Who's to Blame For the Fall of Project Runway?

5 Gays Talk Project Runway Fall, at Least One Blames Women

November 18, 2009

From moving to the West Coast, to the influx of celebrity judges, to casting drama over talent, five gay men have offered their theories on why viewership of Project Runway fell 25 percent between the premiere of season six and its ninth episode. One faults having three female finalists (though that happened on Bravo's final season too) saying:

"I am all for diversity and playing to your audience’s demographic, but please. And not to sound completely misogynistic, but three women as finalists? No fags? Really? These women were probably the most talented, but obviously when you tell the Bunim/Murray casting juggernaut, 'This is Lifetime: Television for Women, not talented gay male fashion designers,' you get what you get!"

While he jests (mostly), women probably miss the Christian Sirianos who sharpen their tongues before even threading a needle each morning just as much as gay men do. But what do I know? I only watched the first three episodes.

Source: Lifetime

Project Runway Culture

13 Comments

CaterpillarGirl 3 years 26 weeks

I watched this season, and the challenges were ridiculous and boring! really? go into a museaum and make an outfit based on something there? really? make a "Companion" outfit for an outfit that you already made? ....yawn. and where has Michael Kors been? oh wait, he did another BORING challenge.....make an outfit based on one of M. Kors favorite places....REALLY?

hypnoticmix 3 years 26 weeks

I agree jessicagurl. I don't know if he was gay or straight but dude who kept breaking down in tears drove me bats. I just wanted to grab him and slap him.

Soniabonya 3 years 26 weeks

Puhleze. As lilkimbo said, there was a battle over the fate of PR and which network it was going to be on during the time of filming. It's just a talk of sore losers who don't think the women can cut it at the top as fashion designers. I saw the first two seasons on Bravo and then ended up with a cable company that didn't offer Bravo. As soon as it came back on to lifetime I was able to watch it and didn't mind the switch in networks whatsoever. granted, i just fast forward through the lifetime commercials. I also agree that the constant rotation of judges just didn't seem to set well with me. The only constant figure that saw ALL the designs on the runway was Heidi (and Tim in the back). I'm rooting for Althea or Carol Hannah. Both have been great through the entire run. I liked some of Irina's work, but what we saw of her final show designs was just bleak and yawnful.

ella1978 3 years 26 weeks

I feel the same way jessicagurl. I'm a big carol hannah fan, but I think irena will win. Although, Tim didn't LOVE her collection. We will probably be DVRing the finale tonight, so I can't read the internet tomorrow til after I watch it!

jessicagurl 3 years 26 weeks

I've watched the whole season so far...and to be honest, the gay guys just didn't cut it this year, so for them to insinuate that a gay guy deserves to be in the top 3 BECAUSE he is a gay guy just seems awfully entitled. I want Carol-Hannah to win, but I think it's gonna go to Irina.

ella1978 3 years 26 weeks

I've watched the whole season. I think it's the same show, but the judges have been switched so often, there is no "i saw what you did last week, and I know this week must be a fluke" people who were good didn't always do well because of the judging. There were two weeks in a row where Christian should have won the competition, but didn't, then the next week he was in the bottom 3. Different judges each time, so they didn't know how amazing his prior outfits were. That's my only bad comment about this year. Still love Heidi & Tim, and love the show.

tayrose 3 years 26 weeks

I used to watch PR religiously until its move to Lifetime. Since the switch, I've watched 1 episode. I feel like PR kinda belongs to Bravo. It just works lol. I might go back and rewatch the entire season, I might be able to get into it again. I agree with mamasitamali, Lifetime commercials ruined PR. And this season is fairly lame haha.

lilkimbo 3 years 26 weeks

This season was shot during all of the negotiations, when it wasn't 100% certain that the show would be aired on Lifetime, so his argument makes no sense.

hypnoticmix 3 years 27 weeks

I love Project Runway on any station however I've always watched my PR seasons based on my like for the designer. If all the designers that I grew to love were voted off mid season then that's when I stopped watching. No offense to the show it's just that the talent that went on I wasn't impressed with. As for it having to do with all female finalists I think that's an absurd notion to have. It's about the talent not the sex. The move to Los Angeles should only matter to those who care about the East Coast vs. West Coast bull shit but the fact of the matter is dwn twn Los Angeles is a fashion Meca. I know because I worked for three designers when I lived there and the famed garment district is older than I am.

mamasitamalita 3 years 27 weeks

perhaps it's that this season is boring, and after watching Lifetime's commercials during the season premiere, I remembered why I never watch Lifetime and never came back to the show

CHOOCHOO 3 years 27 weeks

Christian Sirianos seems kinda anti-women to me. What he said about Rihanna turned me off of him for-ev-er.

Zivanod 3 years 27 weeks

Perhaps it isn't that there are three females in the finals that is causing the low ratings. Maybe it was the hiatus. This show was off the air for a while. People have found other things to do. It happens often enough.

Vanonymous 3 years 27 weeks

I watched the All Star episode before the first episode aired. I was SO disappointed with the results that I didn't even end up watching this season. It all seemed like such a set up.

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