24 Hates Fat People, Apparently

Kiefer Sutherland’s 24 may be a hit with critics and audiences but it recently flunked a year-end rating system for the usage of “people of size” on the show. SizeFriendlyTV is a website dedicated to promoting the use of more “people of size” in night time television. In SizeFriendlyTV terms, “people of size” or POS refers to characters carrying at least 25-30 extra pounds on them. According to the website, the small screen is sorely lacking “people of size” in primetime programming, with only about 10% of roles being essayed by plus size actors.

SizeFriendlyTV’s advocacy works on the premise that since 40-50% of Americans are “of size,” then 40-50% of television characters should reflect reality and be of size as well.

The website recently released their end-of-the-year ranking which grades primetime television shows according to their utilization of POS. Their measurement system failed a number of popular shows like 24, House, CSI: NY and CSI: Miami while top marks went to Two and a Half Men and Ghost Whisperer.

Understandably, the cast of characters on 24 is made up of slim, trim, lithe and athletic individuals like Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer. In a program that revolves around action plots and sequences, with a high focus on skilled government agents going up against dangerous criminals and terrorists, we’d be hard pressed to find obese, overweight and stocky personnel. One exception was in the show’s fourth and fifth seasons when 24 featured Louis Lombardi in the role of Edgar Stiles. Lombardi’s hefty figure certainly qualifies him as a “person of size” and, while Edgar did not survive throughout the duration of season five, he did become one of the most beloved and memorable characters in the franchise history. In his case, physical size did not render him less desirable in a serious, dramatic story. The arcs surrounding the death of Stiles’ mother in one of the terrorist attacks as well as his complex love-hate friendship with Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub’s character) were some of the most poignant and well-received moments in the series.

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