Bravo makes room for ‘Top Design’

First it was the runway, then the kitchen. Now Bravo is applying its reality TV touch to our homes for its interior design competition “Top Design.”

Hosted by famed designer Todd Oldham, “Top Design” will premiere on Jan. 31, following the second season finale of “Top Chef,” and then move to its regular 10 p.m. ET timeslot the following week.

The show will take 12 new interior designers, artists and architects from around the country and stick them in a decked-out West Hollywood loft and pit them against each other for challenges that will challenge their creativity, aesthetic sensibility, time management skills and patience.

“Bravo has successfully brought spirited competition to both the fashion and food industries,” says Bravo President Lauren Zalaznick. “Now our passionate viewers will be rewarded each week when they “watch what happens’ as the creativity and drama unfold through each pressure-filled design challenge.”

Each episode, Oldham will present the designers with a challenge and then send them scrambling off to sketch and purchase materials. At judging, famed designer and lead judge Jonathan Adler will inform the winning and losing designers of the results, with input from series judges Margeret Russell (Editor-in-chief, Elle Decor) and interior designer Kelly Wearstler.

The designing dozen range from newcomers, veterans and those seeking to change careers. Although where they were originally from differs greatly – ranging from New Jersey to Thailand – they all currently live in one of three major U.S. cities. The New Yorkers include Michael Adams, 23; Goil Amornvivat, 33; Ryan Humphrey, 35; and Carisa Perez-Fuentes, 26. The trio from Chicago include John Gray, 39; Erik Kolacz, 28; and Matt Lorenz, 32. And finally, those from the City of Angels include Heather Ashton, 36; Felicia Bushman, 38; Andrea Keller, 36; Elizabeth Moore, 48; and Lisa Turner, 48.

The winning designer will receive a $100,000 grand prize from LendingTree, a brand-new 2007 Acadia vehicle from GMC, an editorial feature in Elle Decor and the chance to showcase their design skills at the magazine’s Dining By Design, NYC, a lavish affair where designers, celebrities, and the who’s who of fashion convene for a night of style, drama, excitement, and spirited collaboration.

ABC makes more ‘Money’

“Show Me the Money” hasn’t exactly been money in the Nielsens, but ABC is showing it some love anyway.

The network has ordered six more episodes of the game show, which features William Shatner, a bunch of trivia questions and a bevy of scantily clad dancers who alternately increase or decrease a contestant’s winnings. ABC announced earlier this week that the show will move from Wednesday to Tuesday nights starting Jan. 2.

The scheduling change means ABC will be asking “Money” to take a bullet by airing opposite “American Idol,” which returns to Fox in mid-January. It will also mean a double dose of Shatner – a Shaturation, if you will – on Tuesday nights, with “Show Me the Money” and “Boston Legal” bookending the night (comedies “Big Day” and “Help Me Help You” are in between).

A preview of “Show Me the Money,” drew some 12.4 million viewers when it followed “Dancing with the Stars” on Nov. 14, but it hasn’t fared as well since moving to its regular time period the following week. In its regular timeslot, it’s averaged 7.5 million viewers and a 2.1 rating in the key adults 18-49 demographic. Those are hardly stellar numbers, but in a somewhat soft time period it does rank second in total viewers.

The game, from “Deal or No Deal” producer Endemol USA, involves contestants answering a series of trivia questions, then picking from one of 13 “Million Dollar Dancers,” who each hold scrolls with dollar amounts printed on them. When players get answers right, their winnings increase by the amount on the scroll; wrong answers subtract from their haul.