The future of Bravo's hit reality show Project Runway has been uncertain for months while the networks and production company duked it out. But it's finally settling into its new digs...
The popular design-competition series that aired for five seasons on the Bravo network had been mired in a legal struggle involving NBC Universal, which owns Bravo, the Weinstein Co. and the Lifetime channel.
The dispute began last April when NBC Universal sued Weinstein after the production company made a reported $150 million deal with Lifetime for the series that features supermodel Heidi Klum as host.
The lawsuit has been settled. In a statement issued Wednesday, NBC Universal said Weinstein will pay the media company "for the right to move `Project Runway' to Lifetime. All parties are pleased with the outcome.'"
The show's sixth season — which has already been taped — will air this summer on the female-centric channel, said Lifetime CEO Andrea Wong. (yahoo.com)
Bravo has already braced for the loss by creating a Project Runway rip-off called The Fashion Show starring Isaac Mizrahi and Kelly Rowland, which will air on May 7. Seems like everyone got what they wanted for twice the price. While we are rooting for Mizrahi and Co., there is just no replacing silver fox, Tim Gunn.
Now that one hurdle is out of the way, how are the Weinsteins going to deal with losing all of the male viewers whose guilty pleasure was watching Nina Garcia piss all over those poor contestants? Or will Lifetime simply gain a new secret audience?