Featured Image Credit: UPN
Topics: Celebrity, Documentaries, Netflix, TV And Film, Reality TV, Fashion
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Celebrity, Documentaries, Netflix, TV And Film, Reality TV, Fashion
Prepare yourself, guys, as there's a brand-new documentary chronicling all the chaos of America’s Next Top Model soon to hit Netflix.
Any Millennials and older Gen Z will no doubt know all about the many, many controversies surrounding the hit reality TV programme, which ran for 24 cycles (seasons) from 2003 to 2018.
The premise of each cycle followed a new group of aspiring models from across the US who lived together, took part in challenges, and were at risk of a weekly elimination. The eventual winner was named 'America’s Next Top Model' and awarded a spread in a fashion magazine, as well as contracts with a major fashion brand and a modelling agency.
One of the world's best-known supermodels, Tyra Banks, hosted the programme, which became infamous for increasingly outlandish stunt shoots and compulsory cosmetic transformations — including drastic haircuts and invasive dental surgeries.
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Check out the official trailer for Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model here:
Looking back, it's clear much of the judges' scathing critiques of contestants' weight, looks and alleged 'attitudes' have not aged too well at all.
Over the years, many die-hard fans and past contestants themselves have since taken to social media to call out the show's most controversial moments and raise questions as to whether contestants were treated fairly, with accusations of fat-shaming and inappropriate behaviour on shoots.
The upcoming three-part docuseries speaks directly to those questions and reflects on the show’s complicated history.
Now, the series features new interviews with Banks, producer Ken Mok, former judges Jay Manuel, J Alexander (AKA Miss J), and Nigel Barker, as well as former contestants and winners, such as Whitney Thompson, Giselle Samson, Giselle Samson, Shandi Sullivan, Dani Evans, and Keenyah Hill.
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is described as 'the definitive, must-watch chronicle of America’s Next Top Model — and the chaos in front and behind the camera'.
"What started as a glamorous launchpad for aspiring models became a pop-culture juggernaut defined by explosive drama, public meltdowns and controversies that still fuel viral moments today … Reality Check exposes the show’s complicated legacy and asks a provocative question: How far are we willing to go for entertainment?" the tagline teases.
In the trailer for the documentary, Banks herself has even admitted she 'went too far' on America’s Next Top Model.
"I knew I went too far … it was very intense, but you guys were demanding it," she said, while Barker added: "It was wrong and for some reason no one seemed to see it … we felt betrayed."
Meanwhile, Manuel shared: "I realised Tyra would do anything for the success of her show."
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model will be available to stream on Netflix on 16 February.