Best Ink

Best Ink
Genre	Reality competition
Presented by	Pete Wentz (seasons 2–3) Kimberly Caldwell (season 1)
Judges	Joe Capobianco Sabina Kelley Hannah Aitchison
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	30
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jonathan Murray Gil Goldschein Rick DeOliveira Erin Cristall Lisa Fletcher Zach Kozek
Running time	42 minutes
Production company(s)	Bunim/Murray Productions
Release
Original network	Oxygen
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Original release	March 27, 2012 – February 26, 2014
External links
Website

Best Ink is an American reality competition series on Oxygen. The series premiered on March 27, 2012.^[1] In May 2012, Oxygen announced that the series has been renewed for second season with Pete Wentz^[2] and Hannah Aitchison joining the series.^[3][4] The second season debuted on April 3, 2013.^[5][6] Best Ink was renewed for a third season in June 2013,^[7] with the season premiering on December 4, 2013.^[8]

Cast

• Pete Wentz — Host (seasons 2–3)
• Kimberly Caldwell — Host (season 1)
• Joe Capobianco — Judge
• Sabina Kelley — Judge
• Hannah Aitchison — Judge

Format

The series follows a group of tattoo artists from various cities in the United States. The winner of the competition wins a $100,000 cash prize and a cover article of a well-known tattoo-related magazine. The show was hosted by Kimberly Caldwell during Season 1 and by Pete Wentz in Seasons 2 and 3.^[9] After each challenge, tattoo artist and the shows judges, along with different guest judge every week, critique the tattoos to find the contestant with the "Best Ink".

Flash challenge

Typically a task that does not necessarily has anything to do with tattooing itself, but is used to showcase the contestants' artistic skills using different mediums, subjects and "canvases." This is to show how different art forms can translate into the tattooing art world. Usually these skills tested in the Flash Challenge will be compulsory judging factor in the Elimination Tattoo.

Elimination tattoo

This stage starts with the winner of the Flash Challenge getting a privilege in this second stage, these perks can be first/only choice of which "skin" (client) they would like to tattoo or extra time, but is predetermined by the shows production team. Once each "Skin" is allocated to a contestant, a consultation period between artist and "skin" is given (typically in a set amount of time) and followed by chance to create the artwork overnight before tattooing the next day. The Elimination tattoos are performed simultaneously by all contestants and within a set amount of time. The judges then commences their critique where the best (and worst) tattoos of the week are recognized, the contestant that produces the worst tattoo is eliminated from the show until the final episode where one tattoo artist can claim ultimate bragging rights for "Best Ink."

Contestants

Season 1 Alexis Kovacs Christina "Charlie" Petty Jessica Rotwein Jon Mesa Kyle Giffen Brittan "London" Reese Meghan Pagliaroni Nicky Hennerez Roman Abrego Tiffany Perez

Season 2 Alli Baker[10] Brittany Elliott love Mafalda Meneses[10] Derek Rubright[10] DJ Tambe[10] Jerod Ray[10] Jordan "Dollars" Ginsberg[10] Kelly McEvoy[10] Melvin Todd[10] Ralph Giordano[10] Teresa Sharpe[10] Tylor Schwarz[10]

Season 3 Alayna Magnan[8] Amy Zager[8] Anthony Zamora[8] Carey Matthews[8] Danny Lepore[8] Darnell Waine[8] Izzi Echo[8] Joseph Matisa[8] Karly Cleary[8] Amy "May May" Yaeger[8] Romeo Lacoste[8] Rudy Hetzer[8] Willy Cutlip[8] Lara Slater[8]

Contestant progress

Season 1

Contestant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Flash Challenge Winner	Charlie	Roman	Kyle	Alexis	Alexis	Charlie	London	N/A
London	WIN	IN	IN	LOW	LOW	LOW	WIN	WINNER
Alexis	IN	HIGH	IN	WIN	HIGH	HIGH	IN	RUNNER-UP
Jon	HIGH	IN	BTM2	LOW	WIN	WIN	BTM2	3RD PLACE
Charlie	IN	IN	WIN	IN	BTM2	BTM2	OUT
Nicky	IN	LOW	IN	IN	IN	OUT
Kyle	IN	BTM2	IN	BTM2	OUT
Jessica	LOW	LOW	LOW	OUT
Roman	IN	WIN	OUT
Meghan	BTM2	OUT
Tiffany	OUT

     (WINNER) The contestant won Best Ink.

     (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up.

     (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week.

     (HIGH) The contestant had one of the best tattoos of the week, but did not win.

     (IN) The contestant was safe.

     (LOW) The contestant had one of the best tattoos of the week, but was voted into the bottom.

     (LOW) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week, but was the first to be called safe.

     (BTM2) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week and was the last to be called safe.

     (OUT) The contestant was eliminated from the competition.

