Next Top Model’s Ken Mok

Season 22 of America’s Next Top Model launched this fall on The CW in the U.S. Featuring 14 male and female aspiring supermodels living together under one roof and battling it out for a career-launching prize package, this season marked the third “Guys and Girls” edition, in what is one of many twists the producers have introduced over the years to keep the series fresh. The show was developed by supermodel Tyra Banks and Ken Mok, who both serve as executive producers. Through CBS Studios International, America’s Next Top Model is under license in more than 100 markets around the world and has 20 international versions in production. There are local iterations of Next Top Model airing this year in such varied territories as Australia, China, Germany, India, Mexico and the U.K. There are also pan-Asian and pan-African editions. Mok tells TV Formats about what gives the series its wide global appeal.

TV FORMATS: How did you and Tyra Banks come together for the creation of America’s Next Top Model?
MOK: That happened 14 years ago, believe it or not. We were introduced because I had been a producer of unscripted [programming] and was known for creating aspirational series, in which the show itself is a launching pad for somebody who wants to be a singer or a wrestler, etc. I had created Making the Band, which started out on ABC and went to MTV. I also created Tough Enough, which was about [amateur wrestlers trying to make it into WWE]. So my agent thought it would be a good idea for Tyra and me to meet because she was looking to do a show about the making of a model.
We met and hit it off. I came up with a format with her very quickly, and she liked it. We went off and sold it; there were multiple bidders right away. We had good fortune off the bat.

TV FORMATS: From the beginning did you see potential for the show to be replicated internationally?
MOK: We did see the international potential for the show. Fashion travels. It has no language barrier. Everybody in every country, big or small, is consumed with fashion; we are all affected by it, whether we like it or not. We all make fashion choices every day. Every morning when you get up and pick out what to wear, you’re making a fashion choice. So we knew that this show would travel very, very well.

TV FORMATS: Walk us through some of the tweaks that have been made over the years to keep the show fresh.
MOK: We’re never afraid of change. We always want to make sure that every year the show feels fresh for the viewer, not only in terms of the models’ challenges and photo shoots, but also in terms of the talent. Over the years there have been many different people on our judging panel, ranging from Janice Dickinson to Paulina Porizkova to Twiggy to Nigel Barker. We’ve constantly had changes in the talent and the judges on our show.
Along the way we’ve also instituted different changes that reflect advancements in technology. Social media wasn’t around when we were setting up the show, or at least it was in its very nascent stages. As time has gone by, because of the rapid growth of social media—including Instagram, Twitter, Vine—we have not only incorporated it into the challenges, but we have also incorporated using social media into the show itself. There were a few cycles in which we actually had the audience vote for the models online. We’ve done away with that, but now we’re [providing viewers the opportunity to have] their comments from social media posted on the episodes themselves. When you watch the show, you’ll see people’s comments on the screen.

TV FORMATS: What led to the addition of male models on the show?
MOK: The world of fashion has changed over the years. We’d like to take a little credit for that. When we started the show and had all female contestants, we made sure that we had a very diverse group of cast members. We wanted plus-size, skinny, tall, short, and a truly diverse ethnic cast. At that time, 13 years ago, modeling was a very monochromatic, homogeneous business. There were only a couple of African-American models out there. As time has passed, the fashion industry has really opened its doors to all different types of people. I think we’ve influenced that. Now you’re also starting to see more and more men in the industry get their day in the sun.
As the series went along, ten-plus years into the cycle, we thought it was time to introduce men into the show. The modeling world had changed and we [wanted to reflect that and] thought it would introduce a new dynamic to the series and revitalize it. And it certainly has! Our ratings have really done well. It has helped the show tremendously.

TV FORMATS: How important is the dynamic between the judges to the success of a particular season?
MOK: The chemistry among the judges is key. You have to make sure that each person on that panel not only brings a different perspective of the fashion industry to the show, but that they also complement one another energetically. You can’t have three judges up there who are Simon Cowells. [Laughs] The current lineup [Tyra Banks, public-relations maven Kelly Cutrone, runway coach J. Alexander and photographer Yu Tsai] is fantastic in that everyone complements one another. Everyone also has a very different perspective on the fashion industry, and you need that in order to get a fully realized picture and complete analysis of each model. It helps to sift through the pretenders and the contenders in a very thorough way.

TV FORMATS: Do you also look for a certain dynamic between the models?
MOK: The first thing we look at, above all else, is whether they can model. Can they make it in this industry? We want people who are going to succeed, who actually do have the potential to be a model. If they pass that test, then we take other elements into consideration. We start to look at height, size, ethnic diversity and personality. You can’t have all alphas in the house; you’ve got to have some alphas, some people who are shy, some who are headstrong, some who are conciliatory—you want to have a nice mix.

TV FORMATS: Do you share know-how with the producers of the international versions of Next Top Model?
MOK: Yes. Every year we have a conference in Miami, where our international franchises gather and exchange ideas. We do our own presentation of what we’re doing with the show [in the U.S.] and what we did with the latest cycle. We walk through storytelling, casting, new aspects of social media that we’re using on the show, and the feedback we’ve received about things that we have done. We show a big video presentation and have a discussion. Then the franchises themselves each do their own presentation for us. It’s a great exchange of ideas about how to make the show work.
The one thing that we always tell all the [international producers] is: process is boring, people are not. One of the mistakes that a lot of modeling shows make, one that our franchise partners sometimes make, is they will focus on how fantastic the photo shoot is; they’ll focus on the process of the shoot. That’s interesting for about 30 seconds, but after that you’re bored. There’s no personal point of view that’s coming through that. However, if you tell a story through the perspective of one of the models, what her experience is during that shoot, it makes the story emotionally engaging. That is something that we always teach our franchise partners how to do. If you focus on the individual journey rather than the overall picture, you will have success.

TV FORMATS: What do you think makes Next Top Model such an audience hit around the world?
MOK: First of all, it’s an aspirational show. A lot of people aspire to be in the world of fashion. Secondly, in its casting the series can be very relatable. The fashion industry wants quirky, different-looking girls. So you get models on the show who kids in high school can look at and think, I could be that person! Thirdly, we do a really good job of building up great personal stories and personal journeys so that the viewers get emotionally involved. Unscripted shows are no different than scripted dramas; you have to have characters that you care about, an emotional arc, and a narrative with a beginning, middle and end. If you can successfully tell a story that people are going to want to get involved with in every one of your episodes, then you’re going to have an audience that’s engaged. With all of those elements together, we’ve had success.