America’s Subsequent Prime Mannequin Will get Netflix Documentary
Netflix is taking a deep dive into the legacy and controversy of America’s Next Top Model with a new documentary titled Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, premiering February 16.
Tyra Banks, who hosted the long-running competition series for its first 22 seasons, is one of the central voices in the film.
In a trailer released January 26, the supermodel and TV host acknowledges she’s ready to address the conversation surrounding the show. “I haven’t really said much,” the 52-year-old says, “but now it’s time.”
Banks reflects on her original intentions for the series, which ran for 24 seasons, explaining that she set out to challenge the fashion industry’s narrow standards. However, she also admits that in trying to meet audience expectations, things sometimes went too far. “I knew I went too far,” Tyra concedes. “It was very very intense, but you guys were demanding it, so we kept pushing. More and more and more.”
The documentary also features several familiar faces from the show’s early years, including longtime judges J. Alexander and Nigel Barker, as well as creative director Jay Manuel. Barker suggests there were fractures behind the scenes, saying at one point that they “felt betrayed” by Banks.
Manuel, who worked closely with Tyra throughout the series, offers a candid perspective in the trailer. “I realized Tyra would do anything for the success of her show,” he says. “You want to talk about being slapped across the face and then slapped right back?”
Banks has spoken publicly about ANTM’s impact before, including while accepting an award at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards in February 2025.
“Over 20 years ago I created a show called America’s Next Top Model,” she said at the time. “And you guys have no idea how hard we fought to bring the diversity to that television show at a time when it didn’t exist.”
She went on to highlight the pushback the show faced for its casting choices. “To show different beauties at a time when the world was like, ‘What? You casting that?’” Tyra continued. “I was like, ‘Why can the girl from the trailer park become a supermodel but the girl that’s chillin’ in the park in the hood can’t?’ And we fought and we struggled and we made it happen.”
At the same event, Banks didn’t shy away from acknowledging missteps. “Did we get it right? Hell no. I said some dumb s–t.”
Still, she remains firm about how she wants her career to be remembered. “I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the internet when there were 24 cycles of changing the world,” she proclaimed. “And I am so excited that I, and so many of us, have opened that door for others to follow.”