The brilliant minds that brought us
Project Runway have teamed up with the insanity that resides inside
Tyra Banks' brain to bring us the newest CW reality sensation:
Stylista, which premieres on the CW on Wednesday. Billed as
The Devil Wears Prada turned into a reality show,
Stylista promises tons of catty, bitchy, high-fashion good times. Just in the nick of time too.
Project Runway just ended, and
America's Next Top Model grows nuttier than a squirrel turd, so we really do need another show featuring young people with delusions of grandeur, back-stabbing each other while assembling the perfect winter ensemble for the busy career woman.
I have to applaud the casting director of
Stylista because this cast of 11 aspiring fashion enthusiasts contains the perfect mix of crazy, delusional, naïve and over-confident characters that immediately make you want to watch every episode of the show.
The 11 fashion interns work as assistants to
Elle's fashion news director, Anne Slowey, a scowlingly mannish woman in five-inch heels. Every week, Anne Slowey and
Elle's creative director, Joe Zee, send one assistant home until the last one standing gets promoted – the winner is awarded with a paid position as a junior editor at
Elle, plus a paid lease on a Manhattan apartment and a clothing allowance at H&M, all for one year.
Slowey seems like a terrifying boss. She has that icy glare that can make a lowly intern quiver in her boots, but what really makes
Stylista great are the contestants. Megan, 22, quite possibly might become my favorite reality TV villainess of all time. She is the kind of girl you love to hate. She is always over-confident, sometimes with reason and sometimes without. Most importantly, she's the kind of predatory animal who can sense fear and weakness and then pounce, crushing the spirit right out of her prey.
Megan's first victim is a busty, 22-year-old law school dropout named Kate. Kate has both the chest and fashion sense of a post-augmentation pole dancer. Lacking in confidence and, arguably, brains and tact, Kate makes herself an easy target. She'll probably be kept around in the competition for the sake of causing conflict among the contestants, and I'm looking forward to every minute of it. I know, I know: I'm evil. Check her out for yourself in the following interview clip:
For anyone who has ever wanted a career at a top fashion magazine, or who just really liked Meryl Streep in
The Devil Wears Prada, I think this show might just be for you. It is candy-coated, evil fun that I will be looking forward to every week.
Stylista begins on Wednesday, October 22 at 9pm on the CW. Come back every week to BuddyTV and check out our recaps and day-after interviews.
-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of the CW)
