Bravo overhauls programming, Web offerings

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Bravo will add a night of original programming, premiering several series, including one focusing on a Los Angeles house flipper and a look behind the scenes of the Parker Palm Springs luxury hotel.

Bravo executives also will unveil a round of online and wireless initiatives after a year that saw the cable channel create pop culture, forgotten TV and gay/lesbian Web sites and purchase TelevisionWithoutPity.com.

It will continue the momentum with a new site called TopChefOnline.com, which will become a year-round destination for fans of the Bravo cooking competition "Top Chef." It will include an original Web series called "Miami Spice" featuring Season 2 chef Elia Aboumrad as well as blogs dedicated to food and drink and cooking tips on video.

It also will continue to develop mobile and other new-media sites including mobile video, weekly live voting and a reverse auction text campaign where viewers send text messages to Bravo for a chance to win prizes for the lowest bid.

"Flipping Out" is a reality series about Jeff Lewis, a real estate businessman known around Los Angeles and elsewhere for turning a six-figure profit on multimillion-dollar properties.

"Welcome to the Parker" is the day-to-day life of the Palm Springs hotel and how it is kept up, and it profiles some of the guests. And "First Class All the Way" follows luxury travel consultant Sara Duffy.

None of the shows has a premiere date yet.

They will join other new shows "Hey Paula," a documentary series about "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul, and "Millionaire Matchmaker" plus returning shows "Top Chef" (in the summer), "Project Runway" (fall), "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" (premieres June 5) and "Inside the Actors Studio."

Online, the channel will add to its OUTzone.com gay/lesbian Website with a new show called "Ask a Gay Man," featuring William Sledd, who has answered viewer questions on a series of videos on YouTube.

The channel also will hold its own awards show in March 2008 called the Bravo Icon Awards. It will honor creativity in acting, fashion, food, interior design, hairstyling and pop culture.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter