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[This story contains minor spoilers from the Project Runway season 21 premiere.]

Being the host of Project Runway is technically a job, but Heidi Klum doesn’t consider it work. 

“It’s not even work for me. It’s not, really. It’s a pleasure,” the supermodel and sprawling reality TV host tells The Hollywood Reporter when asked what it’s like to be back on the series alongside some new and old faces. Among those are longtime judge Nina Garcia, new addition Law Roach and the designer’s mentor and season four winner Christian Siriano. 

A discrepancy between season 21 and its recent predecessors mark the return of Klum to the hosting chair. By now, Project Runway fans know the timeline of the show’s shifts in the past few years: Klum and Tim Gunn exited the series together after season 16, Karlie Kloss and Siriano stepped in to fill their shoes for season 17, Kloss departed by season 18 and the series subsequently returned to Bravo. 

Now, it’s time for an overhaul of what executive producer Michael Rucker describes as “the OG,” referring to Project Runway being one of the earliest reality TV shows. Aside from Klum’s homecoming, Rucker is also reviving his EP credit after working on the first five seasons of the show. That, combined with a shift to Disney-backing on Freeform, breathes brand-new life into Project Runway.

To celebrate the premiere of season 21, THR spoke with Klum and EP Rucker in separate edited conversations below about the dynamic cast (with two franchise alumni, twins and a RuPaul’s Drag Race queen), how the host gathered a star-studded list of guest judges and why Gunn wasn’t brought back to Project Runway alongside Klum. 

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Why was it the right time for you to return as a host, Heidi, and you as EP, Michael? 

HEIDI KLUM Sometimes the universe brings things back to you, like a boomerang. It goes out there, and then whoops, it comes right back. It was One of those moments like, “Yes, why not?” I love the show. I helped sell the show 21 years ago when it went to different networks and [when we were] trying to get this show on the air. People were like, “Why would we want to watch people sew?” And 21 years later, Project Runway is still really the only [fashion] competition reality show that has managed to still be out there that people enjoy and love watching. It is a testament that what we are doing is the right thing. People love watching talented people doing stuff on a time crunch with also not a lot of money. They love watching the process and the outcome. It’s just a really fun show to watch. 

MICHAEL RUCKER By season five [of Project Runway], I was burned out. We had a smaller team and we had a decision to make of whether or not we were going to continue on — back in the day with Dan [Cutforth] and Jane [Lipsitz of production company Magical Elves] — and we decided not to. I felt like we had run our course. We had done amazing work and I really never thought I was going to work on Project Runway ever again. I was asked to showrun a few seasons when it came back on Bravo, and I said no. It felt like going back to teach at high school or be the gym teacher.

But when this opportunity came up, [that changed] because it was Disney and because I showran Hulu and Freeform’s [Chrissy & Dave] Dine Out, and I really enjoyed my working experience with Hulu and Disney and Freeform. We had lightning in a bottle in the first five seasons. Not only was it an amazing storytelling device, but people found it very funny. We had well-rounded designers and you got to know their personalities, and that’s something I really wanted to make sure we brought back and Disney was very much on board. When I heard Heidi was also coming back, that was the clean picture for me. I worked with Christian before, and I love Nina, but Heidi coming back felt right. It felt like we could do something different and evolve the show. Keep the DNA, don’t lose the core audience, but evolve it for where we are today in entertainment and in the fashion world.

Heidi, in the premiere, you said a lot of times, “I can’t believe I’m saying this!” When you stepped away in 2018, did you ever see yourself returning, or did you always leave that door open in the back of your mind?

KLUM People say you close one and another one opens, and that happens. But I also think there’s nothing wrong with going back to a door that you’ve used before. That’s what happens in life. Life throws you curveballs; things happen and you go on a different journey. Project Runway is my first child, and always will be. You don’t turn your back fully on your kids, period. I came back because I truly love it. It felt like coming home, everyone was super stoked. I’ve known so many of the models who are walking the runway for the designers for many, many years. I also brought Michael Kors back. I called a lot of my friends and people who I know in the industry. Michael was like, “I don’t know,” and I’m like, “You have to come back, please,” so he did an episode with us. I called my friend Sofía (I always want to call her Viagra) Vergara, I called my friend Tyra [Banks]. A lot of my family is on the show — my fashion family. It’s been a really fun, fun season. Plus, the designers are incredible. 

