Kell on Earth

Kell on Earth is a new reality show based on PR diva Kelly Cutrone's cutthroat fashion industry life coordinating runway shoes and marketing designers. Some of you- my fellow reality tv brethren- know Kelly from The Hills where she gave gainful employment not only to Whitney but Lauren and Stephanie as well (and when Lauren was forced to fire Steph, ah the drama!). Kelly's reward for hiring these vapid blondes was her own reality show where we see that despite appearing on The Hills Kelly is actually 1) a New Yorker at heart who likes to wear black and prefers to hire people who die their hair at the other end of the spectrum from LA blondes and 2) is an awesome bitchy feminist who clawed her way to top and is deeply dedicated to pulling up others now that she's made it. The picture below makes the point quite clearly (Kelly is dead center):

and Kelly also likes goth gay guys and buys lube for employees! viva la liberation

Now, the real question is can Kell on Earth make it as reality TV? Well, in its favor it has models and runway shows (ala Project Runway). It has crying employees (ala The Apprentice). What it doesn't have is romance. Kelly is unapologetically unromantic. She is a single mother dedicated to her business and has a "modern" relationship with her euro/metro baby daddy.  Now, that's fine with me. I like the driven, business focused tone of the show and the working relationships provide a good cast of supporting characters. I like the edge of feminism, of alternativeness.

But I have doubts about whether this interesting show can stay on the air because it's lacking two things critical to reality show success: ridiculously good looking people and heterosexual romantic tension. Basically, what has made The Hills, The Bachelor, The Kardashians, The Millionaire Matchmaker, The Girls Next Door and myriad other reality shows successful. And it doesn't have the competition aspect that Project Runway or American Idol or Top Chef have. Or even the family & friends dramatics of the Kardashians and the Hills gang. But maybe it can live for a while in Bravo's niche of similar shows like Million Dollar Listing (truly terrible show) or the fun Housewives series. All I can say is Bravo!