Will Project Runway Season Six Ever Hit the Catwalk?

Oh, Tim Gunn, where have you gone? Bravo and Lifetime need to take a page from the inspirational design daddy and "Make it work!" already. The finale of the yet unaired season six of Project Runway capped off Bryant Park’s Fashion week with a fizzle.

The final three’s collection were shown anonymously, as rival networks Bravo and Lifetime await their day in court to decide the future of the Peabody award winning reality show. “I’m a little bit sad for our designers, that they don’t get that recognition today,” host Heidi Klum said. And season four winner Christian Siriano agreed adding its, “kind of horrible” for the contestants.

Unlike previous years, there was zero press access to the backstage shenanigans where all 16 contestants were ostensibly held hostage, and the triumphant finale trio lost the opportunity to introduce their blood, sweat and tear soaked collections and give shout-out’s to their mom’s in front of the audience. For all the hoopla involved in trying to keep the designer's identities under wraps, someone must have forgotten to gag-order the models, who leaked spoilers.

But that’s not the only difference in the as yet unaired season, which Tim Gunn teased is “a smashing, sensation... We can’t wait for you to see it.”  The sixth cycle of the design competition was shot in Los Angeles—as in no more New York inspirational tours and no more trips to Mood—and will most likely not feature judge extraordinaire’s Micheal Kors and Nina Garcia in every episode.

And there’s the minor matter of Project Runway switching networks. Or are they? The Weinstein Company, owning producers of the show, sold the rights to Lifetime last April in a  five-year, $200 million deal; a shock to the audience of the Bravo hit and apparently, NBC (as Bravo’s parent company) themselves. The Peacock slapped the Weinsteins with a breech-of-contract suit and successfully blocked Lifetime from promoting or airing the design competition’s sixth season.

NBC claims they were not given a contractually-mandated chance to match Lifetime's offer before the production company inked a deal to move the show to the women's network.

According to Variety, Lifetime's counterclaim states that its rights to air Project Runway fall under the Copyright Act. Lifetime hopes to see the lawsuit play out in a federal court, but NBC called the contersuit, “yet another desperate maneuver by them to avoid trying this case in state court, where NBC Universal has already won a preliminary injunction against the Weinstein Co. and where the case was on an expedited track to trial."

While loyal fans hold out hope not to have to say “Auf Wiedersehen” to the design competition, Bravo has a new project in the works, The Fashion Show with judges Issac Mizrahi, Kelly Rowland (former non-Beyonce member of Destiny’s Child) and the legendary founder of fashion week, Fern Mallis.  They also reportedly ordered what’s promised to be the Project Runway of the art world; Sarah Jessica Parker produced America Artist. As for the fate of Project Runway, Lifetime hopes “ this entire matter [will be] resolved expeditiously” and the sixth season can hit the airwaves soon.

In the meantime, enjoy arguably the funniest moment to come out of any Project Runway season ever, below:  

Which season was your favorite?