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Corporate Press Release Theater: Bravo Returns Top Design, Shear Genius

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Bravo Photo: Trae Patton

If you’re a fan of Bravo’s Project Runway and Top Chef, then you are possibly a fan, but not nearly quite as big a fan, of Top Design and Shear Genius, the home-decor and hair-styling counterparts of those reality shows. If so, then there’s slightly good news for you today! From the network:

Bravo, [vainglorious corporate self-description redacted], today announced the return of their popular series “Shear Genius” and “Top Design,” both for a second season in 2008. The announcement was made by Frances Berwick, Executive Vice President, Programming & Production, Bravo.

The interior design focused series “Top Design” will get its own makeover for season two from Magical Elves, the production company behind Bravo’s wildly successful “Top Chef” and “Project Runway” franchises… [snip] “Like fashion designers and chefs, interior designers inhabit a rich, visual world that attracts fascinating personalities, so we are really excited to take on the challenge of bringing this successful show to the next level,” said Dan Cutforth.

I read that as saying, “We, like you, realize that there was no excuse for making a visually-based, telegenic spinoff of Project Runway boring and unappealing to watch, but we went and did it anyway. We will attempt to make season 2 not suck.” To which I say, surprise me!

As for Shear Genius, I thought it was one of the the most ill-conceived reality-competition ideas ever; there are only so many ways you can cut hair, and as Bravo’s Blow Out already proved, none of them are worth watching on TV. As for stunt challenges, once you’ve had them cut celebrity hair and dog hair, you’ve pretty much drained the well. And in an effort to come up with creative hairstyles that popped a la Runway’s couture, the stylists ended up committing hair atrocities that resembled a peacock violating a porcupine (see above).

But then, I gave up on that show early. Anyone want to make the case for it?