It looks like Tyra Banks isn’t ready to close the runway just yet. The supermodel and producer revealed that America’s Next Top Model will return for a 25th cycle, marking its first new season since 2018.
Banks made the announcement during the third episode of Netflix’s Reality Check: America’s Next Top Model, which examines both the cultural impact and the controversial legacy of the long-running modelling competition.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Banks confirmed the revival directly in the episode’s closing moments.
“After the show, I had so many different ideas for my life. I’m obsessed with pivoting. And I live in Australia now,” Banks said.
“I feel like my work is not done. You have no idea what we have planned for cycle 25.”
The announcement came just before the docuseries concluded.
What We Know So Far
Specific details about season 25 have not yet been revealed. However, Entertainment Weekly reports that Banks has previously expressed interest in reviving the series as an all-stars edition featuring contestants from earlier cycles.
Representatives for Banks did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
America’s Next Top Model originally premiered in 2003 and ran for 24 cycles, becoming a global pop culture phenomenon and spawning multiple international versions.
A Complicated Legacy
While the show helped launch modelling careers and broadened conversations around diversity in fashion, it has also faced sustained criticism over the years.
Fans and critics have pointed to controversial moments, including the use of Blackface in photoshoots, instances of body-shaming by judges, and allegations that contestants were not adequately protected during certain challenges — including one involving inappropriate touching during a shoot.
Banks has publicly acknowledged those missteps.
Speaking at the Essence Black Women Awards last year, she addressed the backlash directly:
“Did we get it right? Hell no. I said some dumb shit.”
She added:
“But I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the internet when there were 24 cycles of changing the world. And I am so excited that I, and so many of us, have opened that door for others to follow.”
A New Era?
With season 25 now officially on the horizon, the question remains whether the revived series will reflect the lessons learned from past controversies — and how it will navigate a media landscape that looks very different from the early 2000s.
For better or worse, America’s Next Top Model shaped a generation of reality TV. Now, more than two decades after its debut, it’s preparing for another walk down the runway
