MagicalElves-related stories
Posted Nov 19th 2009 2:30PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Top Chef
Okay, take the idea of
Shark Tank (or
Dragon's Den if you're a BBC America fan), mix it with the
Top Chef folks, offer a great grand prize and hope for the best. That's the recipe behind
NBC's new food competition show, United Plates of America. The network is turning to the Magical Elves from
Top Chef -- no, seriously, that's the production company's name -- to succeed in the food field where NBC has flopped in the past. Remember
The Chopping Block? Remember Rocco DiSpirito's
The Restaurant? NBC has more luck with the dieters on
The Biggest Loser.
This go-round is not about a single restaurant. It's about a chain of restaurants. To me, that's a questionable goal. Most successful chains start off with one great restaurant and then take off. This concept is go big or go home. Maybe it's more complicated, but it doesn't sound that way.
Continue reading NBC cooks up a new food reality show with a big prize
Posted Aug 7th 2008 9:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Casting
Food Network is either creating a new reality food competition program that sounds remarkably like a miniature version of
Top Chef or this is the biggest coincidence in the world of cable television.
Food Network has put out a
casting notice that calls for professional chefs who are interested in testing their skills in the kitchen against other chefs by having their food judged on taste, creativity and presentation by experts.
They're looking for four contestants; each week one will be eliminated till a winner remains. The winner will then be -- wait for it -- top food maker. No, that part I made up. They're not saying what the winner will be called or even what the best chef will win. The details aren't spelled out in the casting notice.
Continue reading Food Network plotting a Top Chef rip-off
Posted Jun 29th 2008 5:16PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Project Runway
A couple of months ago, I interviewed
Lifetime president of entertainment Susanne Daniels for TV Week, asking her about
Project Runway jumping from Bravo to her network.
"We know for certain that Heidi (Klum) and Tim (Gunn) are returning. We would love to see the judges back, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia...but we're working on that," she said.
She went on to say that the show will look and feel very much like it did on Bravo; it will be airing in the same time slot, the same day of the week. And she secured Kors and Garcia, so the four important
Project Runway principals all will be in place.
Now comes word that in an effort to keep
Project Runway as much a hit on Lifetime as it's been on Bravo,
Lifetime is bringing in the veteran production team Bunim-Murray to take over as showrunners.
Continue reading Project Runway gets new producers for Lifetime
Posted May 6th 2008 10:38AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Project Runway, Pickups and Renewals
While
Project Runway may be switching to Lifetime next year,
the creators of the show are staying put. Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz have given first look to any new projects of theirs to NBC Universal. As a result, the duo had a choice of either going to Lifetime or staying with NBC.
Last year, the Weinstein Company made a deal with Lifetime for $150 million to broadcast five years of the hit reality show. Culforth and Lipsitz, whose production company is called Magical Elves, acknowledged the tough choice they had to make.
Continue reading Project Runway creators staying at NBC
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