Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 04/Aug 17:55

Local series Carnival Catwalk lands spot on NBC’s Peacock

LOCAL reality and fashion series Carnival Catwalk has made history as the first Trinidad and Tobago series to be featured on NBC’s Peacock – an online streaming platform with over 41 million subscribers. Local entertainer Jerome “Rome” Precilla, one of its executive producers, says he hopes it will not just display local talent but that it will encourage more people to visit TT. The nine-episode show was first premiered in TT in January. It was promoted and hailed as a fusion of Caribbean fashion and mas. In addition to Precilla, its executive producers are Gian Franco Pavilion Entertainment and Rodney Seemungal of SGP (Star Global Production) Studios. The series follows ten designers competing for a cash prize of $100,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip and feature at Milan Fashion Week in Italy. It also features a panel of judges and celebrity guests who are prominent in the fashion and entertainment industries. The head judge was 1998 Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam, and local designer and season nine Project Runway winner Anya Ayoung-Chee was also on the panel. Precilla, along with Kandi “Karnival Kween” King from Jamaica, were the hosts. The vibrant series had already been streaming on Pavillion+, but it made its Peacock debut on August 1. Although only available in the US, US territories and parts of Europe, Peacock is one of the world’s leading TV streaming platforms. It is also the home of popular reality TV series Love Island USA. [caption id="attachment_1170228" align="alignnone" width="520"] A screenshot of Carnival Catwalk on Peacock's mobile app. -[/caption] Carnival Catwalk's synopsis on Peacock says aspiring designers “embrace the excitement and radiance of Caribbean culture to create show-stopping looks.” In an interview with Newsday on August 4, Precilla said the idea for the show first came to him in 2020 during the height of the covid19 pandemic. He recalled being signed to US TV channel VH1 for its Girls Cruise series in 2019, but the pandemic led to its cancellation. “Then I thought, ‘How do we get back on international TV? How do I put myself and our culture on TV? How do I put a Trini on international TV?’ And I said, ‘Why not create our own TV show instead of waiting on these networks to hire us?’” He then thought about it further, trying to figure out what would appeal to an international audience. He said since people know TT for its Carnival celebrations, he felt the merger with fashion would be ideal. The over 180-member cast and crew were TT nationals, including editors, camera operators, producers, stylists, production managers, models and more. Asked about the workload leading up to the show’s premiere, he said it was “insane. “It has been four years now we working on this project and every single day, I have worked on it. That is not even exaggeration.” [caption id="attachment_1170227" align="alignnone" width="768"] A model wears a vibrant Carnival costume in this promotional image for Carnival Catwalk on Peacock. - Photo courtesy Jerome "Rome" Precilla[/caption] While he praised the hard-working people in TT, he explained that there was still a level of additional training required for this type of production. “We consulted with producers from Project Runway, we brought in a director from shows like Love Is Blind in the US to come work alongside our local team, and it was a total learning curve for all of us.” He even bought books about TV production to further expand his knowledge to ensure viewers really got something special. “It was a lot of hard work. We filmed for an entire month – nonstop, long hours and gruelling for the crew, but they pulled it off.” On how it feels to have the show now featured on Peacock, he said amazing, emotional and overwhelming. “That was the entire goal. The goal was to create a Caribbean-based TV show made by our people, the story being told by us, about us, versus shows with an American producer coming down to TT and just using the Caribbean as a backdrop and not as the main element or main character of the story.” He said they were first notified it was being considered in mid-June, but there were still quality control checks to be made. The final decision was sent to the team on July 30. Precilla said the team hopes the achievement can now highlight TT, the Caribbean and the beauty of its culture to a global audience. In addition to showcasing Caribbean fashion, the show also features over 150 soca tracks, including bangers like Come Home by Nailah Blackman and Skinny Fabulous. The team hopes the new audiences connect with the show, noting that while it is about fashion, it also delves into the history of Carnival. “In every single episode, we discuss an element of TT’s Carnival…the J'Ouvert, the steelpan, all the traditional characters…We went in-depth. Some of the episode titles include Colours of J'ouvert, Futuristic Fete and Pan Melody Couture. Viewers will also get to see behind-the-scenes drama in addition to the runway moments, as well as the journeys of the designers. “So we are hoping we could educate the foreign audiences about our culture and we are hoping that it attracts more tourism so that people want to come to experience Carnival and TT," Precilla said. It has also been featured on the streaming platform's Peacock Picks section on its homepage. He thanked his fellow executive producers, Franco and Seemungal, and said that without them, none of this would have been possible. He also expressed his gratitude to the entire team, as well as corporate TT, the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Tourism. Asked if the viewing audience can expect more TV series of this quality, he said yes. He highlighted the latest local soca competition, Ultimate Soca Champion, which he is the organiser of. He said viewers can look forward to a season two for both this and Carnival Catwalk. [caption id="attachment_1170229" align="alignnone" width="817"] A screenshot of Carnival Catwalk on Peacock's mobile app. -[/caption] “So far, the reviews (for Carnival Catwalk) have been great. So (there are) many, many big projects to come later on, but we need everyone to rally around this project to show the international market that we have a huge Caribbean diaspora base that is going to look at it. “We are just grateful and with this show, we are just using it to prove that we don’t want to set a glass ceiling of just local content. We want to make sure that people see that it’s possible to go from local to global, just having big dreams, big ideas, persistence and perseverance.” He concluded, “We want to blaze this trail for all creatives from TT to open up doors for them to know that there’s space out there for their work and their creativity in an international market.” In a press release also issued on August 4, the show quoted Franco as saying Caribbean designers have proven they can “stand shoulder to shoulder with international talent. “Carnival Catwalk gives the world a front-row seat to the immense skill, passion, and pride that goes into our Carnival culture and how that translates to fashion.” The release added that Seemungal said Caribbean people opting to stream the series will “show the power of our region and to keep the door open for more Caribbean productions to enter the global space.”   The post Local series Carnival Catwalk lands spot on NBC’s Peacock appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.