Oxygen Competition Series Spotlights Tattoo Artists

NEW YORK: Oxygen Media has given the greenlight to a new reality competition series, tentatively titled Best Ink, that looks at the artistry of tattooing.

Best Ink features 12 tattoo artists as they compete for a cash prize. The permanent artwork will be created for, and on, real people in a variety of challenges to showcase the artists’ talents. The series will also watch the artists back at home as they fight to stay in the competition each week while the stakes get higher and the challenges become more difficult. The series will be produced by Bunim-Murray.

Oxygen is also bringing back Hair Battle Spectacular for a second season. In its first run, the show became Oxygen’s most watched freshman series in the network’s history. The show watches as 10 of America’s top stylists compete against one another to see who can deliver the biggest and best in fantasy hair design. The competition is produced by 3 Ball Productions.

Amy Introcaso-Davis, the senior VP of original programming and development at Oxygen Media, commented, "Many of our viewers choose to express themselves through the ever-growing phenomenon of body art. We hope to capture the best and brightest tattoo artists and celebrate this unique art form." She added, "Hair Battle Spectacular also offers a peek behind the curtain of a different kind of artistry—fantasy hair design—and last season our audience couldn’t get enough. We’re excited to bring it back to the schedule in 2011."