Bravo

Rachel Zoe

Rachel Zoe's TV Show Addresses Rumored Business Woes

A trailer for the new season of The Rachel Zoe Project, which premieres on March 6, sheds some light on rumors that its star's clothing line had lower-than-expected sales last year.



A trailer for the new season of The Rachel Zoe Project, which premieres on March 6, sheds some light on rumors that its star's clothing line had lower-than-expected sales last year.

After following Zoe to Fashion Week in New York and Paris, camera crews capture Zoe getting bad news about the health of her label's sales.

"A lot of the pieces that go down the runway don't do well on a retail floor," says one of Zoe's associates about halfway through the teaser. Later, the stylist's husband and business partner, Rodger Berman, says, "I just want it to be commercially viable, that's all. . . . The legitimacy of our company is really at stake."

In August, Page Six reported that consumer interest in Zoe's line had "peaked" and that her show might not return to Bravo. But shortly after the network confirmed a fifth season of The Rachel Zoe Project, Zoe dismissed any speculation that her line was underperforming. "My business is up significantly. Just launched jewelry, things are going well," she said at the FABB conference in New York. "None of those points from the NY Post article were true, and it got picked up by everyone. Our retailers didn't even blink, though, because they know the truth."

Perhaps that confident statement means whatever caused concerns about Zoe's business was resolved. A look at the trailer, below.

Related: Rumor: Are Sales of Rachel Zoe's Clothing Line on the Decline? (Update)

Related: Rachel Zoe Fall 2012

parenting

Bravo to Air TV Show About Extreme Parenting — Will You Tune In?

We just got word via The Hollywood Reporter that Bravo has ordered up a new reality show about extreme parenting.


We just got word via The Hollywood Reporter that Bravo has ordered up a new reality show about extreme parenting. The program's working title is Extreme Guide to Parenting, and each episode will profile two families who take an unconventional approach to raising their kids. "Whether you have kids or you're stuck next to the screaming child on a plane, judging other people's parenting is a guilty pleasure. We all love to do it," said Bravo Vice President of Development Eli Lehrer. "The series explores all manners of eccentric ways parents raise their kids, and we'll let the viewer be the judge of how they’re doing."

Among the families featured on the show, you can expect to see overprotective, aggressively competitive, nondisciplinarian, and attachment styles of parenting. So what do you think? Will you tune in to watch?

Source: Thinkstock, Bravo TV

Food News

Top Chef Contestants: Where Are They Now?

Bravo's Top Chef is undeniably the biggest food reality cooking show in America today.

Bravo's Top Chef is undeniably the biggest food reality cooking show in America today. So how's it working out for stars of the show who aren't on Life After Top Chef? To find out, we tracked down some of the show's biggest stars at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. Chefs from seasons past, including everyone from Harold Dieterle to Ed Lee, weigh in on what's next for them, whether life's really changed since Top Chef, and what advice they have for chefs on the upcoming Top Chef: Seattle.

TV

Bravo to Document Life After Top Chef

If Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, and Top Chef Just Desserts isn't enough for you, Bravo's announced a brand-new series, Life After Top Chef, which will follow four former contestants around the country.

If Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, and Top Chef Just Desserts isn't enough for you, Bravo's announced a brand-new series, Life After Top Chef, which will follow four former contestants around the country. Bravo states:

For the first time cameras are taken outside of the Top Chef kitchen and into the lives of Bravo's most beloved former contestants as they reach milestones in their personal lives and culinary careers. From opening their own restaurants to expanding their growing franchises, viewers will follow Jen Carroll in Philadelphia, Richard Blais in Atlanta, Fabio Viviani in Los Angeles, and Spike Mendelsohn in DC.

Sounds like Fabio wasn't kidding when he told us last month that he had further plans for reality TV. "You're going to see me getting up in the morning, you're going to see me doing some sports, some hobbies I have, but my show will be more about everything that's going on in my life rather than let's see who Fabio's dating, or let's see who Fabio's barking at," he told us.

Will you watch Life After Top Chef?

Photos: Camilla Salem, Diane Bondareff, courtesy of the National Pork Board

decorating tips

Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis: Are You a Fan of the New Show?

Last night, I tuned in to watch Bravo's new Flipping Out spinoff series, Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis.

Last night, I tuned in to watch Bravo's new Flipping Out spinoff series, Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis. The new show documents the emotional pitfalls and design triumphs as Jeff, Jenni, and Zoila move in with clients for five days to assess and redesign their homes.

While Flipping Out honed in on the amusingly dysfunctional interactions of Jeff and his staff, the source of the new show's drama seems to stem from clients fretting over furniture decisions and remodel mishaps. Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis's focus is decidedly more design-oriented as well, which might alienate a certain audience while intriguing another. Viewers get to watch Jeff lead clients through design decisions, pick up styling tricks and renovation strategies, and finally marvel at the big reveal at the end. While practical jokes, dry humor, and flip outs still occur, it's clear that there is a new focus.

