Munya Vomo
As we step into the 22nd season of America’s Next Top Model, one thing is certain, the show is one of television’s success stories. What started out as a basic show about narcissistic beauties on a ramp fast became staple viewing for those who love fashion and modelling. The brains behind it, ex-model Tyra Banks, cashed in on her line of work and made what could have easily been a once-off show, but 22 seasons later, we are still watching.
Yet word is out that the show will be cancelled at the end of this season. Banks is on record as saying that she and her team have decided to stop shooting more seasons as they want to quit while they are “still on top”.
We’ll give it to her; she has done well and deserves a break from the obviously taxing show. They had to think up many concepts to end up with 22 seasons and the last one was no exception.
We may have seen women star in the bulk of the seasons, but of late Banks and her team have included male, transgendered and even deaf models. In the final season, Nyle DiMarco joins other models as a top contender on the show. He has the right looks and build so he stands a good chance. He has also joked about how he’s glad he can’t hear the other models because he gets to keep his peace.
If you think about it, you really don’t need your hearing to be a contestant on America’s Next Top Model. The show, just like the broader modelling industry, goes for the look, the expressions, the attitude and the poses. All those are essential for photoshoots and in all the requirements, there is no need to hear anything. And you might argue that the director of the shoot could want to say something or even the judges might want to be heard in their critiques, but all that counts for nothing if there is a translator.
We are most likely to see models in photos and on ramps and in both cases they do not have to use their hearing. It’s quite clever, if you think about it.
Banks has actually done it all in America and as the show winds down, there are many other editions of it in other countries including Norway, Asia, Australia and Italy. These will still be kept going and the Next Top Model will continue to grow.
The only thing they can’t add to the show are children, otherwise the human race has been covered. Find out what the 22nd season of America’s Got Talent has in store.
America’s Next Top Model Year 22 at 7.30pm on Vuzu AMP (DStv channel 114) .