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Five Gays on Project Runway's Demise
Courtesy of Lifetime (5)
This season of Project Runway moved cities (to L.A.) and networks (to Lifetime)—and no one liked either one! As it limps to a close Thursday, Choire Sicha examines what went wrong.
What went wrong with Project Runway at its new home on Lifetime was subtle—but we all saw signs of the brewing wrongness in the very first episode of this sixth season. Just like when Frodo first put on the ring, Lifetime took us through some scary hole of broken space-time, revealing a world with a Project Runway nearly identical to, yet somehow totally opposite from, the Project Runway we knew so well from our universe.
"All of the elements and visual images are there, but it has zero of the magic of the original, and thus feels oddly empty," wrote reality-TV expert Andy Dehnart at Reality Blurred. Yes! That! What was it?
“They’ve let too many criers on that damn show. There is no crying in fashion. Get some balls and stand up to your garment. Don’t cry, it’s too annoying!”
And remember how stoked we were to have it back? Season 6 premiered on Lifetime to well over 4 million hungry hippos. This was a massive uptick over the premiere of Season 5 back on Bravo, which didn't even hit 3 million.
But, disenchanted with this strange parallel dimension, more often than not viewers left each week.
Women viewers in the ad-friendly market of women 18 to 49 left. They were down 25 percent between the premiere and Episode 9. (What's more, during Season 5 average viewership had actually climbed throughout the season—people weren't, you know, running screaming from the show. During this season, they were, presumably, back to Bravo, into the waiting arms of Real Housewives Nene and Kandi or whoever.)
I turned, of course, to homosexuals to explain what went wrong. I polled some of the show's core audience—smart, urban-living homosexuals who can afford to both wear clothing and own televisions—and asked them: OMG you guys WTF?
Location: That Gross Other Coast.
My first surprise came when most of the gay friends I asked about Project Runway were all, "Oh, I stopped watching that in like Season 3." That's typical: Gays get jaded extra-fast these days! Digging deeper, however, I found folks who still watched the show religiously—and boy howdy, were they ever disgruntled.
The two most glaring—and, really, potentially awesome!—changes to Project Runway were, unfortunately, what people said they never got over: a change of networks and a change of coasts.
"3 words... Los Angeles Lifetime," suggested Tim Smith, a New York artists' studio manager, in a summation of the season. "Sucked sucked sucked."
"L.A. L.A. is what went wrong. Sun-addled brains made for irrelevant hack design," suggested Shane Hoffman, an acupuncture practitioner in New York.
What's more, what are, to New Yorkers, concerns about the well-known inability of anyone permanently or temporarily within the county of Los Angeles to be able to think or even speak were often mingled with discomfort at the steps taken to make the show's drama happen. Which means….
It's About Story: Desperate Narratives.
This season showed a distasteful, cringe-worthy hunger on the part of new producers Bunim/Murray—who took over for the Magical Elves—to make story happen. But they didn't always know how to frame it when they did have a story. Take the cases of Johnny and Irina.
In Episode 1, right off the bat, we were treated to Johnny's sobbing over his crystal meth addiction.
Shane: "They signed on people with stories rather then people with personalities. Except in the case of that dark-haired gay one. Crying is not a story. Go to therapy or drink more or something. It was sooo tiring to see that gay's whinnying and weeping week after week. This is clear a result of the oversharing, overemotional L.A. experience. People in L.A. care or pretend to. New Yorkers and the rest of the world don't care."
Let us turn also to Shane's partner, Michael Goddard, a theatrical agent: "They've let too many criers on that damn show. There is no crying in fashion. Get some balls and stand up to your garment. Don't cry, it's too annoying!"
And in the case of Irina? Basically the producers had spotlight-wielding helicopters circle Irina, with giant billboards all around her to let us know she was evil. It was so amped up—and similarly, neither do we think that Johnny cries every day!—that it was unbelievable. "Such is the extent of her villainy that when it's combined with the sheer blandness of the rest of this season, it turns out she's not much of a villain," wrote Project Rungay.
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Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.
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As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
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Choire Sicha is co-proprietor of The Awl and is at work on a nonfiction book for HarperStudio.
