With the years-long success of series like “Project Runway” and “America’s Next Top Model,” fashion competition reality TV shows are nothing new. But “OMG Fashun” is a different type of series ripe for short attention spans and a style-savvy generation more attuned to the concerns about the environment.

“There’s so many awful things happening in the world,” says Julia Fox, the show’s co-host, over the phone from New Mexico, where she’s in production for a movie. “And this isn’t one of them.”

“OMG Fashun,” which premiered May 6 on E! and airs weekly at 9 p.m. Pacific, is a thrilling reality competition series hosted by Fox, fashion’s “It” girl and cultural renegade, and celebrity stylist Law Roach. The show brings sustainable fashion to the forefront with quickfire competitions and a rotation of guest judges that includes Phaedra Parks of “Real Housewives” fame, “13 Reasons Why” star Tommy Dorfman and more.

But “OMG Fashun” opts for snackable episodes primed for the TikTok generation — roughly 20 minutes each — that feature three rising “fashion disruptors” competing in two separate challenges. The catch? They’re encouraged to use sustainable, upcycled — and often — unconventional materials like insects and condoms. It’s chaotic — and that’s the point.

Behind the series is Scout Productions, known for reality shows like “Queer Eye,” “Legendary” and “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning,” a company with decades of experience in the reality competition space. After producing the two-season streetwear competition series “The Hype,” Scout Productions co-founder David Collins and Chief Creative Officer Rob Eric were asked by their agent if they wanted to chat with Fox. A 15-minute conversation turned into an hour-long one.

“She brought this originality to how we look at fashion, how we look at ourselves in fashion, what fashion actually is,” Eric says in an interview alongside Collins over Zoom. “That it doesn’t need to be a $40,000 outfit, but it actually could be leaves that she found in a park.” That sparked the idea for “OMG Fashun.” He added, “We thought, ‘Oh, what would it be like if we could take 90 minutes of ‘Project Runway,’ mix with ‘The Hype’ chopped into it, and put it into a 21-minute show?’

Eric and Collins, who executive produced the series, were in constant awe of how Fox, 34, made her mark in the fashion world with an unwavering sense of authenticity. “She wore a dress made of condoms. She wore a dress made of ties. All [the] sustainable stuff that she was doing, and it kept getting put into TMZ, WWD and Elle magazine. We knew that Julia had that voice,” Eric says.

Reality TV came naturally for Fox, whose prior credits have been in film. After all, she’s used to doing “new stuff.” However, it was admittedly “more work than acting” for her because whole episodes had to be shot in a day.

“It was a lot of outfit changes, a lot of time in hair and makeup, super early call time, ending super late at night,” she says.

But Fox seemingly made it look easy. Collins says everyone was “slack-jawed” from the second she sat down on the stage despite never having starred on a TV show before. “We’re like, ‘What? We’re not having to prompt her, tell her, and remind her?’ She just killed it over, over and over again,” he says.

Roach, 45, who was recruited by Scout Productions after working on “Legendary,” was intrigued by the premise of “OMG Fashun” — highlighting emerging designers and sustainability. Fox also had wanted to work with the stylist for a while. “We both had admiration for each other’s work and the things that she wore. I think her stylist is incredible,” he says over the phone from Los Angeles.

The pair ultimately had a “fun” dynamic, he says, since Fox “doesn’t take herself seriously at all.”

“She gave me so much agency to poke fun at her and she did the same to me,” Roach says. “She’d create this really fun and friendly and kooky work environment, so it was great. It made me excited to go to work every day and to see what she was going to wear because we didn’t share outfits.”

Julia Fox modeling a design on “OMG Fashun.”

(Quantrell Colbert/E! Entertainment)

While Fox and Roach had fun with their roles on the show, the talent was nothing to mock. “These young designers had these incredible gifts and ideas of how to take discarded materials and turn them into wearable works of art,” he says.

So “OMG Fashun” doesn’t just want to be another fashion show. “We’ve seen other shows that have a component where there’s a challenge where they’re instructed to create a garment out of recycled materials or upcycling or discarded fabrics,” Roach says. “But this one, the entire show is based on that principle.”

