or


[05/02/06 - 12:00 AM]
Bravo Renews Hit Competition Series 'Top Chef' for a Second Season, with Open Calls for Rising Culinary Talent to Be Held in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Las Vegas

[via press release from Bravo]

BRAVO RENEWS HIT COMPETITION SERIES 'TOP CHEF' FOR A SECOND SEASON, WITH OPEN CALLS FOR RISING CULINARY TALENT TO BE HELD IN NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, CHICAGO, SAN FRANCISCO, AND LAS VEGAS

SEASON ONE OF BRAVO'S 'TOP CHEF' EXTENDED TO INCLUDE REUNION SPECIAL AND TWO-WEEK FINALE

REUNION SPECIAL AIRS WEDNESDAY, MAY 10 AT 10 P.M.; FINALE BEGINS WEDNESDAY, MAY 17 AT 10 P.M. AND CONCLUDES ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 24 AT 10 P.M.

TOP CHEF FINALE TO FEATURE LIVE VOTING RESULTS ACROSS THREE PLATFORMS, MARKING FIRST TIME THIS MULTIPLATFORM STRATEGY HAS EVER BEEN APPLIED ON U.S. TV

NEW YORK -- May 2, 2006 -- Bravo announces that its breakout series "Top Chef" will return for a second season of culinary competition, offering a new group of rising chefs with the opportunity to showcase their talent and creativity. Due to the popularity of the inaugural season of the hit series, Bravo also announces that a special reunion episode has been added to the season one schedule, airing on Wednesday, May 10 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. In addition, the season one finale of the search for the culinary world's next "Top Chef" will be extended to two hours, airing over two weeks on Wednesday, May 17 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, when the field will be cut from three to two candidates, and concluding with the winner being announced on Wednesday, May 24 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of Magical Elves, the Emmy-nominated producers of "Project Runway," will return as executive producers for the second season of "Top Chef," along with executive producer Shauna Minoprio. Casting for trained and self-taught professional chefs, as well as non-professional cooks, begins this month. Interested applicants can go to www.BravoTV.com to download the online application form, and open calls will be held in the following cities:

Las Vegas, NV - May 11 and May 12 at the Las Vegas Hilton

New York, NY - May 16 and May 18 at Prey Lounge & Bar

Chicago, IL - May 24 at the Rock Bottom Brewery

Los Angeles, CA -- TBD

San Francisco, CA - June 4

"With strikingly intense personalities and intricate challenges, 'Top Chef' has a flavor and spice viewers are savoring, making it one of the most successful new cable shows to debut this year," said Lauren Zalaznick, President of Bravo. "We're committed to this series and look forward to another successful season showcasing some of the best culinary talent in the country."

Top Chef has seen additional success with interactive TV. Bravo and NBC Universal Cable entered into an interactive partnership with Time Warner Cable around this new series. Each week, viewers are invited to respond with their remote control to a series of topical questions that pop up on the screen during each "Top Chef" episode. Responses are highlighted through an on-screen graphic, allowing viewers to see how others responded in real time in their local markets. Average viewer response rates are now as high as 26%, up more than 300% since the March premiere.

May's "Top Chef" finale will feature live voting results across three platforms -- cable remote, mobile text messaging and online -- which is the first time this multi-platform strategy has ever been applied in the U.S.

"The success of our partnership with Time Warner Cable to offer interactive TV demonstrates how consumers are becoming more comfortable with iTV applications," said Jean-Briac Perrette, Senior Vice President, NBC Universal Cable. "We will continue to look at more ways to engage our viewers in our programming."

In its premiere season, Bravo's "Top Chef" has sizzled with critical acclaim and ratings heat to grow steadily in its first eight episodes. The April 26 episode was the highest rated installment for the series with over 1.3 million total viewers tuning in to see the grandiose Stephen Asprinio packing his knives, narrowing the competition to Harold Dieterle, Tiffani Faison, Dave Martin and Lee Anne Wong. The episode posted a 1.29 HH rating, 929,000 viewers 18-49, and 901,000 viewers 25-54.

On Wednesday, May 10 (10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m., ET/PT), viewers will have an opportunity to see some of the dramatic moments from the previous challenges that did not make it into the preceding shows as all twelve chefs reunite with Katie, Tom and Gail. The episode will also feature new interviews with the contestants and judges reacting to their experiences during the course of the challenges, as well as their personal reactions as they watch the series on television. Contestants will share their thoughts on how the series has also impacted their careers and lives.

