2026: Netflix digs into “America's next top model”

First airing in 2003, America’s Next Top Model quickly became a global phenomenon. Created and hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks, the show offered viewers unprecedented access to an industry long perceived as glamorous but impenetrable. Contestants competed in weekly challenges, runway walks, and photo shoots, all while facing sharp critiques from judges and intense pressure to transform themselves into marketable models. For many viewers, ANTM served as an introduction to the mechanics of the fashion modelling industry (casting, branding, and rejection) wrapped in the drama of reality television.

Reality Check revisits that legacy with a more critical lens. According to Netflix, the documentary goes beyond nostalgia to examine how the show was produced, edited, and marketed, revealing the decisions that shaped on-screen narratives. Former contestants, judges, and industry insiders reflect on their experiences, offering insight into what it truly meant to compete on one of television’s most demanding reality programs. Their accounts illuminate the emotional toll of constant evaluation, public scrutiny, and the pressure to conform to narrow standards of beauty.

A major focus of the documentary is controversy. Over the years, America’s Next Top Model has been criticized for moments that, by today’s standards, are widely viewed as problematic. These include accusations of body shaming, racially insensitive photo shoots, and the normalization of extreme criticism in the name of “toughening up” contestants for the industry. Reality Check contextualizes these moments within the cultural climate of the time while also questioning how much responsibility reality television bears in shaping harmful norms.

The series also explores the broader cultural impact of ANTM on the fashion modelling industry. For better or worse, the show helped redefine who could be considered a model, occasionally pushing boundaries around body diversity, gender expression, and background. At the same time, it reinforced certain ideals such as thinness, youth, and emotional resilience, that continue to influence casting and representation today. By tracing these contradictions, the documentary highlights how ANTM mirrored the fashion industry’s own struggles with inclusion and accountability.

Importantly, Reality Check situates America’s Next Top Model within the evolution of reality television itself. When ANTM debuted, unscripted competition shows were still finding their footing. Shock value, emotional breakdowns, and harsh judging were often rewarded with ratings. The documentary asks whether the show was a product of its era or a driving force behind a more exploitative style of reality TV that persisted for years.

Netflix’s decision to produce this documentary reflects a growing trend of reexamining pop culture through a modern lens. As audiences become more media-literate and socially conscious, there is increasing demand for transparency and reflection from influential entertainment brands. Reality Check appears to answer that demand by acknowledging both the opportunities ANTM created and the harm it may have caused.

Ultimately, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is not just about one television show. It is a broader commentary on fame, beauty, and power within the fashion modelling industry and reality television at large.