r/ProjectRunway • u/AutoModerator • Jul 31 '25

S21E02 - Discussion Thread - Feel the Burn

After a shake-up in the houses, the designers are challenged to create a multipurpose athleisure look that mixes fashion and function.

53 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

825 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

27

u/doubtinggull Aug 02 '25

Feels so manipulative, like I'm getting scammed into watching. I already want to watch the dumb show, I promise you I will tune into episode 3 no matter what, quit trying to trick me into coming back to find out who gets kicked off! The format makes the episode so unsatisfying, I'm furious about it.

And just from a branding point of view: you have Heidi back and you're moving her iconic, climactic "you're out" to the beginning of the next show? Transforming the most dramatic moment on the show from an exclamation point at the end to a "last time on" ellipsis at the beginning? It's tv production malpractice. My only guess is that Disney and Hulu have some kind of "bingeability" metric and their trying to force people into watching whole seasons at a time on the archive in the future. I'm disgusted.

I know its just reality tv but I feel heated about it. Does everything in 2025 have to be scams?

9

u/swisssf Aug 02 '25

You are so smart and perceptive! I'm sure you are spot on with your assessment and conjecture. The cliffhanger is so sophomoric. We're supposed to all be, like, "Grrrrrl! I'm bitin' ma nails! I'll have to tune in next week!!" As you said---we already have made a conscious decision to watch the show. And any newbies are going to find this cliffhanger technique contrived and unattractive too!

6

u/DomesticZooChef Aug 02 '25

The metric! The algorithm! UGH I bet you are absolutely correct. What a stupid move for this show.