'America's Next Top Model' TV Review: Male Contestants Heat Up The Competition For Cycle 20

I must admit that I didn’t expect much watching the season 20 premiere of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM). After 10 years and 19 cycles – including some gimmicks in the last few years such as ‘College Edition’ and Americans vs. Brits – I figured that the Tyra Banks modeling competition show was on its last legs. But what modelesque legs it stands on! I was surprisingly entertained by the two-hour episode. What made it interesting? Some twists that the guys vs. girls dynamic provided that I didn’t expect.

The most interesting thing to see was that the boys honestly wanted to join the modeling industry and weren’t all pompous morons looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Many of them, in fact, were quite normal. It was nice to see the modeling perspective from potential male models instead of ANTM’s typically catty female contestants. Frontrunners include Marvin Cortes (who was teased and called ‘Tyra’ growing up), Cory Hinderoff, and Phil Sullivan. The women, surprisingly, were, for the most part, forgettable. Only the quirky Nina Burns stood out – she reminded me a lot of season 12’s runner-up Allison Harvard with her lanky frame, blonde hair, and alien-like eyes. She could go far.

The biggest surprise was that the first incident of drama happened among the men when Chris Hernandez put on boxing gloves and, supposedly playfully, went around ‘punching’ people. The other contestants got annoyed and called him immature. This created immediate trouble for Hernandez, who Tyra Banks said had the advantage of a natural ‘smize’ – that’s a Banks word meaning ‘smiling with your eyes.’

If for no other reason, watch this season of ANTM for the fights over the boys – a staple in any good reality show. This season will undoubtedly bring about catfights among the girls and possibly outright fights among the boys – a good number of the guys and girls are single and already plotting out their picks.

One thing I still don’t understand is the social media aspect. I get that ANTM wants to make the audience feel more like a part of the show by having viewers critique the photos as well – via comments and videos – but it doesn’t work. They tried it last season, and at no point did I understand the decision to add yet another facet to the judging. The judges are the experts, not the viewers. The modeling world is a spectator sport for the rest of us – let us enjoy the dramatic makeovers, the crazy photo shoots, and the ‘I’m not here to make friends – I’m here to be a model’ trashy wonderfulness.