If you've been following the quest of Miami realtor Katrina Campins to sell houses to the South Florida elite, you probably need a more constructive hobby. And now, the TV station formerly known as the Style Network is forcing you to find one.
The Style Network, which was known for stereotypically girly content like Campins' Hot Listings Miami and the reality series Giuliana and Bill, has been rebranded into the Esquire Network, a cable network for men. And it all happened so suddenly, Campins told Gossip Extra, that the network canned her series mid-season.
Hot Listings Miami started strong, becoming Style's most watched new show of 2013 in August of this year. But with the rebranding, the last two episodes of the eight episode series won't show on the man-centric Esquire network.
Campins told the site that she was alerted just last week about the rebranding, but "actually, it's a blessing in disguise." That's because the Style Network, which was launched in 1998 and operates under the NBCUniversal umbrella of networks, just never really got that popular.
"Many people couldn't find the show on Style even when it was on," she explained. "If we move to much bigger E! or Bravo, it'll be better for us and the audience."
Both E! and Bravo are also NBCUniversal-affiliated networks, and they're both known for the sort of low-budget yet highly addictive reality tv genre that Hot Listings Miami exemplified. There's also Oxygen, which also falls under NBCUni's umbrella and is home to Bad Girls Club.
Update: Campins' publicist confirmed to New Times that the series is under consideration at other networks.
It's likely that other Style original series, including Jersey Shore rip-off Jerseylicious, will seek the same fate, or be canceled for good. Giuliana and Bill and Tia & Tamara, following the lives of the D-list former stars of Sister, Sister, have already been relocated to E!.
The Esquire Network, meanwhile, has a slate of truly bro-worthy series lined up for the relaunch. There's Knife Fight, an "underground cooking competition." (Please let the contestants literally be cooking underground, like mole people.) There's How I Rock It, a fashion show hosted by the NBA's Baron Davis. (You may remember him from destroying his knee during the 2012 playoffs against the Miami Heat.) And there's Brew Dogs, in which two UK brewmasters travel around the U.S. visiting breweries.
Or you could read a book. Just saying.
Follow Ciara LaVelle on Twitter @ciaralavelle.
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