In the second episode of Project Runway’s fourth season, fashionista and celebrity Sarah Jessica Parker appeared as a guest judge.  The designers had to construct an outfit on a budget that could be sold on Sarah Jessica’s clothing label, Bitten.  Victorya Hong ended up winning that challenge and her dress was featured as part of Bitten’s collection, sold in Steve and Barry’s stores nationwide.  It seems that the actress has caught the reality show bug and wanted to have one of her town.  Today, Variety reported that Parker’s production company, Pretty Matches, is developing a new reality competition to look for the country’s best artist.

Parker is teaming up with Magical Elves, the same company behind hit Bravo reality shows such as Top Chef and Project Runway.  Those two shows are executive produced by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, of Magical Elves, who had been looking to do a show centered around artists for some time now.  When Parker approached them with a similar idea, it seemed like a match made in heaven.  “We ended up marrying the two formats,” Cutforth told Variety.

“Art is a much more inclusive world than people think,” he continued. “We really feel there’s a way to show people how much they care about art in the same way Runway showed people how much they care about clothes. That accessibility is why we think the show can work.”

The as of yet untitled new reality show will be executive produced by Parker, her business partner Alison Benson, Cutforth, Lipsitz, and Miramax Television exec Eli Holzman.  When Lipsitz was asked what the appeal of this new show would be, she responded by saying that art is “something we consume every day… whether it’s your favorite coffee mug, an ad in a magazine or a mural you drive by on the way to work.”

The potential idea of the show is pitting a group of artists against one another where they would compete in various challenges to show off what they can do – from photography to graphic design to sculpting.  We can expect a host as well as a panel of judges although no names have been thrown out there yet.


– Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

Gina Scarpa

Staff Writer, BuddyTV