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Media Musings: 'Runway' move to Lifetime? That's not fierce

Jane Burns  —  4/15/2008 6:52 am

"Auf Wiedersehen, Bravo."

That's what "Project Runway" seems to be saying after last week's stunning bid by Lifetime that seemingly will give the hugely popular show a new home on cable TV.

The show's fans, however, are reacting more along the lines of "Ach, mein Gott." Or maybe even "Ach. Mein. Gott."

The reality show in which contestants create their own designs is one of the most buzzed-about shows on TV. Water cooler conversations and blogosphere chats center on the contestants' behavior as much as who wins or who gets that losing send-off of "auf Wiedersehen" from German supermodel Heidi Klum.

This, from one Web site, Project Rungay, calling on last season's winner Christian Soriano to intervene:

"Think I'm going to throw up. And that Christian should b----slap some sense into the people over at Lifetime to make them realize that they aren't capable of handling all the Fierceness that is Project Runway."

Me-ow.

Another over at Blogging Project Runway:

"Stupid, stupid, stupid. If this show goes to Lifetime, I predict a quick death."

That Web site also had a little poll, which got more than 1,000 votes. In asking to rate the move, 19 percent called it "shocking," a mere 1 percent thought it "ferosh," 26 percent felt it was "a sign of the apocalypse," but the big winner was the 49 percent that think it's "a big tranny mess."

Why all the enmity? It's not just the loss of the show from Bravo. It's the destination.

Lifetime has fashioned itself as the "network for women" for years. The "women in peril" movies and "Golden Girls" reruns have fans wondering if the contestants' first project will be to design a new wardrobe for Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia. Or there's the fear that the judges will now be Meredith Baxter, Melissa Gilbert and Judith Light.

One blogger, poor put-upon Trevor, summed up what the move feels like:

"If it moves to Lifetime, I will most likely not watch it. It's hard enough to be a straight 19-year-old guy that watches a Fashion Design show, but if I am a straight 19-year-old guy watching a Fashion Design show on Lifetime, the network for women, I will be questioned about my sexuality way too much. I know it's lame, but many others will feel the same."

For a network that is the ultimate Chick Channel, it was a ballsy move. Lifetime is forking over a reported $150 million deal for a five-year deal for the seven-time Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning series.

Bravo, or more accurately, its parent company NBC Universal, isn't going down without a fight. NBC filed a suit with the show's creators, the Weinstein Co., saying its rights were violated when the Weinsteins didn't give it the right to match Lifetime's offer.

"They're just trying to distract attention from the fact that they lost this program," Weinstein Co. lawyer David Boies said. "They're embarrassed and looking for somebody else to blame."

Me-ow, again.

It's a mess that's turning out to be as dramatic as those final moments when viewers don't know which weeping designer will get the bad news, the hug from Heidi and the hint to get off the stage. Lifetime's announcement says the sixth season of the series will begin there in November, but the fifth season hasn't aired yet on Bravo.

The Lifetime announcement said hosts Klum and Tim Gunn would still be part of the show, but no mention was made of the spinoff "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style."

The loss to Bravo is massive. "Project Runway" is the network's highest-rated show, its signature series. It has helped the network form its gay-friendly, edgy, catty image in recent years. It has brought us "Top Chef," "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

But seemingly, only "Inside the Actors Studio" remains from its days as an arts-based channel. (If it still cared about that image, it certainly wouldn't have "Grease 2" in its movie rotation.)

Unfortunately for Lifetime, Oxygen already has the edgier women's demographic targeted with its programming, a market WE conceded when it started showing "Baby Boom" seemingly every day.

Clearly, Lifetime is making a move to change its image, unless it plans to completely change "Project Runway."

For many fans, that's a design that clearly should never, ever be messed with.

Jane Burns  —  4/15/2008 6:52 am