The Next Great (Over 35) Supermodel!

NEW YORK, Aug. 17  — TV Land and Wilhelmina Models, Inc.
today announced a partnership to discover the next new face of the fashion
industry. Documented in a six-part series tentatively titled The Next Great
Supermodel, TV Land and Wilhelmina Models, Inc. will scour the country –
and put the would-be models to the test — to find their next star: a woman
35 or over who exudes sophistication, beauty and confidence.

The Next Great Supermodel will premiere on TV Land in the Spring of
2008 and is being executive produced by Emmy Award Winner Allison Grodner
(Big Brother, Blowout). The winner of the reality series competition will
receive a lucrative modeling contract with Wilhelmina Models, Inc.
“We’re so excited to move forward with this project to give much-needed
representation on television to the beauty of women in their Power Years,”
states Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land. “It’s such a thrill to partner
with legendary modeling agency Wilhelmina in this endeavor. Clearly, we are
at a point in American culture when being 35 and over in the modeling
industry no longer means over the hill, it means big bucks and lots of
opportunity.”
“This will be an exciting journey across the USA,” said Sean Patterson,
President of Wilhelmina. “We are looking for women who embody what every
model should regardless of age and that is the utmost beauty and
confidence.”
Beginning today, TV Land and Wilhelmina’s Model Search team is combing
the country to find the greatest assemblage of aspiring undiscovered models
age 35 and older. Then, kicking off on September 29, the series’ host and a
panel of judges will attend regional auditions in Los Angeles, New York,
Atlanta and Chicago to pare down the group to just 20 contenders. The
aspirants will then be flown to New York to live in a house together where
they will face various challenges such as photo shoots and tests on their
fashion know-how. Eliminations will occur weekly until the ultimate winner
is crowned.
TV Land is inviting all would-be models 35 and over to visit TVLand.com
to submit an application and pictures. In addition, the website will
outline the rules of the competition and will feature all of the regional
audition sites and dates.
The Next Great Supermodel is an Allison Grodner Production with Allison
Grodner Executive Producing. Sean Patterson and Corey Preston are Executive
Producers for Wilhelmina. Keith Cox is Executive Producer and Marco Bresaz
is Executive in Charge of Production for TV Land.
About Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina is one of the largest model agency chains in the world,
founded by legendary model, Wilhelmina Cooper in 1967. Today, they lead the
industry in diversity and depth, and represent some of the biggest models,
and celebrity talent in the world. Sean Patterson is the President of
Wilhelmina Models. Dieter Esch is Chairman. They have offices in New York,
Los Angeles and Miami as well as licensees across the U.S.
About TV Land
Now seen in over 90 million U.S. homes, TV Land is dedicated to
building the ultimate Baby Boomer entertainment brand on all platforms.
Armed with a slate of new original programming, newly acquired Classic TV
and movies, multiplatform content and Cause Change, a new pro-social
initiative, the network is uniquely positioned to cater to America’s 78
million Baby Boomers, the first generation of Americans who grew alongside
television. TV Land’s program mix features hit originals, popular dramas,
sitcoms, westerns and Retromercials. TV Land’s roster includes hits like
All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Andy Griffith Show and several others.
Furthering the network’s commitment to develop original programming that
complements its roster of acquisitions, the network regularly showcases
original series and specials like I Pity The Fool, Sit Down Comedy with
David Steinberg, TV Land Myths and Legends, Generation Boom, TV Land
Confidential and the upcoming original series High School Reunion.
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the
world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media
platforms. MTV Networks, with 135 channels worldwide, owns and operates the
following television programming services – MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2,
VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV,
CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL
SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these
networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its
audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than
200 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless
and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements,
joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming
services can be seen worldwide.

SOURCE TV Land