Season 2

Contestant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Flash Challenge Winner	Melvin	Jerod	DJ	Dollarz	Tylor	Jerod	Teresa	DJ	Jerod	N/A
Teresa	HIGH	IN	WIN	HIGH	WIN	HIGH	HIGH	IN	BTM2	WINNER
DJ	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	HIGH	HIGH	WIN	HIGH	WIN	RUNNER-UP
Jerod	IN	HIGH	LOW	BTM2	HIGH	LOW	IN	WIN	WIN	3RD PLACE
Alli	IN	IN	IN	HIGH	IN	IN	BTM2	BTM2	OUT
Brittany	IN	WIN	IN	IN	BTM2	WIN	IN	OUT
Derek	HIGH	IN	HIGH	LOW	LOW	BTM2	OUT
Tylor	IN	HIGH	IN	IN	IN	OUT
Ralph	IN	IN	HIGH	IN	OUT
Dollarz	IN	LOW	BTM2	OUT
Kelly	BTM2	BTM2	OUT
Melvin	LOW	OUT
Carolyn	OUT

Bold The contestant won immunity the previous week and was automatically safe the preceding week.

     (WINNER) The contestant won Best Ink.

     (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up.

     (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week, and received automatic immunity for the next week's Ink Challenge.

     (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week, but did not receive automatic immunity for the next week's Ink Challenge.

     (HIGH) The contestant had one of the best tattoos of the week, but did not win.

     (IN) The contestant was safe.

     (LOW) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week, but was the first to be called safe.

     (BTM2) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week and was the last to be called safe.

     (OUT) The contestant was eliminated from the competition.

Best Ink: Redemption

Contestant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
DJ									WIN	WIN
Jerod									WIN	OUT
Brittany							WIN	WIN	OUT
Alli								OUT
Tylor					WIN	WIN	OUT
Derek						OUT
Ralph				WIN	OUT
Melvin	WIN	WIN	WIN	OUT
Dollarz			OUT
Kelly		OUT
Carolyn	OUT

     The contestant won Best Ink Redemption.

     The contestant defeated the opposing contestant and was automatically sent to the next round.

     The contestant lost to the opposing contestant and was eliminated from Best Ink Redemption.

Season 3

Contestant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Flash Challenge Winner	Amy	May May	Willy	Darnell	Joe	Danny	Darnell	Karly	Alayna	Karly	Darnell	N/A
Karly	WIN	IN	IN	HIGH	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	BTM2	WIN	WINNER
Darnell	HIGH	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	HIGH	IN	WIN	HIGH	BTM2	RUNNER-UP
Alayna	IN	IN	IN	BTM2	WIN	IN	HIGH	HIGH	HIGH	IN	WIN	3RD PLACE
Willy	IN	WIN	HIGH	IN	HIGH	HIGH	LOW	HIGH	IN	WIN	OUT
Lara	LOW	IN	IN	IN	IN	HIGH	BTM2	LOW	BTM2	OUT
Joe	IN	HIGH	WIN	HIGH	HIGH	WIN	IN^1	BTM2	OUT
Romeo	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	BTM2	HIGH	OUT
Danny	IN	IN	IN	LOW	BTM2	LOW	OUT
May May	HIGH	LOW	LOW	IN	LOW	OUT
Anthony	IN	BTM2	IN	IN	OUT
Amy	IN	HIGH	BTM2	OUT
Izzi	BTM2	IN	OUT
Rudy	IN	OUT
Carey	OUT

Bold The contestant won immunity the previous week and was automatically safe the preceding week.

     (WINNER) The contestant won Best Ink.

     (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up.

     (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week, and received automatic immunity for the next week's Ink Challenge.

     (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week, but did not receive automatic immunity for the next week's Ink Challenge.

     (HIGH) The contestant had one of the best tattoos of the week, but did not win.

     (IN) The contestant was safe.

     (LOW) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week, but was the first to be called safe.

     (BTM2) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week and was the last to be called safe.

     (OUT) The contestant was eliminated from the competition.

• ^Note 1 : Joe was originally supposed to be in the bottom 3, but since he had won the Ink Challenge the previous week he was automatically safe.

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Season Premiere	Season Finale
	1	8	March 27, 2012	May 15, 2012
	2	10	April 3, 2013	June 5, 2013
	3	12	December 4, 2013	February 26, 2014

Season 1 (2012)

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)
1	1	"Something to Hide"	March 27, 2012	0.46[11]
2	2	"Pin-up Showdown"	April 3, 2012	0.33[12]
3	3	"Emotional Skin-Pact"	April 10, 2012	0.36[13]
4	4	"Tattoo Virgins"	April 17, 2012	0.31[14]
5	5	"Face Off"	April 24, 2012	0.53[15]
6	6	"Purrfect Ink"	May 1, 2012	0.52[16]
7	7	"The King of Ink"	May 8, 2012	0.44[17]
8	8	"For the Love of Ink"	May 15, 2012	0.44[18]

