Making The Cut Season 3 - Here's What We Can Tell Fans So Far

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn left "Project Runway" in 2018 after 16 seasons, but they weren't finished with finding rising fashion talent just yet. In fact, in the same announcement Klum made that she was leaving "Project Runway," she announced her new endeavor, on which Gunn would be joining her. "We will be partnering with Amazon for a new show, and we're excited for everyone to see what we're designing next!" she said, per Good Housekeeping.

In 2020, the new show came to fruition, as "Making the Cut" premiered on Amazon Prime on March 26, right at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. Despite the similar premise, Gunn insisted it was an entirely different beast from its predecessor. "We wanted the show to bear a relevance to where fashion is today," he told Entertainment Weekly, mentioning the show's emphasis on branding. "Because that's what we're looking for," he told the magazine, "the next big fashion brand."

The show took 12 designers from all over the world and had them create a mini-collection each week, including one ready-to-wear look. The winning designer's ready-to-wear look would then be available to purchase on Amazon as soon as the episode aired. Klum emphasized the show's global aspect, telling the magazine, "... you can't have a relevant fashion discussion these days and not open it up globally."

Season 2 finished airing in August. So will there be a Season 3? Here's what we know so far.

There is no set release date for Season 3 of "Making the Cut" yet. This is understandable, as Season 2 only recently finished airing. Season 2 premiered in July, while Season 1 premiered in March. According to The Cinemaholic, Amazon announced Season 2 in early March, with the show premiering four months later. So if Amazon's pattern continues, Season 3 — if there will be one — will probably be announced in early 2022, premiering in the spring or summer.

Since the show is on a streaming service instead of a network, its release schedule is a bit less traditional. Both seasons of "Making the Cut" dropped episodes two at a time, with Season 1 dropping on Thursdays and Season 2 dropping on Fridays. There appears to have been a budget cut between seasons, as Season 2 filmed entirely in LA, while Season 1 split its time between Paris and Tokyo, according to the Los Angeles Times. Season 2 also only featured 10 contestants instead of 12, and thus was a shorter season, with only eight episodes as opposed to ten.

As the creators of the series, Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn would almost certainly return to "Making the Cut" should there be a Season 3. The cast of contestants is obviously unknown, but in keeping with the show's global vision, they will be designers from all over the world.

The show has also had plenty of high-profile judges. Season 1 featured socialite Nicole Richie, supermodel Naomi Campbell, "Vogue Paris" editor Carine Roitfeld, and designer Joseph Altuzarra. Though once the show left Paris for Tokyo, Roitfeld and Richie were replaced with Italian fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni, according to E! News. Season 2 featured supermodel Winnie Harlow and Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott alongside guest judges like designer Prabal Gurung and celebrity stylist Shiona Turini, per the Los Angeles Times.

Regardless of who will appear, there is no doubt that up-and-coming designers will have the chance to show their designs to some of the biggest names in fashion.

The apparent reduced budget for Season 2 of "Making the Cut" was likely due to the mixed reception of Season 1. Season 1 has three stars on Amazon, with 37% of the reviews being five stars and 27% of them being one star. One reviewer called the show, "Mean, Bloated and Boring." Another complained about the judging, writing, "i am so put off with how rude the judging is, especially from Naomi Campbell." 

E! News wrote that Season 1 "paled in comparison" to "Project Runway," and published a list of the show's flaws. This included not showing the seamstresses who actually constructed the designers' garments, segments featuring Tim and Heidi galavanting in Paris and Tokyo that had nothing to do with the actual competition, and as one of the aforementioned Amazon reviewers pointed out, the judging. Ultimately, E! News concluded that the show failed to stick out in a world where "Project Runway" is king.

Season 2 was just as polarizing, receiving 35% five-star reviews and 31% one-star reviews. "And the winner is....glitter," read the top one-star review. Critics, however, were a bit friendlier. Cultjer noted that the Tim and Heidi segments were gone, writing, "... this season is all about the designers and their clothing." Elle called it "must-watch streaming." With all the mixed publicity, will Amazon even bother to greenlight a Season 3? We'll have to wait and see.