Style Orders Three New Series, Including Update of ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’

Style will attempt to capitalize on a rebranding executed last spring with a slate of new series that executives are banking on to bring an au courant sheen to the niche NBCUniversal cable network.

“We really define Style as a lifestyle brand,” says Style Media president Salaam Coleman Smith. “The category of programming that we’re in is stylish living [with] a range of shows and personalities and characters that will resonate with our viewers.”

Like the fashion industry, Style aims to offer women an “escape into an aspirational lifestyle,” adds Coleman Smith. “It’s inspiration from watching folks who are relatable but at the same time are living their lives slightly more stylishly than we might be living ours.”

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Indeed, the celebrities appearing in and executive producing shows for the network include Rihanna and Charlize Theron. Rihanna — fresh from multiple, much-lauded Grammy wardrobe changes, including a red-carpet turn in a red chiffon Azzedine Alaia gown — is the executive producer and star of the previously announced Styled to Rock, which will give aspiring designers the chance to create looks for celebrity clients and is set to bow in the fourth quarter. Coleman Smith says the pop star has been “very hands on.” And on Tuesday, Style announced that Theron will executive produce Glam Squad, which pits teams of make-up and hair stylists in a competition to land coveted jobs on a big-budget music video, a glossy fashion magazine photo shoot or a red-carpet event. The program is in development at this point. Coleman Smith did not rule out an on-camera turn from Theron, whom she said was inspired by her own team of hardworking stylists.

All in all, Style will bow ten new series this year — a 22 percent increase in original programming — including designer Betsey Johnson’s Betsey + Lulu, which premieres April 29 at 8 p.m. leading into the Rachel Zoe-produced Resale Royalty, about a St. Louis designer resale boutique run by a mother and her two daughters, at 9 p.m. And on Tuesday, Style announced three new series in advance of an evening upfront presentation at New York Fashion Week. Pop Style is a live weekly fashion news and advice show co-hosted by Jeannie Mai and Louise Roe with a rotating panel of experts. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous is an update of the classic that was hosted by bon vivant Robin Leach. Like the original, the Style update will pull back the curtain on the glam life while offering viewers a vicarious thrill-ride to global hotspots where celebrities go to play. The network is still ruminating on who will be the new-generation Leach. Luxe Life Miami follows Apprentice graduate Katrina Campins as she unloads high-end homes to her roster of 350 A-list celebrity clients, who include Russell Brand, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake.

Returning series include Tia & Tamera and Giuliana & Bill.

Thanks in large part to returning hit Big Rich Atlanta, Style delivered its most-watched January ever in primetime among its target demographic of women 18-49 and posted year-over-year gains of 31 percent among women 18-34, according to Nielsen. And Jerseylicious, which premiered its fifth season on Jan. 28, continues to buoy the network, ranking among the top 15 cable programs in its time-period among women 18-49.

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