Enjoy those festive, holiday treats while you can.

Early in the new year, the city might find itself on a diet.

Whitehorse is one of five communities across the country being considered for a possible season of Village On A Diet, a television program produced by Force Four Entertainment of Vancouver.

Laurie Case, a producer with Force Four, said Wednesday with the first 10-episode season set to air on CBC television beginning Jan. 2, producers are now looking for the next community to feature on the show, aimed at promoting healthy living.

While the choices are down to five, including Whitehorse, exactly what season two looks like will depend largely on the CBC, as well as season one.

"They don't even know the ratings yet,” she pointed out.

If the ratings are good and CBC orders a second season, it would likely mean Force Four producers and the CBC would work together on selecting the location out of the five under consideration.

For Case, who's visited Whitehorse a number of times, it seemed like a great place for Village On A Diet. Though the population is larger than the 3,000 to 5,000 producers were looking for, Case said any time she's visited, it's felt like a small town that doesn't get a lot of exposure and has stunning scenery for the television show.

"Whitehorse is really different,” she said.

So she got in touch with city councillor Ranj Pillai, who took it to the Recreation and Parks Association of the Yukon (RPAY).

Pillai convinced the rest of council to agree on providing producers with a letter of support for the reality show to come to town.

In a subsequent interview, Pillai said he thought the show would give Whitehorse good exposure on a television show promoting healthy living, along with bringing a good economic impact to the city.

As Case pointed out, the major economic benefit would come in showing off Whitehorse through the 10 one-hour episodes to a national prime-time audience.

There would also be the direct benefits that would come in having film crews and health professionals involved with the show in town – staying in hotels, eating in restaurants and so on – from next April to June, when it would be shot.

She also didn't rule out the possibility of local residents being hired for some film work on the show, though she couldn't confirm any local hires would definitely happen.

Right now, producers are busy selecting the community and seeing how well season one – shot in Taylor, B.C. – does in the new year.

And just as Case eyed up Whitehorse as a possibility, it appears many local residents are on-board and hoping to be part of the reality show.

A Facebook event – Village On A Diet may be coming to Whitehorse – has been set up with 40 people listed as "attending.”

Many of those are wondering about a questionnaire for prospective Whitehorse participants that was being provided through RPAY to be sent off to the show.

After learning of the show through Pillai, RPAY jumped on board.

"We're in the business of healthy eating and (healthy) living,” said RPAY dietitian Kimberly Hunter. "It sounded like such a great opportunity.”

Putting the call out to their clients and to the local Weight Watchers group, it wasn't hard to find many Whitehorse residents wanting to be part of the show.

Hunter wouldn't get into specifics on why applicants wanted to be part of the show due to client confidentiality, but she said in general most are excited and looking forward to the new opportunities it could bring.

Indeed, with the show comes a team of experts for participants. Doctors, chefs, psychologists, dietitians and others would provide participants with workshops, presentations and events, Case said.

Just how many participants will be selected is still being decided.

"The more the merrier”, Case acknowledged, adding there will likely have to be a cap at some point.

Similarly, exactly what could be in store for a Whitehorse-based show is also unknown outside of some general concepts, such as participants setting a goal as a group. In Taylor, a group goal of losing 2,000 lbs. was set after the group gathered on a truck scale to weigh themselves.

In Whitehorse, Case suggested, participants might want to come up with a goal related to the region or its history.

The weight of gold or the gear stampeders were required to take on the Chilkoot Trail during the Gold Rush could be used in coming up with a goal for the group, she said as an example.

"It would be fun to have the community come up with something,” she said.

Within the larger group of participants, a smaller group of about 12 will be selected to be featured more closely over the season. They too would represent a cross-section of the community.

As officials with Force Four are continuing to look at the five communities up for selection, in Whitehorse, officials are continuing to work on their pitch to have next season featured here.

Wednesday's city council and senior management meeting heard jokes about other possible Whitehorse realty TV shows – Dancing With Council among them.

Council agreed with Pillai on having the letter drafted and signed by the mayor to show the city's support.

Many members were clear they didn't want to spend any city money on it, while parks and recreation manager Linda Rapp agreed to look into whether the diabetes group which meets at the Canada Games Centre would be interested in being part of it.

Case expects it will likely be in later January before a community is selected for season two, as the CBC will have a better idea of the ratings through January.