‘America’s Next Top Model: Guys vs. Girls’ premiere review: It’s actually entertaining!
After an absence of almost a full year, “America’s Next Top Model” returned to TV Friday night. Was anyone watching? This show was not heavily promoted outside of The CW, and this is always one of the toughest nights to air on for new programming … especially in the summer.
But what we had tonight was a two-hour premiere that was surprisingly entertaining, and not the more-of-the-same feeling that we’ve had watching the show over the years. Kelly Cutrone is still awful and we could really care less what “social media” thinks about any of the contestants, mostly because these people are not modeling experts.
There are way too many people at this point in the competition to ever remember all of them, so this review is going to be a little unorthodox. So rather than go specific note-by-note, how about a little stream-of-consciousness riffing?
-Just a production note: This season filmed forever ago, so it feels almost archaic sitting back and watching what people were once voting on.
-The male model twist is great, mostly because not all of these guys are egotistical d-bags. That’s nice to bust that stereotype.
-This episode was all about whittling down the contestant pool to the top 16, and some of the choices were obvious based on airtime. We had Jourdan (who reminded us every chance she could that she was married and divorced at 18), Cory (who was apparently bullied by being called “Tyra” as a child), Nina (the token quirky girl), Marvin (whose father is a janitor), and Phil (the homeless-looking dude).
-Wait, did this episode really matter? The entire top 16 was spoiled courtesy of the cast photo above.
-The only major cut tonight was the model who had to quit. Virgg, a transsexual, was too early into her transition process to really be successful on the show, and she opted to leave rather than put herself in a position where she would take someone else’s spot.
After getting themselves projected on buildings and some panel discussions, the top 16 participated in a runway show for Guess. It’s a fun, balanced group, and hopefully some that are going to bring the drama this season.
What did you think about tonight’s “America’s Next Top Model” premiere? If you want to check out some more news related to this series, be sure to visit the link here.
Photo: CW