What’s the Story?

In THE AGENCY, viewers meet the men and women who work at Wilhelmina, one of the most successful modeling agencies in the fashion capital of New York City. Through its doors glide stunning Amazons determined to make it in fashion; the agents they meet inside are the gatekeepers who decide who's in or out. Of them all, Becky Southwick is the harshest, an equal-opportunity critic who spews venom even at models who seem beautiful beyond belief. What she values, she says, is "tall, skinny, and can walk like demons."

Is It Any Good?

While there's something strangely appealing about taking a peek behind the curtain -- what makes for a good walk, how a simple trim transforms one guy's look from good to great -- The Agency unfortunately reinforces stereotypes, both about the modeling industry and about what its "experts" consider to be acceptable standards of beauty. Despite the industry's body mass index controversy, thin is still very much in vogue. The show also unearths double standards: The agents are shown more than once discussing how the male models are too thin, whereas the women almost always can't be thin enough. What is clear after just a few episodes is that there are very specific, even mysterious, conditions to which a model's look must hew.

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TV Show Details

TV rating

NR

Network

VH1

Cast

Sean Patterson
Becky Southwick

Genre

Reality TV

Where to watch

VH1, Online

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