# Project Runway (2004)

> Aspiring fashion designers compete week by week in challenges judged by a panel of industry figures, with one eliminated each episode on the road to a fashion career.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1584

## Facts

- Seasons: 22
- Episodes: 297
- Episode runtime: 43 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: reality
- Created by: Eli Holzman
- Network: Lifetime, Bravo, Freeform
- Cast: Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Brandon Maxwell, Elaine Welteroth, Law Roach, Korto Momolu, Zac Posen
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437741/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: glossy, high energy, encouraging, tense, campy

## What critics say

Audiences broadly view the series as a positive, entertaining fashion competition, with its strongest stretches praised and several seasons rated poorly.

## Synopsis

Project Runway (2004-present) is an American reality competition series created by Eli Holzman and broadcast across Lifetime, Bravo and Freeform. Aspiring fashion designers from across the country compete for a chance to break into the industry, and each week one of them is sent home after showing their work before a judges' panel. Heidi Klum hosts and judges alongside Nina Garcia, while Tim Gunn serves as mentor and co-host, offering candid guidance that many contestants come to depend on. The engine of each episode is a design challenge with a tight deadline and limited materials, where the pressure to finish a garment and survive the runway presentation drives the drama. Across twenty-two seasons, the format has stayed recognizable while its judging panel and broadcast homes have shifted, giving it a long-running, glossy feel. Set in New York City's fashion world, the show mixes aspirational career stakes with sharp critique and warm encouragement. Fans of Top Chef, Making the Cut and Queer Eye will find a similar blend of creative competition, mentorship and elimination drama.

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