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Tyra Banks’s search for fashion’s new face took a turn for the worse when they disposed of their panel of experts and replaced it with social media likes
Catfights, explosive eliminations, buzzcuts and beard weaves: these were just some of the things that made America’s Next Top Model great. Guaranteeing viewers a drama-fuelled hour of mindless trash, ANTM was the ultimate escape from real-world troubles, a show in which a group of women were forced to “smize” (to smile with your eyes, non-ANTM watchers) aggressively and walk on catwalks that definitely didn’t pass health and safety checks (think zorbing in high heels) in order to win a contract with a modelling agency. Its cartoonish contestants (The Pageant Girl, The Goth, The Girl That Nobody Likes), plus presenter Tyra Banks, ensured viewers a constant stream of tantrums and tears.
This couldn’t be sustained for ever, however. ANTM had two drastic phases of decline – one of which began in season 18, when it messed with the formula with the so-called “British Invasion”. It saw the arrival of seven members from the far inferior UK spin-off, competing against seven American contestants. The failure of the British models to live up to their US counterparts was encapsulated in episode one when the American models go skinny-dipping, sending the British girls into a meek meltdown, not knowing where to look. It detracted from the brash, explicit American humour that often makes reality TV worth tuning in for. This is not a show you watch in order to chuckle at passive-aggressive comments and clever quips. Its appeal lies in the screaming matches and salacious gossip propagated by its attention-seeking contestants. Continue reading...