If you thought that we had reality shows on literally every theme, then let us prove you wrong because Paramount+ has been airing a reality series called Ink Master, a show that holds competition between talented tattoo artists from all over.
Hosted by Dave Navarro, the show has been airing since 2012 and has been judging tattoo artists on their skill and art. Chris Nunez and Oliver Peck are joined by tattoo artists to form the judging panel, and together they decide who gets to go forward in the competition and who goes home.
The show is extremely popular among tattoo enthusiasts, enough to have had four spin-off versions made as well. Currently premiering its fifteenth season, the panel of judges is being joined by Ryan Ashley to be a part of the panel for the season.
Much like other competition series, the judges eliminate the contestants and decide who’s going to take home the cash prize of $100,000. The eye-catching rewards at the end of the season, which the final winner receives, also include the title of Ink Master that one can boast about and, finally, a feature in the Ink Magazine.
The show is amazing as it gives fans an amazing insight into the complexities of tattoo designing and making. It is a form of art, and this series just proves why. The show follows, more or less, the same pattern for every season.
And every new season manages to bring to us mind-blowing pieces that are perfectly complicated. There is not a lot to complain about the show, considering its unique theme and execution, but fans have managed to pinpoint how, sometimes, the judges end up being unfair to participants.
They have also noticed the shift in the show, with many feeling that it is not about competition anymore. Over its seasons, the show has become more and more dramatic, with the contestants hating on each other for absolutely no reason and trying to pick a fight in almost every episode.
What was supposed to be a competitive series on who the better artist was has now become an over-the-top show with fake drama just to keep up with the reality shows out there.
Is Ink Master Scripted?
Contrary to what fans would have expected, Ink Master is partly scripted. And we are not talking about the art aspect of it at all. That might be the only thing in the show that is real. We are talking about the drama and effects that have become a recent addition to the show.
Fans think that the judges have become more and more nasty toward the contestants, and they have also noticed that almost every season has at least one cranky participant who is ever-ready to indulge in unnecessary fights.
One thing that is for sure fake is the time limit for the process of tattooing. Before starting the drawing on the human canvas, the artists are given a time limit within which they have to complete the task.
But from what the volunteers or the human canvases revealed after being on the show, we know that those limits do not really matter because of a lot of different factors. Some of the challenges on the show also seem to be completely unrelated to one’s tattoo skills, and then there are others that dial the difficulty level to eleven.
The judges also do not give out advice to contestants. Instead, they choose to lash out and pick favorites. The show was about showcasing the skills of tattoo artists, but with the release of the recent seasons, fans are convinced that the makers are more interested in playing on the “tattoo artists are tough people” stereotype.
The amount of drama and backtalk on the show has increased quite a lot, with contestants engaging in a lot of fights with each other, part of which appears to be exaggerated due to the post-editing of the episodes.
Fans have also noticed that a lot of times, the reactions and responses of the contestants and the judges seem so fake that they look visibly scripted, completely taking away from the reality aspect of the show.
Participants of the show have previously revealed that the production used to force them to complain about each other to make things more interesting. Sadly, Ink Master seems to have given in to the pressure of being entertaining over being authentic, which has led it face-first into cheap drama and scripted dialogues.
