Bravo Sabotaged Project Runway, Whines Harvey Weinstein
The neverending battle between Bravo and the Weinstein Company continues. We crowed about this particular bit a few months ago, and now Harvey Weinstein, whose company produces the series, is jumping on the bandwagon: didn't it seem like Bravo totally tried to sabotage the latest season of Project Runway? The claim is that, having sour grapes over Weinstein's decision to air the show on Lifetime for the sixth season, Bravo decided to bury the fifth season of the fashion design competition show with poor promotion. Weinstein has filed a counterclaim to Bravo's lawsuit to get the show off of Lifetime, stating that the network ran nothing but "mundane and unappealing" ads for the the season, and that they provided news outlets with little compelling information in the lead up to the premiere. All of which seems sort of true. Except, maybe it didn't matter anyway. The show had its highest ratings ever this season! The show averaged close to 4 million viewers per episode, which is a lot for a conspicuously gay fashion show on basic cable. We agree, Harve, that the promos were lacking, but so was the season. Maybe the Bravo marketing people just couldn't find a damn thing worth touting. There really weren't any interesting contestants, challenges, or designs. It was just a rehash muddle of seasons past. Or maybe they did consciously sabotage, but if so, it certainly didn't work. Given that the show actually did perform well, we (and NBC Universal, which own Bravo) just don't think that there's a case here. But if for some reason Weinstein does win his 'unspecified damages,' we think we should get a cut of it. Because we said this months ago! Months! Though, ruh roh, it looks like Harvey could really use the money. We'll just a take a small amount, we promise.