Tyra Banks Confronts America's Next Top Model Controversies in New Docuseries

Netflix has dropped a trailer for a new docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model, where Tyra Banks and the show's other judges will be confronted with the most controversial moments from the hit show.

America's Next Top Model ran for 24 seasons from 2003 to 2016. It's been a decade since the show ended, and until now, Banks hasn't spoken out about the show. In the trailer, she reveals, "I haven't really said much, but now it's time" (via Netflix).

Banks was not only the host and main judge on the reality show, but she was also the show's creator. Plus, she was the alleged voice behind some of the show's most memorable, meme-able, and shocking moments.

The trailer, released on Monday, for the docuseries teases interviews with Banks, show developer Ken Mok, and judges Nigel Barker, Jay Manuel, and J. Alexander, affectionately known as Miss J. To get the full scope of the story, former contestants and Top Model winners were also interviewed.

Whitney Thompson, a plus-size model and the winner of season ten, praises Banks at the beginning of the trailer. Thompson gives Banks a ton of credit for opening the modeling industry to plus-size models, saying:

The only reason the door was open to me was because of Tyra.

While some, like Thompson, praised the show, others didn't shy away from detailing some of the harsher moments, including Mok, who reminisces on the moment he realized they "built a monster."

Top Model was filled with body-shaming, where already thin models were told they weren't "thin enough," said contestant Shannon Stewart.

In addition to the shaming, Netflix made sure to include a very politically incorrect moment in the trailer — when Manuel tells two contestants that they will be "switching ethnicities." After the clip, Manuel is shown in his interview, visibly cringing.

Afterward, the trailer takes a deep dive into the show's worst moments. Women are shown undergoing medical and dental procedures during their makeover episodes, while another contestant cried in her interview after recalling a photoshoot where a man touched her without consent.

Manuel seemed to blame Banks for the show's controversial moments. He said:

I realized Tyra would do anything for the success of her show.

That quote was followed by the clip of Banks admitting, "I knew I went too far." Always on brand, Miss J added some of their famous facial expressions as their only contribution to the trailer.

Banks went on to say the show became very "intense" but also pushed some of the blame onto the audience, saying, "But you guys were demanding, so we kept pushing more."

The docuseries also explores some of the show's most famous lore, why Miss J and Manuel weren't brought back after their contracts expired in 2012.

Fans will be able to stream the three-part series Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model on Netflix starting February 16, 2026.

Release Date 2003 - 2018-00-00