Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2012
New York -- Style Media will increase its original
programming by 25% with five new series premiering in 2012 and six series in
development, the network announced at its upfront presentation here Wednesday
morning.
Headlining the new series is a project with fashion designer
Betsey Johnson and her daughter titled Betsey
+ Lulu. The docuseries is produced by Magical Elves, the network's first
project with the Project Runway
production company, and explores the mother-daughter relationship of the two
fashion designers.
Style has two spinoff series in Ultimate Home With Bill Rancic, which features the Giuliana & Bill star in an aspirational
home makeover series, and Chicagolicious,
from the creator of the net's Jerseylicious,
which follows the owner and staff of a high-end Chicago salon.
Also on tap is Empire
Girls: Julissa & Adrienne, which follows two best friends as they seek to
succeed in show business in New York City and Party Fabulous Vegas follows the staff of a high-end event-planning
business in Las Vegas.
In development, the network has series with Cat Deeley and
Kimora Lee Simmons. The Cat Deeley
Celebrity Project has the So You
Think You Can Dance host tour the homes of stars while the staff of
Simmons' online shoe/fashion service Justfab.com is the focus of House of Fab.
Also in development is Built,
about a Manhattan home remodeling service staffed exclusively with male models;
Celebrity Closet Confidential, which
has stylist Mary Alice Haney create a new look for a different star each week; Absolutely MARvelous, which follows Mar Romero and the staff of her
high-end hair and makeup styling company; and Pop Style, a topical weekly series spotlighting the latest in
fashion, beauty, lifestyle and pop culture.
Style will also have new seasons of returning series Tia & Tamera and Glam Fairy.
This summer, the network will unveil a rebrand with a new tagline,
logo, Website and on-air look that will launch in June or July. The goal is to
redefine Style's category to that of "stylish living," expanding beyond just
fashion and beauty to include series around categories like home design, travel
and food, according to Salaam Coleman Smith, president of Style Media.
Style held its breakfast upfront at the DVF Studio in New
York's Meatpacking District, with NBCUniversal brass like Frances Berwick,
Lauren Zalaznick and Linda Yaccarino in attendance.