On Wednesday, May 17 (10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m., ET/PT), the final three contestants head to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for a week of high-stakes competition. Upon arrival to Sin City, the three finalists are immediately thrown into the fire and must showcase their technique, timing and guest service ability through a fast-paced room service challenge. Returning to the series for a guest appearance in the episode is renowned chef Hubert Keller, owner of San Francisco's famous Fleur de Lys. One of the final three will be sent packing their knives at the end of the episode.

On Wednesday, May 24 (10:00 - 11:00 p.m., ET/PT), the remaining two chefs will face-off for one final competition. In the end, only one chef will make it through the spectacular final competition to take the top culinary title. The winning chef will receive $100,000 in seed money to help encourage their culinary career, be featured in Food & Wine magazine, appear at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen in June 2006, and most importantly, earn the prestigious title of "Top Chef." Their home will also be outfitted with a complete gourmet kitchen courtesy of Sears Kenmore. Lorraine Bracco of "The Sopranos" guest stars, helping to judge the final dishes.

"Top Chef" is executive produced by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of Magical Elves, who also produced "Project Runway" and "Project Greenlight" for Bravo. Shauna Minoprio serves as co-executive producer.

Bravo is the cable network that plugs people into arts, entertainment and pop culture with original programming, acclaimed drama series, movies, comedy and music specials, and by showing a whole different side of celebrities. Currently available in more than 80 million homes, Bravo is known for breaking exciting new personalities, shaking up the way we look at style, media, fame and Hollywood, pulling back the curtain on the creative process and making influential and inventive original programming. Its critically acclaimed and award-winning original programming includes "Blow Out", "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List", "Inside the Actors Studio," "Celebrity Poker Showdown," as well as the 2004 Emmy winner for Outstanding Reality Program, "Queer Eye" and the Emmy-nominated hit competition series, "Project Runway."

Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been a NBC Cable Network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information visit www.bravotv.com .





  [may 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· PROJECT GREENLIGHT (HBO)
· PROJECT RUNWAY (FREEFORM)
· SOPRANOS, THE (HBO)
· TOP CHEF (BRAVO)





[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:37 PM]
BET+ Sets October 23 Premiere for "Carl Weber's The Family Business" Season 6
The 10-episode season will premiere with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly, with the finale on Thursday, December 18.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/03/25 - 10:57 AM]
Legends, Champions and Icons of October Highlight FOX Sports' Postseason Broadcaster Lineup
FOX Sports begins its Postseason coverage Saturday, October 4 at 4:00 PM ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports App and FOX One as the New York Yankees face the Toronto Blue Jays.

[10/03/25 - 10:05 AM]
All-New Season of "Gold Rush" Returns with High-Stake Risks and Land Fury on Friday, November 7 at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery
With only a few short months to mine, top bosses and rising underdogs collide in a race to claim new ground, move more dirt, and strike it rich.

[10/03/25 - 09:12 AM]
FOX Nation Secures Exclusive U.S. Rights to Docuseries "Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar"
The acclaimed series will make its anticipated U.S. debut on FOX Nation on Monday, October 6.

[10/03/25 - 08:02 AM]
TNT Sports to Be Exclusive Home of 2025 NLDS & NLCS
Both best-of-five NLDS series begin Saturday, October 4.

[10/03/25 - 08:01 AM]
TNT Sports Sets BIG EAST Men's College Basketball Schedule for Inaugural 2025-26 Season
TNT Sports' regular season BIG EAST men's basketball schedule will feature 40 appearances by St. John's, UConn, Creighton, Xavier, and Marquette, programs that each clinched berths in last season's NCAA Men's Tournament.

[10/03/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "27 Nights" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When a woman is admitted by her daughters to a psychiatric clinic for her carefree ways, an expert must judge if she is ill or simply wants to enjoy life.

[10/03/25 - 04:01 AM]
Video: "Steve" - Official Trailer #2 - Netflix
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.

[10/03/25 - 03:02 AM]
Miguel Herran Will Play Poli Diaz in "El Porto the Vallecas," the New Film by Daniel Calparsoro for Netflix
Inspired by true events, the film follows the life of Policarpo "Poli" Díaz (Miguel Herrán), a young man from Vallecas who, despite a childhood marked by poverty and family violence, became a boxing legend in 1980s Spain, even fighting for the world lightweight title.

[10/03/25 - 03:01 AM]
Netflix Honors Jane Goodall with Posthumous Release of "Famous Last Words" Docuseries Following Her Passing
The series showcases reflective interviews with some of the world's most influential cultural figures, who agreed to sit down and discuss their legacy, and give their final words, with the understanding that it would only be shared with the world after they passed.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 03:01 PM]
Video: "Twisted Wonderland" - Trailer - Disney+
Your favorite villains reimagined in ways you've never dared to dream.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.