Season 2 (2013)

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)
9	1	"Bigger and Badder"	April 3, 2013	0.49[19]
10	2	"I've Got a Secret"	April 10, 2013	0.33[20]
11	3	"A Family Affair"	April 17, 2013	0.49[21]
12	4	"Live Out Loud"	April 24, 2013	0.38[22]
13	5	"A Good Laugh"	May 1, 2013	0.35[23]
14	6	"I'm Sexy and I Know It"	May 8, 2013	0.44[24]
15	7	"Brand New Life"	May 15, 2013	0.58[25]
16	8	"Be Ready For Anything"	May 22, 2013	0.51[26]
17	9	"True Love"	May 29, 2013	0.37[27]
18	10	"Full Body of Work"	June 5, 2013	N/A

Season 3 (2013-14)

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)
19	1	"The Seven Deadly Sins"	December 4, 2013	N/A
20	2	"Playing Dirty"	December 11, 2013	N/A
21	3	"Fight Club"	December 18, 2013	N/A
22	4	"Pain in the Ribs"	January 1, 2014	N/A
23	5	"Quittin' Time"	January 8, 2014	N/A
24	6	"Science Friction"	January 15, 2014	0.35[28]
25	7	"Man and the Machine"	January 22, 2014	N/A
26	8	"Life's a Beach"	January 29, 2014	N/A
27	9	"Sexy Pin-ups"	February 5, 2014	N/A
28	10	"Shock and Awe"	February 12, 2014	N/A
29	11	"Crash and Burn"	February 19, 2014	0.56[29]
30	12	"The $100,000 Tattoo"	February 26, 2014	N/A

See also

• List of tattoo TV shows

References

1. "Best Ink Episode: "Something to Hide"". Retrieved November 23, 2012.
2. "Pete Wentz Twitter Status". Retrieved November 23, 2012.
3. "'Best Ink' Renewed for a Second Season by Oxygen Media". Retrieved November 23, 2012.
4. "Oxygen Media Expands Original Programming Slate with New and Returning Series". Retrieved November 23, 2012.
5. Bibel, Sara. "'Best Ink' Season 2 to Premiere Wednesday, April 3 on Oxygen". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
6. "Tattoos and Art Collide When Oxygen's "Best Ink" Returns for Season Two with New Host Pete Wentz on Wednesday, April 3, at 10 PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic. February 19, 2013.
7. Kondolojy, Amanda (June 3, 2013). "'Best Ink' Renewed by Oxygen for Third Season". TV by the Numbers.
8. Kondolojy, Amanda (October 22, 2013). "'Best Ink' Season Three Premieres Wednesday, December 4 at 10PM". TV by the Numbers.
9. "Best Ink 2: Coming this Spring!". Retrieved February 13, 2013.
10. , Season 2 Contestants
11. "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: "Tosh.0" Continues Demo Reign". The Futon Critic. March 28, 2012.
12. "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: "Tosh.0" Wraps Spring Run on Top". The Futon Critic. April 4, 2012.
13. "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: "Deadliest Catch," NBA Top Charts". The Futon Critic. April 11, 2012.
14. "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: "Deadliest Catch," NBA Share Top Honors". The Futon Critic. April 18, 2012.
15. "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: Another Week, Another "Deadliest" Win". The Futon Critic. April 25, 2012.
16. "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs Continue Surge on TNT". The Futon Critic. May 2, 2012.
17. "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs, "Deadliest Catch" Lead the Night". The Futon Critic. May 10, 2012.
18. "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs Continue TNT's Reign". The Futon Critic. May 16, 2012.
19. "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: "Duck Dynasty" Still Unstoppable for A&E". The Futon Critic. April 4, 2013.
20. "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: A&E's "Duck Dynasty" Overshadows the Competition". The Futon Critic. April 11, 2013.
21. "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: "Duck Dynasty" Crushes the Competition". The Futon Critic. April 18, 2013.
22. "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: "Duck Dynasty" Goes Out on Top for A&E". The Futon Critic. April 25, 2013.
23. "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: TNT Rides NBA Playoffs to Top Spots". The Futon Critic. May 2, 2013.
24. "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs, "Psych" Top Charts". The Futon Critic. May 9, 2013.
25. "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: TNT Tops Third Consecutive Night with NBA Playoffs". The Futon Critic. May 16, 2013.
26. "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: Pacers/Heat Opener Dominates for TNT". The Futon Critic. May 23, 2013.
27. "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: Blackhawks/Red Wings Finale Tops Originals". The Futon Critic. May 30, 2013.
28. Kondolojy, Amanda (January 16, 2014). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Tops Night + 'American Horror Story', 'Crazy Hearts: Nashville', & More". TV by the Numbers.
29. Yanan, Travis (February 20, 2014). "Wednesday's Cable Ratings & Broadcast Finals: "Minds," "Idol" Can't Catch Winter Games". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 20, 2014.