If you also caught last night's premiere, share your thoughts by taking our poll!

Best of 2011

What's Been Your Favorite Top Chef Season So Far?

Between Top Chef All-Stars and Top Chef Texas, it's sure has been a busy year for Bravo.

Between Top Chef All-Stars and Top Chef Texas, it's sure has been a busy year for Bravo. (That doesn't even include the network's spin-offs, like Top Chef Masters and Top Chef Just Desserts.) After more than half a dozen seasons under its belt, the Emmy Award-winning show decided 2011 was the year to mix things up a bit. First came an exciting twist to the show with an all-star cast that brought back fan faves like Richard Blais, Marcel Vigneron, and Dale Levitski. Faced with the challenge of topping a gripping eighth season, Bravo execs made the move to transform season nine into Top Chef Texas.

Before the year ends and the show's 10th(!) season rolls around, we'd like to ask you what your favorite's been thus far. In the history of Top Chef, what season's been the all-time best? Do weigh in below with your comments.

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Food News

Take a Look at the Toques Lined Up For Top Chef: Texas

Bravo's just released the list of contestants for season nine of Top Chef, which premieres Nov.

Bravo's just released the list of contestants for season nine of Top Chef, which premieres Nov. 2, and the network's switching things up a bit. Instead of one series location, this season will be shot between three cities, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio, and there's a list of 29 hopefuls, which will be whittled down to 16 real cheftestants.

Charlize Theron, Pee-wee Herman, Patti LaBelle, Cat Cora, John Besh, and Tim Love will make appearances — and let's not forget new judges Emeril Lagasse and Hugh Acheson. Keep reading to see all the hopefuls competing on Top Chef: Texas.

Food News

Top Chef Healthy Showdown: A Gimmick Worth Watching?

The Top Chef empire just keeps on multiplying.

The Top Chef empire just keeps on multiplying. The latest addition to the franchise? The ConAgra-backed Top Chef Healthy Showdown, a weekly, cobranded web series filled with quickfires and elimination challenges using only healthy ingredients.

On the so-called show, four contestants — Sara Nguyen of season three, season four's Ryan Scott, and Casey Thompson and Tre Wilcox of season 3 and Top Chef All-Stars — compete for a $25,000 prize (and, in promotion-heavy Bravo land, the opportunity to launch a Top Chef line of Healthy Choice entrées).

The first episode is riddled with plenty of clichéd phrases like "the competition is stiff, food is skinny, and the stakes are high" ("This is redemption for me," Scott declares in one particularly dramatic moment). Still, with only wholesome ingredients, creative use of kitchen techniques will be more important than ever. I'm curious to watch for that reason alone, and it makes me wonder why they don't have an entire season of Top Chef dedicated to healthy cooking. Will you tune in?

Food News

Bravo Confirms: Top Chef 9 Will Be in Texas

We've been wondering for some time: how will Bravo top last season's Top Chef All-Stars?

We've been wondering for some time: how will Bravo top last season's Top Chef All-Stars? The answer, we're assuming, lies in the location. After more than a month of speculation in the blogosphere, the folks at Bravo have finally confirmed that Top Chef is headed to Texas.

According to the announcement, the season will take place in "not one, but three cities — Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio." Houston is glaringly missing. In addition, the show will feature not only the regular cast of characters (Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons), but also Emeril Lagasse and and former Top Chef Masters contestant Hugh Acheson.

As a native of the Bayou City, I'm undeniably biased, but it's hard to believe that Houston — the largest city in the state, the fourth-largest in America, and home to Bryan Caswell, Chris Shepherd, and some of the country's biggest rising stars — has officially been snubbed. We should pray that this season won't get caught up in Texas stereotypes, but the announcement — which is already full of cheesy references like "everything's bigger" and "we hope the cheftestants' cowboy boots are made for walking" — almost certainly foreshadows campy challenges and hokey one-liners. I'm already predicting a kill-your-own challenge on a ranch, a guest appearance (or five) from Dallas star chef Tim Love, and a trip to Smitty's, Salt Lick, Kreuz, or another famous Austin-area barbecue joint. Will you tune in?

Reality TV

More Details on Top Chef Just Desserts Season 2

Gail Simmons revealed to us that the second season of Top Chef Just Desserts would air before the end of the year, and now Bravo's finally unveiling more details.

Gail Simmons revealed to us that the second season of Top Chef Just Desserts would air before the end of the year, and now Bravo's finally unveiling more details.

The latest season of the Top Chef spinoff will premiere Aug. 24 at 10 p.m. on Bravo. It'll be led by the usual suspects — Gail Simmons as host, Johnny Iuzzini as head judge, with Hubert Keller and Dannielle Kyrillos as regular judges — plus a few famous guest judges, among them Cat Cora, Francois Payard, and the Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz. Oh, and the cast of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Bravo's revealed the season two lineup of contestants, too.

Will you tune in?

Photos courtesy of Bravo