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Choire Sicha is co-proprietor of The Awl and is at work on a nonfiction book for HarperStudio.
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Choire Sicha is co-proprietor of The Awl and is at work on a nonfiction book for HarperStudio.
KateBr
You have forgotten another enormous problem with this season of the show. The challenges were bland, unoriginal and uninspiring. I don't think there was a single one that hadn't been done before!
redstatebluedude
As a gay man I can only say "THANK GOD!" that piece of crap is off the air. Now if we could only do something about the author of the article. Honeslty, the only shame I ever feel about my sexuality is when I am made aware of the company it puts me in - i.e. every character included here.
Lilithcat
Boring challenges, judges whose only connection with fashion is that they wear clothes, and not enough TIM!!!
SBushinski
I agree with a lot of the article, despite being heterosexual. I really think the fact that Nina and Michael Kors not being there on a a consistent basis was a BIG problem. They are proven experts in the fashion industry, and we have learned to listen to and respect their opinions. The challenges were lame- in fact many HAD been done previously, but the ones around Hollywood glam were boring, who cares- and the "gown" challenge was too early- I think it was one of the first ones, this was too soon. The contestants sucked. Very few of their clothes were spetacular, there colors were boring- every challenge practically ended up in black. Finally early on Lifetime promoted it, however there was no promotion later on. Plus I am a Bravo viewer. The schedule conflicted with other Bravo shows which I like. Additionally unlike Bravo, it wasn't shown repeatedly on weekends for me to "catch"up. Finally everyone knows NYC is fashion , LA isn't- all it's known for is bleached out blondes, fake boobs- and people who think the world revolves around them, and envy their lifestyle- which we don't.
Weaver
Who watches Lifetime? I don't.
Bravo is a delicious brand. Project Runway and Top Chef reinvented reality tv. Leave Bravo for Lifetime? What were they thinking?
The move and all the hype about contracts and money was reminiscent of "Cheers" and Shelly Long's bloated ego. She thought she was bigger than "Cheers" and left at the height of her fame on the show. I love Heidi, but watching Project Runway crash on the rocks of hubris this season has to be humbling.
sophia5
" They've let too many criers on that damn show. "
That guy Christopher Straub seemed to cry on every show,
and you knew it was coming as soon as he put both hands
over his nose like he was praying . . . then the waterworks.
One more of his hands-over-the-nose trick and blood was going to shoot out of my eyes.
The producers did a bad job of vetting this year.
Lousy un-engaging personalities.
From the start Irina seemed like the winner.
Confident strong personality, but her T-Shirt
dilemma made her seem like a rip off artist,
which seemed ironic considering she accused
Althea of copying her stuff.
Blueboo
I think the points presented here are all valid, but I also believe that the biggest blunder of the show's producers hasn't been addressed: the "designers" selected are sorely lacking in talent. Save for a select few challenges, I have yet to see any examples of the kind of talent we've seen in the past from true designers. Yes, Irina is adept when it comes to finishing but if I see another knit, I will choke. I am a white woman, and I enjoyed the show MORE when it had more MEN who actually possessed some talent! And by the way, where are all the people of color? Mix it up, "Runway," and pick the people who actually know what the hell they are doing. And get rid of the nice, touchy-feely Tim -- I want to see him being his snarky self again. Kudos to Milla Jovovich and Eva Longoria for being honest and fair as guest judges. I want Christian back!
Siouxie921
Yes, it's all about the design and challenges. But what about some drama? It has been sadly lacking. Who wants to watch people getting along?
Specifically, where are the flaming queens and psycho bitches of last seasons? Let's see some acting out!
PasGuy1965
I hate this typical biased, snotty, condescending attitude of New Yorkers about Los Angeles as seen in this statement:
"What's more, what are, to New Yorkers, concerns about the well-known inability of anyone permanently or temporarily within the county of Los Angeles to be able to think..." REALLY! Have you actually BEEN to Los Angeles? Or has that armpit of a city called New York addled YOUR brain and made you so parochial that you can't see past the end of your nose?
debnewyorker
Awwwwww, get over it, sweetie!!! The truth hurts.
judytoo
It was a bit snarky, but sorry to say, I've lived in both cities for long periods of time. LA trends are consistantly behind New York by about 2 years. And American Apparel is child's play compared to DVF.
