Seasons
| Season | Airdates | Ep# | Contestants | Synopsis | The Biggest Loser | At-Home Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 19 – December 14, 2004 | 11 | 12 | Featured 12 contestants divided into two teams, the Red team and the Blue team. The Red Team was coached by trainer Jillian Michaels, while The Blue Team was coached by trainer Bob Harper. The eventual winner of the $250,000 grand prize was Ryan, with a total weight loss of 122 pounds (37%). | Ryan Benson | Dave Fioravanti |
| 2 | September 13 – November 29, 2005 | 12 | 14 | Featured fourteen contestants divided into two teams based on gender. Season two introduced the change that weigh-ins would be won or lost based on the percentage of total weight lost, rather than on the number of pounds lost. This change was made to create a more even playing field among contestants of varying weights. Matt was the eventual winner.
Contestants Suzy Preston and Matt Hoover (third place finisher and winner, respectively) began dating after the show and later married (revealed in an interview on Larry King Live). In 2007, they had their first child together, and just over one year later, they had another child. |
Matt Hoover | Pete Thomas |
| 3 | September 20 – November 29, 2006 | 12 | 50 | Involved the second largest cast ever (largest being Glee (TV series) with 71), with 50 contestants initially beginning the show, each representing one US state. Kim Lyons joined the show, replacing Jillian Michaels as the Red Team trainer for only one season. After the initial group weigh-in and exercise, 14 contestants were selected to stay on the ranch and the other 36 contestants participated by losing weight at home. Later in the season, at-home players who lost the most weight were brought back to rejoin the cast on the ranch. | Erik Chopin | Brian Starkey |
| 4 | September 11 – December 18, 2007 | 15 | 18 | In February 2007, it was announced that Caroline Rhea was leaving the show, to be replaced by Days of our Lives actress Alison Sweeney. It was also announced that there would be three teams (named for the color each team member would wear: blue, red, or black), with Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels and Kim Lyons returning as personal trainers. One of the contestants for this season was Amber Walker, a paramedic from Pasadena, Texas, who won a viewer vote among potential candidates on the April 23, 2007, edition of NBC's Today, even though the other three choices (Jez Luckett, Lezlye Donahue, and David Griffin) were eventually chosen as contestants as well.
The winners were each twins: Jim, a contestant who had been voted off won the prize for the eliminated contestants. Bill won the grand prize of $250,000 and was pronounced The Biggest Loser by Sweeney. |
Bill Germanakos | Jim Germanakos |
| Couples | January 1 – April 15, 2008 | 16 | 20 | 20 contestants competed on 10 teams, each paired with a loved one, co-worker or friend with the exception of one team of strangers. Alison Sweeney returned as host for her second season. Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels returned to train the contestants.
Bernie won the eliminated edition, losing 130 pounds and winning $100,000. Ali Vincent lost the biggest percentage of weight and became the first female biggest loser of the US series, beating Roger and Kelly. However, internationally, she is not the first female biggest loser; the first female biggest loser is Jodie Prenger from the UK's second season. |
Ali Vincent | Bernie Salazar |
| Families | September 16 – December 16, 2008 | 13 | 16 | 16 contestants competed in pairs, fewer than in the previous season. Four teams consisted of married couples, training with Bob, while the other four were parent/child teams training with Jillian. Alison Sweeney returned as host for her third season.
