Tyra Banks and the ANTM crew revisit the moments we quoted, debated and side-eyed for years in Netflix’s new docuseries.
Image: Instagram/@tyrabanks
The day that "America’s Next Top Model" (ANTM) fans have been waiting for is nearing. The popular reality show is being revisited and Tyra Banks is right at the centre of it.
Netflix has released a trailer announcing a new three-part docuseries titled “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model”, set to premiere on February 16.
The series looks back at the reality show that defined the early 2000s television and shaped an entire generation’s understanding of beauty, fame and “smizing” (smiling with your eyes), as problematic as it was.
According to the global streaming service, the docu-series will be hosted and executive produced by Banks. It revisits ANTM’s rise from a TV experiment to a full-blown pop culture phenomenon.
At its peak, the show pulled in a global audience of over 100 million viewers, produced international spin-offs and delivered moments that still live rent-free on the internet.
This will not only be a trip down memory lane. “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” unpacks the pressure behind the scenes, the intense criticism the aspiring models faced and the moments that have since been looked at through woke eyes.
Think dramatic makeovers to harsh judging and controversial challenges,the series addresses questions that fans have been asking for years.
Joining Banks in the docuseries are several familiar faces from the ANTM days, including former judges Jay Manuel, Miss J, photographer Nigel Barker and executive producer Ken Mok.
Former contestants and winners also share their experiences, reflecting on what the show gave them and what it took away.
America’s Next Top Model originally ran for 24 cycles between 2003 and 2016, following aspiring models living together while competing in weekly challenges and eliminations.
While the show broke ground by putting diverse faces on mainstream television, it also became known for pushing contestants to extremes in the name of entertainment.
In the years since the show ended, especially during the streaming era, old clips from the show have resurfaced on social media and conversations shifted.
Moments that once passed as “tough love” were rebranded as troubling. Fans began to criticise and question how much was too much.
Netflix’s docu-series does not shy away from that discomfort. According to early details, it tackles both the highs and the lows, including the controversial exits of longtime judges and the emotional fallout many contestants say they carried long after the cameras stopped rolling.
The announcement was met with mixed reactions. However, everyone agreed on one thing: they will be watching the three-part docuseries, anticipating some accountability, especially from Banks and the former judges.
“About time. This show shaped a generation and a lot needs to be unpacked,” one viewer commented.
Another added, “The way those models were traumatised through this process was insane. People will watch this.”
“I don’t even like documentaries but I can’t miss this,” read one post.