Dooley was still in college when television producer Robin Schiff, a family friend, asked Dooley in 2007 to script a television film for ABC Family based on Sasha Paley's novel "Huge", about a group of teenagers at a weight-loss camp. Schiff had been interested in directing the adaptation but, having been Dooley's longtime writing mentor, wanted her to write the script. Dooley completed the script but ABC Family dropped the project when the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike began in November 2007 and halted development. When the strike ended, Dooley began to work on several other projects, including a pilot for CBS which was never picked up. In 2009, ABC Family approached Dooley again about rewriting her adaptation of "Huge" as a 10-episode television series. Since Schiff was unable to work full-time on the show and the network wanted an experienced producer, Dooley suggested that her mother Winnie Holzman join the show as a writer and producer. "Huge" also features Dooley's father Paul Dooley in a small acting role as the camp cook and her uncle Ernest Holzman as the director of photography.