Ink Master is an American reality competition television series airing on Paramount Network. The show, which premiered on January 17, 2012, features tattoo artists who compete in various challenges assessing their tattoo and other related artistic skills. They are judged by renowned tattoo artists and enthusiasts, with one or more contestants being eliminated each episode. The last contestant standing each season receives a $100,000 prize and the title of Ink Master And be featured in Inked Magazine. The series is produced by Original Media, which also produced the reality showMiami Ink. Three spin-off shows, titled Ink Master: Redemption, and Ink Master: Grudge Match, have also been released. The series has also released a number of special standalone episodes generally themed around an upcoming event or holiday such as Halloween. The tenth season premiered on January 9, 2018, and aired its first two episodes on Spike before the network rebranded as the Paramount Network. On April 24, 2018, it was announced that Paramount Network had renewed the series for an eleventh season. The twelfth season, titled Ink Master: Battle of the Sexes, premiered on June 11, 2019. On November 12, 2019, it was announced that the thirteenth season titled Ink Master: Turf War would premiere on January 7, 2020. On January 9, 2020 after multiple Myspace photos resurfaced from the internet featuring Oliver Peck sporting blackface and a costume with a large "N" across his chest, Ink Master announced he would no longer be associated with the show.
International broadcasts
Ink Master airs on the Australian TV channel, 7mate. In the UK, Ink Master airs on truTV, also available in Ireland. In The Netherlands and Flanders both Ink Master and their Dutch-speaking adaptation Ink Master: Meesters van de Lage Landen are being aired on Spike Netherlands.
Show format
Basic format
All episodes aside from the finales have the following format, with some minor variations to the application of the format: First, there is a Flash Challenge that will be evaluated based on how well an artist met the skill of the week. Some Flash Challenges involve tattooing, but typically, flash challenges do not incorporate the act of tattooing; but, instead, will require a non-related artistic skill The winner of the flash challenge wins the right to select their own human canvas in the elimination challenge, and, as of season two, pair up the other contestants with their human canvases. After the Flash Challenge comes the Elimination Challenge, a further test of the skill of the week on a human canvas, typically incorporating a prominent style of tattooing. Once the contestants are paired up with their canvases, they are given the day to consult with their assignment. The next day, each contestant is given four to six hours to tattoo their design. Once completed, the contestants meet as a group with the judges and are critiqued one by one. The contestants then are dismissed, with four later being called back. The four typically represent a top two and bottom two for the week, though this breakdown can change. At the end of each episode, a winner is typically declared and one contestant is eliminated.
Special format
For the finale of season one, the final challenge was a marathon tattooing of up to 18 hours. The season two finale did not share this format, and instead consisted of each of the three finalists meeting with his or her respective canvas for four six-hour sessions to create a final piece. This final piece did not require a specific tattoo genre or location for the artist to tattoo. Instead, the artists were able to choose those aspects for themselves, and the only restriction they faced was a time limit. The season three finale followed a similar format to the season two finale, but the artists were allowed five seven-hour sessions for a cumulative 35-hour master canvas tattoo.
Judging
Musician Dave Navarro and tattoo artists Chris Núñez and Oliver Peck are the show's primary judges; Dave and Chris have appeared in all episodes to date; however Oliver missed two episodes of season nine as he was having surgery after a heart attack. Some episodes incorporate a fourth guest judge, usually a well-known tattoo artist who has knowledge or reputation in the style of tattoo chosen for the week's elimination challenge. Season two judging was taken to a new level with audience voting participation through the website, and also via Facebook voting. The audience vote affected the final ruling by the judges. Sebastian Murphy was eliminated from consideration by the judges in the season finale because he was the contestant whose work in the elimination challenges received the fewest votes by the audience. Season three introduced the human canvas jury, in which the human canvases review each other's tattoos and nominate for elimination the artist who did the worst piece. Season four introduced the elimination challenge winner's selection, where the challenge winner picks an artist for elimination. Oliver Peck was forced out of his spot as Ink Master Judge following a controversy involving his reemerged blackface photo from his MySpace page. Judging by the photos, this event would likely have happened over a decade prior, when he was married to Kat Von D. There has been no word of a replacement.
Seasons
Specials
There have been various standalone holiday and special event themed episodes made that do not follow the series seasons. They have typically followed an upcoming or recently passed holiday. These episodes feature previous Ink Master contestants competing for smaller cash prizes. Ink Master licensed a Dutch/Belgian edition called Ink Master: Meesters van de Lage Landen to Spike NL in 2017. The format remains largely intact, filming takes place mainly around Amsterdam. The winner of the first season of this edition was the Belgian contestant "Djoels". The second season takes place in IJmuiden and was won by Belgian contestant Joyce.
Spin offs
''Ink Master: Redemption''
Spin-off series Ink Master: Redemption premiered in September 2015. The spin-off features canvases who are unhappy with the tattoo they received during the competition. After discussing their tattoo with Navarro, the canvases are given the chance to confront the artist who did the original piece. The artist is offered the chance for redemption by being able to consult with the canvas on a new tattoo. After reviewing the artist's new drawing, the canvas is given a no-strings-attached choice to either proceed with the new tattoo or leave the shop. Episodes sometimes feature a twist, such as rival artists returning to draw a design for the same unhappy canvas, potentially stealing the original artist's chance at redemption. Ink Master: Redemption was renewed for a second season to coincide with the premiere of season 7 of Ink Master.
''Ink Master: Angels''
In June 2017, Spike announced a new spin off series titled Ink Master: Angels. The premise follows four female contestants from the eighth season of Ink Master - season winner Ryan Ashley Malarkey, Kelly Doty, Nikki Simpson and Gia Rose - as they travel around the United States to face other artists in tattoo challenges with a spot on season ten of Ink Master on the line. The show premiered on October 3, 2017.
''Ink Master: Grudge Match''
On August 21, 2019, it was announced that a spin-off titled Ink Master: Grudge Match would premiere on October 1, 2019. Judges for the series include former Ink Master contestants Cleen Rock One, DJ Tambe, and Ryan Ashley Malarkey.
