Project Runway is moving back to Bravo, marking a shift out of the shadow of Harvey Weinstein. The reality show — one of the most critically lauded shows out there — moved to Lifetime in 2009 after a bitter legal battle. The Weinstein Company, which owned the show, sold the show to Lifetime in 2008, which prompted NBC to sue TWC for selling the show without giving NBC a chance to match Lifetime's offer. TWC eventually agreed to pay a settlement fee to NBC. (NBC is the parent company of Bravo, where the show originally resided.)
At NBCUniversal's Upfront presentation yesterday, Andy Cohen announced that Project Runway would be moving back to the NBC family. According to Deadline, Cohen told the crowd,
“Project Runway is coming back where it all started, it’s coming home on Bravo."
“Project Runway is coming back where it all started, it’s coming home on Bravo."
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In October of last year, following the downfall of film titan Harvey Weinstein, Project Runway and other Weinstein Company television shows removed the Weinstein Company card from the end credits. A+E networks also revealed in a bankruptcy filing from April that the network ended its contract with Project Runway following the dual exposés on Weinstein's behavior. His actions, the filing states, "constituted material breaches and defaults under the Project Runway Agreement and Movie Agreement." On January 10, 2018, A+E terminated its relationship with the show.
In early May, Deadline reported that Lantern Capital won the bidding war to acquire The Weinstein Company's assets. Lantern subsequently made a deal with Bravo to bring Project Runway back to its original network. Deadline also notes that the deal with Bravo is pending the approval of the deal with TWC.
Project Runway's rise from the ashes of TWC marks a shift into a post-Weinstein world. Weinstein's name was attached to a number of assets, many of which have floundered in the wake of Weinstein's downfall. Some, though, are beginning to find purchase. The fashion label Marchesa — owned and operated by Weinstein's estranged wife Georgina Chapman — made its first post-Weinstein appearance at the Met Gala last week. Chapman also made her own reemergence last week in an interview with Vogue. The ashes have settled, and now it's time for phoenixes (sort of ) to rise, sans Weinstein.