Fox often struggled to choose a winner because she was in such awe of the designers’ talents. In the nature challenge, for instance, she had to stop filming because she couldn’t decide between the contestants. Luckily, Fox is keen on wearing their designs whether they take home the top prize or not on “OMG Fashun.” “I did wear one of the outfits [from the show] during the press tour — the little black blazer with the underwear bottoms with the metal utensils on them, nail clippers, nail files and forks,” she said. She’s also kept in touch with many of the contestants too.

Amid the release of “OMG Fashun,” Roach made headlines for the “tenniscore” ensembles he helped architect for Zendaya and the hashtag he started — #TashiMadeMeWearIt — amid the “Challengers” press tour.

“Just to see people participate in tenniscore and going out in groups and dressing in this way, that’s the most heartwarming and incredible thing. I’m like, ‘This might be cool to give people this challenge to go out and to create these looks,’ he says.

Fox also admired how Zendaya’s looks were playful nods to the film and its themes. “It was definitely giving ‘OMG Fashun’ for sure,” she says.

With Fox’s presence on “OMG Fashun” and her affinity for daring looks, is a fashion line in her future? Not exactly.

“OMG Fashun” contestants Katya Lee, Chelsea Billingsley and Bradley Callahan.

(Quantrell Colbert/E! Entertainment)

“Is that really what this planet needs — another fashion line? Like, I’d rather prop up kids that are doing it and salute them for their efforts and call it a day,” she says. Fox also would rather rely on someone else’s talents: “Why would I want to do it myself when I could have someone else do it for me?”

Should “OMG Fashun” get another season, the co-hosts already know who they’d love to see as guest judges. Roach wants John Galliano, Grace Jones, Naomi Campbell or RuPaul on. Fox, on the other hand, wants to recruit Doja Cat, Dennis Rodman, Gwen Stefani or Lil’ Kim. “I love accidental-like fashion icons,” she says. “People that didn’t really set out or try but became [them].”

Ultimately, the hope is that viewers watching will shift their perspective on fashion. Fox wants people to “dig a little deeper” and “look inward.”

Roach adds, “We’ve gotten into this culture of once you have something, you post it on social media that it has to be discarded, you can never wear it again. I challenge people to reinvent the clothes that they already have and the way they’ve worn them. If you like it, buy it. If you love it, live in it.”

2.5/5 stars

Black Dog begins with all the trappings of a revenge Western. Set in a godforsaken town where bad guys roam around with impunity, it revolves around a reticent man returning home after a decade-long absence to confront his sworn enemies.

It also seems to have everything in place for a political allegory. Juxtaposing images of crumbling tenements with incessant radio news bulletins about the Beijing Olympics, the story, set in 2008, could offer commentary about the clash of reality and dreams in 21st century China.

As it turns out, Guan Hu’s film is neither. From the big bang of its first half-hour, Black Dog is slowly reduced to a whimper, as what was set up to be a hard-boiled genre film turns into a sentimental relationship drama about a wayward man’s attempt to connect with his family, friends, foes and his new four-legged buddy.

Settling into his long-abandoned home, his past returns to haunt him in the form of the local butcher, who accused Lang of having caused his nephew’s death.

But the bad guy in town is Yao (Jia Zhangke), the chain-smoking leader of a bunch of “dog management officers” who capture strays and steal pets in order to resell them elsewhere for a profit.

Lang joins Yao to earn some hard cash, only to find his humanity flickering back to life when he forms a bond with a raging, rabies-stricken hound. This inspires him to reconcile with his adversaries, his ailing zoo-master father and his younger self.

While there’s nothing wrong with Guan’s decision to steer a fatalistic tale towards a happy ending, the change of tone does Peng few favours, as he is forced to reprise the kind of gawky man-child role he has been typecast in for just too long.

Meanwhile, the flood of positive energy in the second half of the film renders its remarkable set design evoking doom and gloom irrelevant. The same can be said even of apparently important characters: Dong Liya’s circus acrobat, for example, is left with nothing to do as the prospect of forming a relationship with Lang evaporates.

The canines are cute, though – and for some, perhaps, that is Black Dog’s main draw.

Advertising executives who entered Radio City Music Hall on Monday for NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation were greeted by an orchestra playing the familiar themes of the network’s landmark shows, such as “Law & Order” and “NBC Nightly News.”

It was a nod to broadcasting’s rich history, which for the rest of the week would be relegated to the distant past.

