Chrisitan Siriano, Nina Garcia, Law Roach and Heidi Klum on 'Project Runway' season 21. Disney/Spencer Pazer Logo text [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. Related Stories TV A New Reality Dating Series Will Take Place Entirely at the US Open Lifestyle Abigail Spencer on the French Cleansing Water She Can't Live Without and Other Travel-Friendly Fashion and Beauty Essentials 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. *** 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, eve