''The Littlest Groom'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

broadcast by the

Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

(Fox). The two-part special premiered on February 16, 2004, and concluded on February 23, 2004. The special followed Glen Foster, a 23-year-old little person, in search of love among a group of 12 women. Similar to Foster, the women were all little people; Foster narrowed the women down through a series of one-on-one dates and group activities. After eliminating several of the women from the competition, Foster's dating pool was expanded to include several average-height women. At the end of the special, Foster was required to make a choice over who he felt most compatible with between the remaining two women in the competition. The special was hosted by English television presenter

Dani Behr Dani Behr (born 9 July 1970) is an English former singer, actress, voice-over artist, and television presenter. Early life Behr was born in Mill Hill, London, of South African Jewish descent. Her father is a partner in London estate agents Be ...

. ''The Littlest Groom'' was a part of Fox's intent to capitalize on a rising interest in little people-themed reality television shows. The special, however, was met with negative reception from television critics, who generally deemed the special to be exploitative of little people. Conversely, advocacy groups, such as

Little People of America Little People of America (LPA) is a non-profit organization which provides support, resources, and information to individuals with dwarfism and their families. Founding LPA was founded in 1957 by actor Billy Barty when he informally called upon p ...

, praised the special for promoting a positive portrayal of little people. ''The Littlest Groom'' averaged 9.9 million viewers for the two parts of the special, which was modest for the network. Since its conclusion, Fox has expressed interest in making a sequel to the special.

Reception

The show was subjected to considerable negative criticism from media critics and the general public, due to its purportedly exploitative “latter-day

freak show A freak show, also known as a creep show, is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with ...

” dimension or “ carnival-like” quality. Nonetheless, at least one of the little women who appeared on the show explicitly rejected this interpretation, as did Foster himself. Similarly, Matt Roloff, then-president of the advocacy group

, commented on the potential for ''The Littlest Groom'' to provide a positive media representation of little people as individuals “just being themselves". “ ding us behind closed doors or in funny costumes”, he observed, “will never give us the exposure needed to desensitize society to us”.

References

2004 television specials Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Fox television specials Television controversies in the United States {{US-reality-tv-stub

Reception

See also

References