Streaming video now makes up 37% of U.S. television viewing, better than either broadcast or cable TV, according to Nielsen data. The May presentations by media companies, meant to entice advertising sales commitments for the 2024-25 TV season, reflected the shift, with Amazon’s Prime Video and Netflix joining the in-person annual festivities for the first time.

Ad buyers had to leave their ride shares and walk down FDR Drive on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to join the overflow crowd gathered for Amazon’s presentation, which opened with a performance by Alicia Keys, followed by appearances from Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Across town, Netflix exhibits re-created sets from “Bridgerton,” “Squid Game” and “Wednesday.” At its reception, the streamer served food from chefs featured on its cooking shows.

Competitors did not let Netflix slide on the reversal of its original opposition to running ads with its programming.

“Remember when Netflix thought they were above all this?” ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel asked in his annual monologue at the Walt Disney Co.’s presentation at the Javits Center. “They came in, destroyed commercial television and now, guess what they want to sell you? Commercials on television.”

But the cow is out of the barn. Here are some of the highlights of the week.

Amazon Prime time

The addition of an advertising tier to Prime Video could be the most significant change to the TV ad marketplace since streaming emerged. The company said Prime’s ad-supported service reaches 115 million viewers a month in the U.S.

“By introducing ads on Prime Video, we’ve created the largest ad-supported premium streaming service in the world,” said Alan Moss, vice president of global ad sales for Amazon.

One senior media company executive who attended the event calculated that if Amazon were to sell out commercial inventory across its platforms, which include its free ad-supported channel Freevee, it would take in $6 billion. That would probably take a chunk out of traditional TV, which took in around $19 billion in last year’s upfront market, according to research firm Media Dynamics. Streaming services attracted around $8.3 billion.

Media buyers say one possible risk is that adding so much commercial inventory to the marketplace could depress pricing.

The addition of Netflix’s commercials will have less of an impact, as the number of U.S. subscribers for its ad tier is estimated between 10 million and 13 million, although that is expected to grow steadily. The company said 40% of new sign-ups are choosing the lower-priced ad tier.

But even with Netflix’s smaller footprint, advertisers are eager to buy title sponsorships, in which brand names can be placed adjacent to the streamer’s most popular shows.

Live sports rule

The NFL and other major sports properties have become the last reliable way for advertisers to reach large audiences on traditional TV, so it’s not surprising they were given more attention at the upfronts.

Fox trotted out legendary quarterback Tom Brady, who will join the network’s play-by-play booth for football coverage. Retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce bounded onto the stage at Disney’s affair to announce he is joining ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” as an analyst. Shaquille O’Neal got laughs at Warner Bros. Discovery’s event, where executives said they hope to retain NBA rights for cable network TNT as NBCUniversal makes a strong play. NBCUniversal has the backdrop of Paris for the Summer Olympics.

But the incursion of tech companies into live sports is in full swing. Netflix, which has long been cautious about competing for pricey sports rights, landed two Christmas Day NFL games for 2024 and has the rights to at least one a year in 2025 and 2026.

Netflix has maintained that it does not want to get into the bidding wars for sports media rights. But the company was willing to pay $150 million for the two games because of the promotional platform it will provide for World Wrestling Entertainment, which joins the streamer next year, and other new shows, including a series from producer Kevin Williamson and one starring Ted Danson.

The NFL’s willingness to make a deal with the service is rooted in the league’s desire to get its games in front of younger viewers who are not watching traditional TV, where the bulk of its contests air. The median age for Netflix viewers is 37, and 60% are described as cord-cutters.

Ready, aim, target

The upfronts were once the place where networks promoted their dominance in the ratings, especially in the 18-to-49 demographic that was long the sweet spot for advertisers.

But the overriding message this week was the ability of streaming services and their technology to get content in front of specific consumers.

“While reach is ever-important, the business is more and more focused on connecting to the right customer in the right way,” said Ric Prentiss, an analyst for Raymond James.

Nearly every company prominently featured streaming efforts in their presentations. But Disney, Comcast and Fox reminded ad buyers that they can still deliver audiences on traditional TV.

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger told the audience that his company’s networks and streaming services, which include ABC and Disney+, account for 11.5% of all U.S. TV viewing, according to Nielsen.

Mike Cavanagh, president of NBCUniversal parent Comcast, reminded buyers that the company still has a full range of platforms, even as it is focused on building the streaming service Peacock.

“NBCUniversal is the only company that has it all,” he said.