‘Design Star’ Season 2 Splashes Some Color on Summer Reality TV
Sophomore Run Gets Underway Sunday Night
While basic-cable networks like Bravo (home of Project Runway and Top Chef) and MTV (home of Pimp My Ride and The Real World) seem to get most of the attention when it comes to high-profile reality series, other networks offer shows in the same genre that are just as entertaining. Almost a year ago today, HGTV debuted Design Star, a competition that gives a wide range of home interior decorators the opportunity to not only showcase their creative skills from week to week, but their hosting skills, as well. The winner receives the grandest prize of them all—his or her very own design show on HGTV.
Last year’s champion, Florida-based David Bromstad, was the focus of a massive advertising campaign to promote his successful series Color Splash, which debuted in March and currently airs fresh episodes on Sundays at 9pm EST. This weekend, it will be followed at 10pm by the second-season premiere of Design Star.
As the series prepares to relocate to Las Vegas—the city where all bets are always on—for the new crop of contenders, viewers first get a glimpse into the selection process that ultimately determined the final group of eleven challengers. Ranging from 33-year-old Fabio look-alike Josh Johnson to 34-year-old hair stylist Kim Myles, all of this year’s competitors have two things in common—they’re talented in their own right, no matter what their tastes, and they have personality to spare.
Even many of the passed-over hopefuls we meet in the premiere are teeming with style, if not always star quality. For viewers, however, the thrill is in getting to see exactly what expert judges Bromstad, Martha McCully, and Vern Yip saw while they went about making their final decisions, from the preliminary casting videos to the initial presentations that allowed a closer look at each applicant’s design style and physical presence.
Next up, on Sunday July 29, is the first official challenge, which will find the lucky final eleven redesigning a posh penthouse that most of us can only dream about living in, after they meet one another and settle into their own colorful and modern temporary digs. It’s not all just fun and casinos, though, because strife and clashing perspectives will kick in soon enough to heighten the intensity (and excitement), just you wait.
Design Star is hosted by longtime HGTV personality Clive Pearse and judged by In Style executive editor Martha McCully, fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, and interior designer Vern Yip.
The Verdict: B+
After the season premiere, Design Star will air Sundays on HGTV at 9pm EST
Design Star photo courtesy of HGTV