There’s such a fresh, modern vibe to season 21. Where did that inspiration come from?

RUCKER We brought a lot of modern editing, storytelling and visual humor. I’ve done a lot of hybrid comedy shows, and that was a big part of the inspiration of what I said to Disney. I was like, “I want people to laugh. We’re not going to lose all the pillars of Project Runway that people love, but I want to make sure that we learn about these designers.” The things that we did in those first five seasons were making sure that you saw their personalities. I think that’s the reason why Project Runway is in season 21. There have been many different fashion shows that have tried, but why Project Runway is tried and true, besides being the OG, is that you got to know these designers and felt a personal connection to them. 

I also like smoke and mirrors type of stuff. The idea of fire on the runway [later this season] was, like, “Let’s make it more of a spectacle of the runway show. Let’s have fun, let’s give the runway shows personality.” And quite honestly, it’s also where fashion is these days. When we did those first five seasons, [during] Fashion Week in Bryant Park, you were in a tent, and there wasn’t much you could do. But fashion started taking it to a level of spectacle, and I hadn’t seen that with Runway. I felt like we [could] bring more spectacle and wow factor that is very much in the DNA of where fashion is now, and modernize it. 

There are a few past competitors on this season’s cast, there’s also a set of twins and a RuPaul’s Drag Race alum. People could think that these casting decisions are merely for headlines, but they fit with the cast. Why do you think that these returning designers were brought back and “notable” personalities were brought onto season 21?

RUCKER It’s a very fair question. To somebody who’s jaded [to] be like, “Oh, they’re just doing it for the drama, doing it for the splash and the likes,” having somebody like Jesus [from season seven], to bring somebody back who has evolved and who is now more in the mindset of [having] an established business and wanting to prove where they went, I think [is an] understandable story for anybody. There are a lot of people who want to be able to showcase, “Hey, this is where I’m at now.” That’s a universal story, and I think that that’s what was really exciting about bringing him back. His brother was the one who initially applied. We loved Antonio and his story, and then we realized that Jesus was his twin brother. Jesus could have said, “I have no desire to go back.” But I think showcasing where he was and where he is now was very important to him. 

And then Utica, [aka] Ethan… this is a whole thing. One of the things that was really important to us is that he wasn’t coming on as Utica Queen, because this is a show about designers. He had obviously got notoriety on Drag Race for his sleeping bag gown that he [made on the show], but he actually has a design background. Those were the conversations [we had], saying, “If you’re coming on the show, I want Ethan. If Utica Queen is a performance-based thing, that has its place.” We could see that there was a desire for him to try to tap into this world, go into more ready to wear, couture stuff, knowing that he’s done so much stuff for the drag community. That was, for me personally, a very interesting story. He’s known for Drag Race and he has followers, but what it came down to is, “Do you want to come here to progress as a designer?” It’s not one note. It was Ethan wanting to really prove to himself that he is a designer as well.

Heidi, this was your first time doing this show without Tim Gunn. Were you sad to come back without Tim? 

KLUM Obviously, yes. I didn’t know the show any other way but doing it with Tim. We’ve [done] 17 seasons together, and everywhere we would go, if you’d see me, you see Tim. We were kind of like this odd couple that people loved. He was my TV husband, and now I get to do it with my TV baby. I feel like Christian Siriano is our Project Runway baby, as one of the designers who won the show and broke out to huge success. Now, doing this with him feels like a full-circle moment. A lot of people ask me, “Why didn’t you have [Tim] come on?” But it’s not up for me to make that decision. I love Tim Gunn, but that was really not up to me.

Working alongside Christian this season, how was that? You judged him when he was a contestant.

