Kingston tattoo artist Ryan Ashley Malarkey will star in ‘Ink Master Angels’ special on Spike TV
From a press release:
Along with renewing for a 10th season, Spike TV’s hit original tattoo competition series “Ink Master” has green-lit a new television special, “Ink Master Angels,” starring Shavertown resident and Kingston tattoo artist Ryan Ashley Malarkey, who became the first female Ink Master in the live Season 8 finale last year.
With the rise in popularity of female competitors on “Ink Master,” Spike will debut “Ink Master Angels,” a one-hour special that will feature four of Season 8’s top female competitors – Ryan Ashley Malarkey, Kelly Doty, Nikki Simpson, and Gia Rose – as they travel the country and go head-to-head with some of America’s most talented tattoo artists in a variety of challenges to see who has what it takes to beat them. The special will debut later this year.
“I’m so pleased to see ‘Ink Master’ reach a milestone tenth season as it continues to be a great ratings driver for the network,” said Chachi Senior, senior vice president of original programming at Spike.
“The franchise has shown such amazing growth with our female audience that it is a natural progression to launch a female-fronted standalone competition as well.”
Malarkey, who is known for her intricate black and gray tattoos, is also the co-owner of The Strange and Unusual oddities parlor (with her fiancé Joshua Balz, former keyboardist for Scranton metal band Motionless In White) in Kingston, where she has a private, appointment-only tattoo studio attached to the shop.
Chosen from 30 of the top tattoo artists from around the country and competing against 17 other artists during the show, Malarkey won “Ink Master” to take home a cash prize of $100,000, a brand new Dodge Charger, a feature article in tattoo publication Inked, and a guest spot at Oliver Peck’s Elm Street Tattoo in Dallas, Texas.
“Ink Master” Season 10, which has been picked up for 16 one-hour episodes, will go into production later in 2017 and air on the rebranded Paramount Network in 2018. Season 9 debuts this June along with new episodes of spin-off series “Ink Master: Redemption.”
Each week, “Ink Master” puts artists through a series of tattoo challenges that not only test the artists’ technical skills, but also their on-the-spot creativity, as they must create and execute an original tattoo on a “human canvas.” Each episode focuses on a different and distinct style of tattooing such as realism, black and gray, and American traditional. The masterpieces the artists create will last a lifetime – and so will their mistakes. After every challenge, the contestants face a tough panel made up of series host Dave Navarro and world renowned tattoo artists Chris Nunez (“Miami Ink”) and Oliver Peck.
“Ink Master,” “Ink Master Angels,” and “Ink Master: Redemption” are produced for Spike by Truly Original (“Swamp People,” “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” “Vanity Fair Confidential”), with Glenda Hersh, Steven Weinstock, and Andrea Richter serving as executive producers. Truly Original is a subsidiary of Endemol Shine North America. Spike TV is available in 91.4 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks.
