And you thought Christian was cocky...

So what happened that caused Bravo to lose its signature show, “Project Runway”?

It appears someone got the big head and I fear that this will mark the beginning of the end of one of my favorite shows…

The someone in this case is the Weinstein Company, which owns and co-executive produces the show. According to people behind the scenes, the Weinsteins were insisting that NBC Universal--which owns Bravo--buy a slate of Weinstein movies, such as “Transamerica” in addition to paying for “Runway” (which Lifetime did).

They were also insisting on a move to USA or NBC. They felt that Bravo had weakened the “Runway” brand with constant re-runs and by surrounding it with copycat reality shows.

NBC Universal knew that the Weinsteins would take negotiations to another network, but they believed that their contract allowed them the opportunity to match any offer. Thus, the lawsuit NBCU filed last week.

However, Bravo is not completely done with the show. It will run the fifth season this summer before the show airs its sixth season--pending litigation--on Lifetime beginning this November.
You guys know I love Bravo, so I’m pretty upset about this whole thing--especially since it looks like the “Runway” bosses are completely biting the hand that fed them and turned the show into the pop culture icon it's become.

You know I also love the constant reruns since that’s what got me hooked on the show in the first place. In fact, a look at the ratings over the years will tell you that the marathons are what helped make the show popular. And constant reruns weaken the brand, but three seasons in one year, doesn’t?

I also think that Bravo relies too much on copycat reality shows, so I can almost see that point. But the Weinsteins need to look no further than their producing partners, Magic Elves, for the cause of that since they produce most of them. And several articles have mentioned “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style” as one of those “inferior” shows. If the Weinsteins think “Guide” is inferior, they are even more clueless than I thought.

Plus, it’s important to note that “Project Runway” came out of another show itself--”Project Greenlight.”

I’m a little torn by this whole thing because I love “Project Runway.” But there’s a big part of me that would love to see the show fail miserably at Lifetime just to show those Weinsteins they screwed up…