating. It raised a few eyebrows as many elements of the show seemed fake and just for the cameras. Even after that many claimed that the show was quite entertaining besides the flaws. But it just couldn’t last.
Besides the negative annotations, there were a few other reasons as well. But most of them remain vague as there was not a proper statement regarding the disclosure. So why didn’t the show return for a 3rd season? The answer may not be as straightforward as we’d want it to be. Nonetheless, we can still try to get to the bottom of the mystery.
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‘Freaky Eaters’ Exaggerated Food Addictions
IMG Source: BBC
The entire point of the show was to bring in random people with bizarre food addictions and try to get them to change their ways. But is it possible to rehab an individual in less than 22 minutes?
Mike Dow, who’s a trained psychotherapist, hosted the show along with a nutrition specialist named J.J. Virgin. Besides having such trained professionals, many of the individuals remained addicts even at the end of the episode.
The show brought in countless cases of food addictions where individuals were freakishly consuming a baffling amount of food. There have been many instances where individuals came out to reveal that the amount that they ate daily had exaggerations for comedic purposes. This being the TV world and on top of that, a TLC show, I’m pretty sure it could have been just that.
Did the Show ‘Freaky Eaters’ Cure Food Addictions?
Whatever the show did comes later. What the viewers need to understand is that it’s impossible to cure a food addict under a span of one 22-minute-long episode. So, we can’t say that the show itself cured the individuals as seen at the end. A lot more went on behind the scenes to get the full effect.
When asked whether the individuals who were brought in were given any form of therapy, psychotherapist Mike Dow said that he suggests his on-screen patients, if we might call them, counseling sessions as well.
He went on to explain that if the people who came to the show were local, then he would perform these therapy sessions himself in his office. His goal was to make sure that these people got the help that they needed. And checking their progress was one of the key ways of ensuring their recovery.
What Was the Message of The Show ‘Freaky Eaters’?
IMG source: Hubpages
The message of the show was quite simple if you watch a few episodes. The point of the show was to make everyone aware that food can also be an addiction along with cocaine and alcohol. But the positive aspect of this discovery is the fact that just like drug addiction, food addiction can also have a cure when given the right importance. There is always hope.
Given the premise of the show, it’s understandable if one decides to not take the show seriously. I mean, there have been many cases where TLC was under accusations of being fake and setting up fake scenarios for entertainment purposes.
But even though the show contained positive messages, viewers did not find the recovery journey of the people in the show to be that believable. And in many cases, the whole show was a sore sight to many.
‘Freaky Eaters’: Show Too Uncomfortable to Watch?
While many of the addiction and freaky eating cases are around people having too many pizzas or only consuming cheese throughout the day, many cases are for sore eyes. Uncomfortable would be an understatement if we talk about the man who only devoured raw meat like a caveman.
And that example did not just come out of the blue. There was a specific individual whose name was Daniel who chowed down on raw meat. Certain expressions and camera angles made it look like a set-up. As if his smirks were there for the camera to capture.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. What irked viewers the most was that this dude would go to the supermarket to buy the raw meat at discount prices and eat it right then and there. He simply picked them up from the Styrofoam and consumed them without any hesitation. It was quite scary because he didn’t even push the plastic wrap completely to the side.
This was not only a portrayal of his freakish eating habit; it was also immensely unhygienic as the juices and blood went down his chin while he ate.
The Authenticity of The Hosts in ‘Freaky Eaters’
Even though they do not criticize the psychotherapist, Mike Dow, many have expressed their dismay at the nutritionist J.J. Virgin. Starting from her name to the way she addressed the individuals seemed ingenuine and just for the camera.
Her words and suggestions mirrored that of a quack nutritionist who is a fake practitioner and deceits their patients by promoting fake and deceitful nutritious products. This observation might not even be far off from the truth as this is just a reality TV show at the end of the day.
And reality TV shows have a ton of fakery in them to spice up the ratings.
And this was even more apparent with the way she took care of Daniel’s situation. Daniel, being a raw meat eater, was to be put through a ton of progress and lessons. The blond-haired nutritionist here says a few dodgy things that might make anyone doubt her profession.
For instance, when he tells him that due to the consumption of raw meat, he will have all sorts of stuff stuck up in his colon. Not if that isn’t unprofessional at its finest, then I don’t know what it is honestly.
‘Freaky Eaters’ Episode Ending: A Happy Outcome or Not?
At the end of each episode, they give the person, being a freaky eater, an intervention that will get rid of his freakish eating habits and addictions. Daniel fell victim to this same ordeal. But it didn’t end how we’d expected.
So, during the intervention, the dialogues were forceful and dumb and it was as if someone was holding a gun up their skull.
Now after the exchange of those forced, or as far as I’d go to say, rehearsed words, things got interesting. In many cases, the individuals find the cure and get well in a matter of moments. But our Daniel boy needed a therapeutic session. Now, what was that therapeutic session? A visit to the psychologists? No. A visit to a spa? A bigger no.
So, Daniel and his brother won a therapeutic session of paintball. Now they get to scream and shout at each other with a handy paintball gun. Therapeutic indeed. Not I’m not saying that paintball fights cannot be therapeutic. All I’m trying to voice is that the whole show was just an exaggeration and even fabrication if I do say so myself.
Now the end just hinted that a game of paintball cures everything. Maybe it does. And then after the credits, we see snippets of the new episode where we will now see a woman with a coke addiction. And by coke, I emphasized Coca-Cola.
Conclusion
Now that we’re at the end of the article, you should know why was the TV show ‘Freaky Eaters’ canceled. Apart from being a sore eye for many of the viewers, the show did not show enough authenticity to keep the viewers hooked for more seasons. There were other reasons as well which I’ve stated above. All in all, it was time for the show to come to an end.
An abrupt end might have come as a shock, but it was what they had to do. Thank you for giving this article a read. I hope you have a great day ahead.
