ABC orders extreme weight-loss reality show

If you think you've already seen the biggest losers, just wait.

ABC is teaming with "Biggest Loser" executive producer J.D. Roth for a new show where extremely overweight individuals shed hundreds of pounds over the course of a full year.

Tentatively titled "Obese," the network has taken the rare step of ordering an unscripted show direct to series a year before they'll see any footage.

"We want to witness the most important year of a human being's life and that's the one where they get their life back," Roth said. "We can help somebody lose 50% of their body fat and you'll get to see that entire 365-day journey in one hour."

Six one-hour episodes of the documentary-style series have been ordered from production company 3 Ball, which will assemble each person's story into stand-alone episodes. In each, a personal trainer (whose name has not yet been released) will work with individuals whose lives have become unmanageable due to their weight. Subjects will be shown at the start of each episode being unable to accomplish simple tasks, such as tying their own shoes.

Roth said the show will differ from other weight-loss reality shows, which have been led by Roth's own highly rated "Loser" franchise NBC, a brand which just announced a spinoff starring trainer Jillian Michaels.

"This is a unique story that hasn't been told yet," said Roth, who will serve as the ABC show's executive producer. "There's something great and transformative when you take the game element out of it and just focus on one man or woman over the course of a year and there's no prize at the end. The finish is their entry into the life they've always wanted."

There's no host for "Obese," instead, "each person becomes their own host."

The series will likely hit the air in 2011, with 3 Ball also selling the format internationally.

"It's not every day a network will pick a show where the first cut they get will be a year away," Roth said. "It's gives people like me the ability to take chances. This breaks a lot of the rules."