Gunner Deatherage
As cheesy as “all-star” seasons of reality shows are, I totally get why they are addictive — and easy for producers: Lure back proven drama queens, bitches, egomaniacs and know already know the fur with fly.
So it’s no surprise the new version of Project Runway All Stars — which debuts tonight on Lifetime — stacks the deck with 14 returning contestants … and all but two of which (Season 4 drag queen costumer Chris March and Season 7 bitchy gay Jay Sario) are from the past three seasons (10, 11 and 12). Catty competitors Helen and Alexandria (Season 12) join sweet gay deaf boy Justin LeBlanc, but they can cast looks he doesn’t need a sign language interpreter to figure out.
Season 11’s Kate Pankoke (she also was on Season 12), Samantha Black, Benjamin Mach, finale runner-up Patricia Michaels and eventual winner Michelle Lesniak are a clique, as are Season 10’s uber-gay Fabio Costa and Gunner Deatherage, Sonja Williams and winner Dimitri Sholokhov. (They aren’t the only returning faces: So is host Alyssa Milano, judges Isaac Mizrahi and Georgina Chapman, and mentor Zanna Roberts Rossi.)
Because they all are returning faves, many of whom made it to late in the game, there aren’t any obviously outclassed contestants … but neither are they all likable. That’s OK. Still, such familiarity reduces the surprise factor, but for the most part if you’ve been a fan of recent seasons, you’ll continue to enjoy it.
