America’s Next Top Model may not be dead after all.
As you’ve probably heard by now, ANTM’s current season 22 is set to be its last…as of now. According to a report from Deadline, another installment of the reality competition is being pitched to cable and streaming outlets.
It is being shepherded by Top Model executive producer/showrunner Ken Mok. I hear the potential reboot is being done with co-creator/star Tyra Banks’ support. She is expected to continue as an executive producer, should Top Model find a new home. Her potential on-screen involvement is unclear at this time. (“I truly believe it’s time,” she wrote in reaction to the announcement of the show’s end on the CW last month.)
I hear the idea for a new Top Model installment came out of incoming interest the series’ producers fielded following the Oct. 14 series finale announcement by the CW. Top Model is a rare reality series with strong repeatability. It has done well in its off-network runs on cable networks VH1, Bravo and Oxygen. Additionally, because of its serialized nature, it also has fared well on the top streaming platforms, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. With incoming calls from cable and streaming players inquiring about new episodes, Mok started working on a pitch. I hear he is making formal presentations to potential buyers this week, joined by Scott Koondel, who oversees licensing to cable and domestic SVOD for CBS. (CBS TV Distribution is distributing Top Model, which originated on CBS-owned UPN)
Top Model premiered May 20, 2003 on UPN, and was the first series to debut on The CW on Sept 20, 2006. Top Model, which is slated for a retrospective special on the CW next year, has been the most successful reality series on the network and the longest-running series currently on the CW. Additionally, it launched a very successful format that has been produced in over 30 countries.
There IS no ANTM without Tyra Banks as host. If she’s not on-screen, they can keep it.
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