America's Next Top Model

The America's Next Top Model Dolls were a short-lived fashion doll line released by MGA Entertainment as a promotional tie-in with the show of the same name. The dolls were designed by MGA doll designer Lui Domingo and released in the fall of 2008.

The dolls came as a result of the legal battle between Mattel and MGA over their fashion doll rivalry between Barbie and Bratz. When MGA temporarily lost the rights to the Bratz dolls to Mattel, the company scrambled to come up with an emergency release line to replace Bratz in the meantime.[17] The America's Next Top Model Dolls were the result, as a form of competition with Mattel's Top Model Barbie line that was released a year prior, but had no affiliation with this show.[18] The concept art, sketches, and prototypes initially revealed 4 main characters, Sienna (a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian), Sydney (a brunette Asian), Paisley (a red-haired Caucasian), and Tascha (an African American). The Tascha prototype would not make it to production (but still be featured in all of the marketing), due to MGA's fears that the doll, being African American, would sell poorly, as black dolls have historically been known to be picked up in low quantities or not picked at all by stores and retailers if they believed they would not sell, especially if they're located in cities with a low black population. Resulting from the financial losses incurred from their legal battle with Mattel, the dolls would ultimately not feature the majority of the accessories that were advertised with them, likely a cost-cutting measure (which is also why Tascha was excluded from the doll line).[19]

Only two waves would be released, Swimwear and Day-to-Night wear, all featuring only Sienna, Sydney, and Paisley. Four fashion packs were also released for the dolls, each featuring images of the four characters, including the never produced Tascha doll. The box for the dolls also made it clear under the logo that they were the only officially licensed dolls from the hit TV show, to differentiate them from Mattel's Top Model Barbie line. The boxes also featured before and after images of the dolls, in reference to the makeovers on the show, and the back of the box also included a backstory for each doll to show that they had multi-faceted personalities and dream careers besides modeling, to counter the accusations that the dolls would be poor role models for children. The dolls had proportions different to that of other MGA fashion dolls, with slightly smaller heads and more Barbie-esque bodies, with jointed torsos for posing and arms molded to be able to rest on their hips. The dolls also noticeably used leftovers from the Bratz line as part of their accessories, as the clothes were stitched from leftover Bratz clothing fabric, and the jewelry was simply repurposed from prior Bratz dolls.[20]

The dolls were a financial failure, selling very poorly in spite of their association with the show (which had been declining in ratings by the time the dolls debuted), and were promptly discontinued after only two waves of dolls.

The show has been referred to in many series, such as ABC Family's GREEK, CBS's The Big Bang Theory, and Fox's Family Guy. It also had its own E! True Hollywood Story episode, featuring past contestants Ebony Haith, Giselle Samson, Elyse Sewell (all cycle 1), Adrianne Curry (cycle 1 winner), Camille McDonald (cycles 2 & 17), April Wilkner, Mercedes Scelba-Shorte (both cycle 2), Toccara Jones, Ann Markley, Amanda Swafford (all cycle 3), Eva Pigford (cycle 3 winner), Michelle Deighton (cycle 4), Brittany Brower (cycles 4 & 17), Naima Mora (cycle 4 winner), Ebony Taylor (cycle 5), Lisa D'Amato (cycle 5 & cycle 17 winner), Kim Stolz (cycle 5) and Bre Scullark (cycles 5 & 17) as well as judges & personals Janice Dickinson, Tyra Banks, Nigel Barker, J. Alexander, Jay Manuel, Ken Mok and Michelle Mock-Falcon. It covered the first five cycles and recently re-aired with a few added minutes of footage which cover cycles 6 to 10 and Stylista.

In 2009, Oxygen Network aired a series based on the show called Top Model Obsessed, featuring past contestants Lisa D'Amato (cycle 5 & cycle 17 winner), CariDee English (cycle 7 winner) and Bianca Golden (cycles 9 & 17).[24]

Many credit America's Next Top Model for inspiring later reality TV shows, most notably RuPaul's Drag Race. Kevin O'Keefe and Mathew Rodriguez noted that America's Next Top Model served as "the biggest inspiration" for the show and that season 1 of RuPaul's Drag Race was "a parody of a couple different reality shows ... but more so (of) America's Next Top Model". They explain that "Top Model was a groundbreaking reality show" and that "it crawled so that Drag Race could walk". They drew parallels between Tyra Banks and RuPaul as black people "who (have) been at the top of their field" and "play a persona" on their respective shows. They also compared the judging panels, comparing Michelle Visage to Nigel Barker as an "anchor main judge" who is "harsher in their critiques", although contrasted RuPaul's judges with Tyra's, stating that "RuPaul has never allowed a drag queen to sit on the panel the way Tyra would bring in either Janice Dickinson then Twiggy." Moreover, the "first mini challenge of the first several seasons of Drag Race used to always be a photoshoot" and season 6's photoshoot of jumping off a platform was "directly taken from a photoshoot in season 6 of ANTM, where they had to play fairy tale characters and jump" off a platform. Another "artefact" of Top Model's influence on the show comes from Drag Race's focus on runway, with season 8 contestant Kim Chi being "criticised for not having a model walk". Most importantly, America's Next Top Model "was one of the most queer shows on TV" with regard to the inclusion of Jay Manuel, J. Alexander and Benny Ninja on the judging panel and numerous openly LGBTQ+ contestants, most notably Isis King. It was "covertly queer enough to make the space on TV for something as queer as Drag Race."[25]