Granite
As a woman in the 18-49 market I think project runway is on the wrong network, period.
When I'm bored or have time to kill I tune into Bravo because I know i have a pretty good chance of stumbling onto something enjoyable like Top Chef or Kathy Griffin, or Flipping Out.
I don't normally tune to Lifetime with it's cheesy maudlin movies for shut-ins. I really have to look for Lifetime--I still can't remember what channel it is and I have to deliberately look it up. Then if Project Runway isn't on, the chance of me being even remotely interested in what is on Lifetime is about zero.
Lifetime made a mistake if they thought they could buy a successful show and bring it to their network for a boost to their overall network. As was pointed out in this article, the audiences for Lifetime and Bravo are vastly different. If Lifetime thought only women were interested in fashion they were sorely mistaken.
Oh, and that show Models of Project Runway was the lamest show ever.
bryanlevi
It was lousy (I say was because I am imagine no-one else, like me, cares who wins at fashion week on the final show.) Sad to say, but it was lousy.
The final big insult after all the little insults was that Gordanna was sent home after making the winning dress for the last challenge. What the hell? I'm sure they edited their little hearts out with that episode, but there was no way to disguise what was happening: It didn't matter what the last five designers put on the runway, they had already decided who was going to fashion week. It was very strange and disorienting to watch. And it made a mockery of the competition. Not sure what the point of this hack-job was, but it really really sucked.
suzanne1
Agree w/ so many comments, and this has been my favorite show for a while. Disappointing. And - what is w/ so many 1-day challenges. It sucks when the clothes aren't good, so why not give them 2days? Seems like there were a lot more 1-day challenges and therefore more schlocky clothes...
Ewayland
Moving to Lifetime was dumb, but forgivable. Moving to LA was dumb and unforgivable. LA may be glamorous with Hollywood and all that, but that doesn't make it a fashion capital. Jackson Hole Wyoming and Vegas see their share of pretty people too, but nobody (I hope) would think of setting a fashion competition there. New York is the fashion capital of the world. Or if not New York, Milan. After that I suppose most people in the industry would say Paris, largely for historical reasons. LA is not even a contender. The only reason they moved to LA (I believe) was Lifetime's desire to produce it cheap and still have all its employees home every night for supper. And they thought the audience -- who they apparently assumed were like the middle-America dumb-dumbs who watch their other shows -- would think "wow, LA! So glamorous!" and fall in line. But the thing that made this show such a cultural touchstone is that real cool and smart fashion-industry people (not necessary gay - not that it should matter) followed it. People who matter in the fashion industry that is, or to put it another way: people who live and work in NEW YORK! No amount of savings on the production side can justify just giving away that insider-chic. Only the kinds of people who would produce the sappy nonsense Lifetime otherwise does could make such a mistake. And failure is the proper reward for it.
Blueboo
I too do not give a rat's ass who wins the finale...I wouldn't exactly call myself a fashionista, but NONE of what I've seen from the collections has been "fashion forward." It's all so...Laura Bennett. Where are the Santinos? The Christians? The guys who aren't afraid to push the envelope because they TRUST their talent? And yeah, I'm a 49-year-old female who thinks Lifetime sucks too. I want the edginess back. And for heaven's sake, will someone PLEASE get rid of Nina Garcia? I am so fed up with her whining, pissy attitude.
politicalpam
Lifetime is about as interesting as a Hallmark card and the only reason I made it through the season was because I have Tivo.
LA is NOT New York. Michael Kors and Nina Garcia are in the industry. I missed the consistency that they brought to Project Runway. Celebrities can afford to buy clothes. That doesn't mean that they know anything about designing or the fashion industry. Finally, the worst part was that none of the "designers" really had any talent. I was often left at the end of an episode wondering what one of the previous season winners would have created.
coyoteblack
Thank you!!
Thank you.
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