KLUM I think what people don’t know is that I see him during the year all the time. It’s not like we haven’t seen each other for years. Over the years he’s always been in my life, and I’ve always been in his life, so it wasn’t like all of a sudden we see each other again. Now we got to do this together, and it was a lot of fun. He is not only a great designer, but a great human being. And he has always loved the show and what he does. He loves helping the designers, and I think he’s doing a great job.

Michael, as somebody who worked on the early seasons of Project Runway, was it odd for you to see Christian on-screen with Heidi instead of Tim Gunn? 

RUCKER It was refreshing. It felt very natural. Heidi and Christian have had a relationship from [his] season, season four. I still remember when he won and then they took the photo. When he did the past four seasons on Bravo as the mentor, he really cut his teeth. He knew what it was like to have gotten criticism from Heidi, from the judges [and he] knew what the mentor role was like having worked with Tim, and I think that he really has come into his own. He’s really passionate about mentoring on and outside of the show, because this is a very difficult industry. He knows it more than most, like when I went to his home visit on season four, his bed was in his closet. He slept on the floor. He lived and breathed fashion, and he knows what it’s like to do the grind.

He’s coming from a place of actually having done it, and what I love about Christian is that he cares a lot. Some people are in these roles on shows to be a sound bite, [but] he actually cares. When he’s giving advice, it’s coming from a place of, “Trust me, be yourself, follow your voice, but also understand that I know what it’s like, having been there, and I also know where kind of fashion is at.” He really is there to shepherd these designers.

Were there any conversations of how Tim could have also came back, be that as a mentor alongside Christian, or in any other capacity? 

RUCKER Christian had established himself as the mentor for numerous times. My hope is that the door is always open for Tim to come on in some sort of capacity. But I think that knowing that Christian had established himself as the mentor for the past four seasons, we wanted to keep that going. Because Heidi and Christian have such a natural chemistry and they know each other, we wanted to keep on that tradition, and also introduce that to a whole new generation of Project Runway fans. Christian’s been doing this without Heidi for four seasons, so we felt really confident with Christian working with Heidi and then bringing in somebody new, like Law [Roach], who was the wild card and [a] breath of fresh air. I know how to talk to Heidi and Christian and Nina because I’ve worked with them before, but I didn’t know what Law was gonna be like, and he was amazing.

Heidi, what was it like for you to return to Project Runway with Nina and with the new addition of Law Roach?

KLUM It’s like working with friends. I love fashion, I love putting a spotlight on talented people, helping them get out there. Nina is so knowledgeable and so fun, and so is Law. Law dresses some of the biggest stars in the world. He really always comes out with a new concept for someone, like think about Zendaya. One day she’s in this Mugler, robotic, silver metal [look], and then she is in a gorgeous goddess dress, and then she’s in this Hollywood vibe, so he always tells a story every time she steps onto the red carpet. I’m working with really successful, knowledgeable, incredible people who are also fun at the same time. It’s been a really great season. People who are fans of the show will enjoy having Law on and all the amazing guests that come on. Every episode is special. 

Do you both have a favorite moment from the season, and what else can you tease from the rest of season 21 of Project Runway? 

KLUM I loved having Sofía there, because she’s not only my friend on-screen, but also off-screen. [I remember] calling her and saying, “Come, please do an episode.” And because she had to wear the winning look [from a challenge this season], she said to me, “Well, what am I going to do if this sucks? Maybe I [will] hate all the looks, and I have to pick one winner, and I have to wear it?” And I said, “Okay, if you hate it, I’m going to wear flats going forward,” because she hates nothing more than being shorter than me. So she’s like, “Okay, if I really hate it, you’re gonna be in flats then forever when I see you,” and I made her that promise, so you just have to see how that came out.

RUCKER This is not only an amazing fashion season, but also one of the more dramatic seasons I’ve ever worked on in Project Runway, in a great way. It is definitely, probably, the most dramatic season of Project Runway I’ve ever worked on. 

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New episodes of Project Runway season 21 release Thursdays at 9 p.m. on Freeform, and stream shortly after on Hulu and Disney+.