Photo: A&E
Looking Ahead To The 'Bad Tattoo' Shows Of The Future
After Tattoo Nightmares, America's Worst Tattoos, and the forthcoming Bad Ink, what's next?
More and more of us are choosing to have designs permanently inked onto our vulnerable flesh, and you know what that means: more and more tattoos to regret later. The "bad tattoo" reality sub-genre already has a couple of entrants with another due to premiere in a month, which makes this an official trend. So with that in mind, we'd like to make some informed predictions about how the topic will be treated in the years ahead.
2012
America's Worst Tattoos, Tattoo Nightmares: Inked participants tell the stories behind their bad tattoos, in the hopes that show production will pay to get them covered up with something better-looking.
2013
Bad Ink: Tattoo artists Dirk Vermin and Ruckus scour Las Vegas for the worst tattoos, covering some of them up.
2014
Inkorporated: Renowned headhuntress Wendy Doulton helps participants who are underemployed due to their unsightly tattoos to find jobs with employers other than bars, used CD stores, and tattoo parlors.
2015
What Not To Ink: Style experts Stacy London and Clinton Kelly monitor tattoo parlors via hidden camera, and intervene when clients' chosen tattoos should never happen.
2016
Cake Ink: In this competition show, recipients of bad tattoos challenge the artists who inked them to turn their "talents" to cake decoration.
2017
Inked Parent Problems: A child care expert helps parents whose bad tattoos have compromised their authority with their kids.
2018
De-Ink Disasters: Participants who've had bad results from the new Dyson Home Tattoo Remover tell their stories, and get cover-ups from seasoned tattoo artists.
2019
Inked And Underwater: Following the challenges of getting a mortgage refinanced when all the broker can see is your bad neck tattoo.
2020
My Teen Has A Bad Tattoo, And So Do I: From you, Mom/Dad! I learned it from watching you and your short-sighted tattoo choices!
2021
In Tattoo Treatment: Participants who got skin diseases from using the rushed-through-the-FDA-approval-process Dyson Home Tattoo Remover take us on their dermatological journey back to health.
2024
Ink Regrets: Bad Ink stars Dirk Vermin and Ruckus return to reality TV to reunite with the badly tattooed participants of their last show and apologize for their ink-shaming.
2035
RetiremInk: As the first tattooed generation starts to move into assisted-living situations, this show documents the isolation they face if their tattoos are bad.
2039
Junior Tattoo Disasters: Parents tell the stories of the terrible tattoos their minor children gave themselves with the Braun Home Tattoo System.
2050
Tattoo Jail: Spending one last night of freedom with Americans who have violated the 2049 federal tattoo ban, before they depart to serve their prison sentences.