‘Project Runway’ lawsuit over; the series moves to Lifetime (updated)

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Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn (pictured) and the rest of the ‘Project Runway’ gang are sashaying away from Bravo to Lifetime, now that the lawsuit between NBC Universal and the Weinstein Co. has been settled.

According to a statement issued by NBC Universal today, the dispute is over because the Weinstein Co. has agreed to pay NBCU for the right to move the popular reality series to Lifetime.

‘All of the parties are pleased with the outcome,’ NBC Universal said in a statement.

Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Co., added: ‘I want to personally congratulate [President and CEO] Jeff Zucker and NBCU on their success in the litigation and thank Jeff for resolving this in a professional manner. We look forward to working together on our ongoing projects.’

UPDATE:

After this post was published, Andrea Wong, president and CEO of Lifetime Networks, who fought hard to land the show, issued the following statement: ‘I couldn’t be more excited that Lifetime will bring its viewers an amazing, all-new season of ‘Project Runway’ this summer. As the highest-rated cable network for women, Lifetime is the perfect home for this outstanding program as well as its companion series, ‘Models of the Runway.’ All of us at Lifetime are thrilled to move forward with Heidi, Tim, Nina, Michael, the Weinstein Company and the entire ‘Project Runway’ team. We are proud to add these shows to our growing slate of original programming, including the hit series ‘Army Wives,’ the all-new upcoming series ‘Drop Dead Diva’ and our top-rated original movies.

Weinstein also added the following: ‘We’re thrilled to be launching our relationship with Lifetime with this groundbreaking cable deal that includes the next 5 years of ‘Project Runway,’ our new spinoff show ‘Models of the Runway’ and the development of ‘Project Pygmalion,’ along with a package of our movies. With these upcoming shows and the success of our new series ‘The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’ on HBO, we are very excited about the continued growth of The Weinstein Co’s television division. We are also looking forward to working with NBC Universal on the upcoming theatrical release of ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and the continued development of other projects together.”

-- Meg James and Maria Elena Fernandez

Photo: Bravo