LifetimeOne day you're in and the next...you're back on Bravo?
Nearly a decade after Project Runway decamped from the network that brought it to life and made the leap to new home Lifetime, the long-running reality competition is returning home. During the 2018-19 NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Upfront presentation on Monday, May 14 in New York City, Mr. Bravo himself, Andy Cohen, revealed that the Heidi Klum-hosted series would be returning to the cable network.
"Project Runway is coming back where it all started," he said on stage. "It's coming home on Bravo."
No word yet on when the next season, the show's 17th overall, will debut on its new home.
"We are beyond excited to reboot Project Runway at the network where it all began. Leaning into the creative process in an entertaining way has always been part of Bravo's DNA, and Project Runway perfectly captures that," Frances Berwick, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment's president of lifestyle networks, said in a statement. "This franchise will be an important cornerstone to complement Bravo's original premium scripted and unscripted slate, and we expect it to drive the same level of fan-dom and passion as we experienced last time it was on Bravo."
Project Runway made its debut on Bravo in 2004, where it aired for five seasons before a license fee dispute between NBCUniversal and then-producer The Weinstein Company caused enough friction that TWC began looking for a new home. The show made its Lifetime debut in 2009. In the 11 seasons on Lifetime's air, the show has given rise to a handful of spin-offs, including Project Runway All-Stars, Under the Gunn, Project Runway: Threads, Project Runway: Junior, and Project Runway: Fashion Startup. No word whether All-Stars, which has been renewed for a seventh season on Lifetime, will make the move as well.
Aside from Klum, Project Runway features Tim Gunn as its irreplaceable mentor and Nina Garcia and Zac Posen as Klum's fellow judges.
(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)