For the 2006–2009 and 2010–2011 television seasons, America's Next Top Model was the No.1 show in average viewers on The CW.[26]

Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Notes

Yahoo!'s Shine lifestyle website said the show contained cruelty and elements of humiliation, and that some critiques from the judges are "really cruel and cringe-inducing", claiming that the show "humiliates and degrades young women."[66] The site created the list "10 reasons why 'America's Next Top Model' is bad for women, humans", citing such things as giving the contestants and women viewers unrealistic visions of life as a model, and "always espousing empowerment and female strength and then forcing the contestants into embarrassing scenarios far outside the realm of real-life modeling". One such scenario highlighted was when cycle 12's final two contestants "were made to wear bikinis so skimpy that the producers had to blur out Allison Harvard's butt cheeks", and performed a "creepily sexual mud fight," after which contestant and winner Teyona Anderson was "commended for taking her weave in her hand and whipping it around on the runway like a sexy feather boa."[66]

Allure magazine criticized the show in its October 2006 issue, saying that ANTM "hasn't exactly produced any actual supermodels."[67]

Ken Mok and Banks noticed that most of cycle 8's girls were unusually heavy smokers. "Tyra and I understand the influence 'Top Model' has on a generation of young people, and we want to make sure we get the right message to our audience," Mok said, which then prompted the "green" theme of cycle 9.[68]

The winner of cycle 9, Saleisha Stowers, was discovered to have been in a Wendy's commercial, on a catwalk in the cycle 6 show and an episode of Tyra Banks Show prior to her participation. The rules of the competition stated that a contestant must not have appeared as a model in a national campaign during the five years prior to the production of the cycle in which they participate. The CW network said she had revealed her role in the Wendy's commercial, and "after reviewing the commercial, it was determined that her appearance did not amount to 'modeling' experience, and therefore did not exclude her from participating in the show."[69]

After filming cycle 10, the producers of America's Next Top Model were served with a lawsuit from Michael Marvisi, the owner of the loft used as the Top Model house. The lawsuit claimed that the contestants as well as the production crew caused an estimated $500,000 in damages to the loft. Marvisi claims the contestants engaged in food fights, made holes in the walls, caused water damage to the bathroom, damaged a $15,000 chandelier beyond repair, and caused $90,000 worth of damage to an electrical store. Also, the production crew was accused of damaging the flooring and making holes in the ceiling for lighting equipment.[70]

The show has also been criticized for its handling of sexual assault allegations from the contestants. For instance, Keenyah was sexually harassed by a male model on a photo shoot during cycle 4 and the show has been criticized for not doing anything when the model stroked her inner thigh,[71] moaned in her ear, took photos of her and harassed her repeatedly for her phone number.[72] Similarly, in cycle 15, the girls were required to kiss a male model during a commercial. Shortly before the commercial shoot however, Kayla revealed that she was sexually assaulted at eleven years old, tearfully telling Jay Manuel that the "challenge freaks me out" and that "I don't want to interact with them" because men "scare me." Ferrel was still made to do the commercial against her wishes and, later in the competition, had to do three additional photo shoots with male models.[73] Similarly, in cycle 16, during a fan meet and greet challenge, Monique was approached by a man who her asked to sign a photo and write that he was a good kisser on it. She declined but said that fellow contestant Alexandria would do it. After resisting the man's advances repeatedly, she finally gave in and have him a kiss on the cheek. She was criticized by J. Alexander for this, who said this could lead onto "stalking", which many deemed unfair, since she was heavily pressured by the man to do so.

America's Next Top Model is currently shown on TV internationally in 170 countries and regions, namely: Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the whole of Southeast Asia (except Timor-Leste). The following table shows countries and regions that have aired this show:[74]

The channels in bold also broadcast their own version of Top Model.

The international versions of Top Model have generally been better received by critics. In an article for The Atlantic, Adrienne Raphel explained that "Oddly enough, it's the foreign Top Model spinoffs that are in the more direct business of producing working models, like Ksenia Kahtovitch and Alice Burdeu, not the beautytainment ... queens of ANTM."[76]

Slate's Torie Bosch points out that the international versions "have retained what works best about ANTM—the in-house drama, the torturous makeovers, the ridiculous assignments—while skipping what's worst about it: hokey judge antics, outlandish veneration of Tyra, and sob-story contestants."[77]

In October 2008, The CW announced that it had ordered a spin-off pilot of America's Next Top Model, titled Operation Fabulous. The proposed show would have starred ANTM creative director Jay Manuel and runway coach Mrs. J. Alexander as they travel the country to provide makeovers to everyday women. Tyra Banks and Ken Mok would have served as executive producers for the new show. However, The CW ultimately declined to pick up the show.[78]