There is just one show on TV these days that I don’t watch on demand – that is, a show that I actually take the time out of my evening to watch in real time, when it’s scheduled to be on. And yes, that show is Project Runway. Frivolous and kind of petty, I know. But in a TV era in which every show focuses on crime (CSI, NCIS, Blue Bloods), horror (The Walking Dead, True Blood), high drama (The Good Wife, Nashville, Revenge), extreme reality (Naked and Afraid, Survivor), mundane reality (every HGTV show ever) or comedy with an annoying moral (ugh, Modern Family, just stop), I miss TV that’s easy. TV that isn’t extreme in any way removes me from the realm of Ebola panic and politics.
Project Runway to the rescue. Until recently, this season – Season 13! I love the show, but even I can’t believe it has lasted this long – has been a bit of a sleeper. A losing designer from a previous season, Amanda Valentine, has been brought back to the show for added drama. But it turns out she’s creating less drama than newcomer Korina Emmerich, who was recently declared “Out!” by the panel of judges after showing a spectacularly boring design, followed up by a spectacularly unfinished tiebreaker design as well as a spectacularly terrible attitude. Because Project Runway isn’t really all about the integrity of the design process (it’s reality TV about fashion, what do you expect?), they’re actually bringing the sour-faced Korina back on the next episode (airing on Lifetime on Thursday, Oct. 9) and setting her up to “assist” the designer she lost to. The previews make it look like it’ll be high drama in the workroom. What will Tim Gunn do to get everyone to get along? He’ll make it work, of course.
