TLC’s reality series “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” hits Dauphin Island and Mobile tonight for a stay that apparently will last at least a couple of episodes.

The show, now in its 11th season, has followed the life of Whitney Way Thore since 2015. Back in the beginning, Thore described her struggle to overcome a health problem (polycystic ovarian syndrome) that caused dramatic weight gain in her college years, cut her off from her passion, dancing, and plunged her into depression. She eventually decided to dance again, and to enjoy life despite the challenge posed by her weight.

“There’s PC terms for everything these days. But fat people are fair game,” she said in Season 1. “Somebody’s got to fight for us.”

The current story arc follows up on the development that her father, Glenn, has reconnected with daughter, Angie, he fathered out of wedlock many years ago. In Episode 5, which aired Oct. 3, Thore, her dad and her brother, Hunter Thore, prepared for a trip to Mobile County and hit the road.

“She’s invited us to someplace called Dauphin Island, which is like, they always take a family vacation to Dauphin Island,” she told a friend. “I guess it’s in Alabama but it’s an island? I don’t really know because I don’t know about Alabama.”

The tone was by turns comic and serious. Whitney Thore, who’s from Greensboro, North Carolina, fretted about meeting relatives from the Deep South. But she also consistently pronounced Alabama as “Alabamer.”

“I’m meeting my half-sister, and her three children, and her grandchild,” she told a friend. “It’s a lot.”

Preview clips posted by TLC show a warm first meeting between Angie and the Thores. “I honestly never thought this moment would happen,” says Angie. “I’m so glad that it did.”

They also show a family dance-off at a Mobile venue, the Saddle Up Saloon, with Whitney battling for boot-scootin’ braggin’ rights. (Note: The Saddle Up Saloon invited patrons to take part in a reality TV shoot back in April. The venue at 9 N. Jackson St. has since closed and is being redeveloped as Bar IX.)

The new episode airs at 8 p.m. Central time on Tuesday, Oct. 10, according to TLC; it can be seen on service providers and streaming services that carry TLC programming and on the TLC Go app. According to a network synopsis, next week’s episode will continue the Alabama visit – and the competitive theme.

“The house is abuzz after the family dance-off, but the competition is just beginning as Whitney refuses to lose to her new niece,” says information published by TLC. “Whitney’s nephew introduces her to a new potential suitor. Glenn and Angie finally discuss the nature of their relationship.”

For more on the show, visit the official website.

You can stream “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” on Philo or fuboTV.