On December 16, 2008, Michelle Aguilar was declared the Biggest Loser after beating Ed Brantley and Vicky Vilcan at the finale. She lost a total of 110 pounds, or 45.45 percent of her body weight, winning the $250,000 grand prize. Heba Salama was awarded the $100,000 prize for the eliminated contestant with the largest percentage of weight loss after losing 138 pounds, or 46.94 percent of her body weight. |
Michelle Aguilar | Heba Salama |
| Couples 2 | January 6 – May 12, 2009 | 19 | 22 | Included the heaviest man ever on The Biggest Loser, Daniel Wright, weighing 454 lb. It also included the oldest participants ever, at age 63 years. It had also been declared by the group doctor to be the sickest group of contestants ever, with 45 different medications being taken by them. With 22 people initially on the ranch, it also featured the largest number of on-ranch contestants ever on the show. It was won by 48 year old Helen Phillips who lost 140 pounds or 54.47 percent of her body weight. | Helen Phillips | Jerry Hayes |
| Second Chances | September 15 – December 8, 2009 | 13 | 16 | 16 contestants competed. The season once again started off with different colored teams, but is the first since season 4 to have a non-couples start-off. It includes the heaviest woman and person ever on The Biggest Loser, Shay Sorrells, weighing 476 lb as well as returning contestant Daniel Wright. | Danny Cahill | Rebecca Meyer |
| Couples 3 | January 5 - May 25, 2010 | 19 | 22 | The ninth season of The Biggest Loser premiered January 5, 2010, with a format similar to the last couples season. A promo for the new season was shown during the Season 8 finale. This season had the heaviest contestant ever: 526 pound Michael Ventrella, as well as the heaviest couple: Twins James (485 lbs) and John (484 lbs), at 969 lbs./ The $250,000 grand prize was awarded to Michael Ventrella who lost a biggest loser record 264 pounds. His total percentage of weight loss was 50.19%. "At home" winner Koli Palu went on to win the $100,000 prize. Palu, who spent the full season on the show, was eliminated in the finale, but he lost a larger percentage than Michael Ventrella and would have won the overall prize had he been selected by the viewers to move on instead of Daris George. | Michael Ventrella | Koli Palu |
| Pay It Forward | September 21 - December 14, 2010 | 13 | 21 | This season has adopted a theme, called Paying It Forward, which means that the trainers won't only motivate contestants, but whole communities. 14 are initially selected to compete on the ranch, from seven trios of players from each of the seven cities visited, while others will be brought back during the season, which will lead to a contestant total of 21. The trainers traveled to seven cities. | Patrick House | Mark Pinkhasovich |
| Couples 4 | January 4 - May 24, 2011 | 21 | 24 | A fourth couples edition also marked the fourth year of a winter-spring season. The new team color to be added this season is aqua, replacing the white team. Season eleven will also feature major set changes including the scale, and changes to the trainers of the show. Two mystery trainers will be added as an alternative to the existing Bob/Jillian duo in the season's twist. In Week 3 their identities were revealed as Brett Hoebel and Cara Castronuova. The cast includes a man who is 507 pounds, second to only season 9's Michael. In the thirteenth episode, a two person white team will be added, making this the biggest season cast in show history. Former Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner was also a contestant that season. However, he was asked to leave by producers after a disagreement. He is the 2nd contestant to not have a follow up story. | Olivia Ward | Denise "Deni" Hill |
| Battle of the Ages | September 20 - December 13, 2011 | 13 | 15 | For the first time the contestants will be divided by age in the Battle of the Ages. There will be three teams: under 30, 30-49 and 50 and over. The heaviest contestant weighs in at 447 pounds. This season includes two new trainers: Anna Kournikova and Dolvett Quince. They join Bob this season. Jillian, Cara, and Brett are not trainers this season. It will be the first season since Season 5 not to have different-colored teams of two. | John Rhode | Jennifer Rumple |
| No Excuses | January 3 - May 1, 2012 | 18 | 20 | For the first time teams will be competing against their partner in challenges, workouts and elimination. Dolvett Quince returns for his second season. The cast includes a man who weighed at 403 pounds. Also among the cast is former professional wrestler and valet Kim Nielsen. Perhaps the most notable moment of the season is the cast revolt and walkout that took place over the possibility of old contestants coming back at top 5. | Jeremy Britt | Mike Messina |
| Challenge America | January 6, 2013 | TBA | TBA | Jillian Michaels will return again to the show for the third time after another two year absence. She will train alongside Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince. For the first time, three teenagers, one for each team, aged 13 to 17 will compete outside the ranch. | TBD | TBD |
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