Fashion is a fickle business but what the heck is Project Runway doing on Lifetime, the
self-proclaimed channel for women? Let’s be clear— Project Runway is a show for anyone who is catty cool, hip chic and into looking cute, being cute and being a queen. That demographic does exactly fit the profile of the programming currently airing on Lifetime, which are often made for TV movies about women in distress: Women battling addiction/cancer/abuse/cheating husbands and evil children.
In contrast, BravoTV was the first network to air a show targeted towards straight men and women cast entirely of gay men— Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Remember how cool, hip, sexy those guys were? It made gayness cool, accepted, adored and envied. It’s also the station that gave us Top Chef, The Real Housewives and Millionaire Matchmaker.
Yes, Bravo is the station that jives with programming that’s on the cutting edge and reflects the pop culture-obsessed society of the current generation. It’s the home of Tim Gunn and Santino Rice.
Perhaps Project Runway is trying to pull a Queer Eye move on Lifetime— helping out the hipness–challenged, less fortunate folks.
Still, let's give the new network a chance. Going in their favor is the new reunion show which will gather the best and cattiest designers on the show. Perhaps a major network transformation? It could happen.
(PRNewsFoto/Lifetime)
For more on the good, the bad and the truly fierce happenings on Project Runway, please visit:
- Project Runway finalist Kenley Collins to debut Spring 2010 collection
- Heidi Klum talks Project Runway, plays Barbie with Conan O’Brien
-
Five Unforgettable Moments of Project Runway Past
Comments
I think "Project Runway" will inevitably change and not just because it's moved to Lifetime. There are two other big reasons:
1. The show is taking place mostly in Los Angeles instead of New York City. That makes a big difference since New York City is the fashion capital of America.
2. "Project Runway" has a new production company. Bunim/Murray has replaced Magical Elves. Bunim/Murray is behind a lot of trashy/dumb/bimbo reality shows (like "The Real World," "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and "The Bad Girls Club"), so I'm wondering if the quality of "Project Runway" will eventually go down.
I think the show will change and not for the better. Lifetime is in more homes than Bravo, so that will probably mean more viewers for the show. But that doesn't mean the quality of the show will be just as good over time as the show was when it was on Bravo. I bet over time, we're going to see a big difference in "Project Ruynway" casting now that Bunim/Murray is in charge of that.
I'm willing to give Bunim/Murray a chance. They do know how to craft compelling story lines in their reality productions. The move to Lifetime does rub some of the hip shine off the show. I hope they don't forget the original fan base to gear towards the demographic of their viewers. It does appear from their recent programming changes, they are shifting the network in an entirely different direction.
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