America's Next Top Model

It's the dream of many young girls and women to become a supermodel. On "America's Next Top Model," a reality show on network television, contestants sharing this dream work to prove themselves as the next big thing in modeling. The show has been a hit since 2003 and is continuing to maintain its presence as one of the most watched reality shows.

Time Frame

• The first cycle of "America's Next Top Model" started in May 2003. Each cycle, as mentioned before, consists of 9 to 13 episodes, with one episode showing a week. That gives the show about 3 months of new episodes to air. There have been 11 cycles so far. Unlike other shows, "America's Next Top Model" does not limit itself to one season per year, which allows for more fresh episodes. This timeline also helps keep viewers interested in what is happening with the show.
  

Potential

• The future of "America's Next Top Model" is known in the short run. The 12th cycle is being filmed, and it is to be aired in May 2009. Another cycle is planned following that one, which will allow the show to run through the 2009-10 CW television season. While no plans to continue the show after that have been set in stone, "America's Next Top Model" has been a No. 1 watched show for awhile now. If it continues that way, the CW will likely continue the show as long as creator Tyra Banks is interested.
  

Theories/Speculation

• There is a lot of criticism of "America's Next Top Model." In theory, the winner of the show should have the skills and talent necessary to be a leader in the business. However, some sources disagree. Allure Magazine, for example, touches on the fact that the show has never actually produced a world supermodel, and that it would be more likely for a contestant on "American Idol" to break into the music business via a reality show. Certain fashion designers also say the show tries too hard to be funny. While this is an opinion, it is heavy criticism when coming from leaders in the fashion field.
  

Identification

• When flipping through the channels, "America's Next Top Model" is easy to identify. It is a show that is run on the CW network, created when UPN and WB combined. Former supermodel and current talk show host Tyra Banks hosts the show and is the personality behind it. Over the course of a season, contestants are put into various modeling situations and then booted from the show depending on the aptitude they exhibit as a model.
  

Features

• Each season of the show, also known as a cycle, features 10 to 14 contestants vying for the top model spot over the course of 9 to 13 episodes. Each episode of every season also features a similar format. The show begins with a training period for all the contestants in areas such as runway walking and posing. There is then a challenge related to that training, followed by a critique by the show's judges on the work each model did. At the end, one contestant is eliminated. This is the format for every show, whether the contestants are taking a trip internationally or performing a task on the show's home ground.