True Beauty, the new reality show from Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher premiered on Monday, January 5th to strong results. The show was the number one non-sports choice for viewers, losing only to The Fiesta Bowl on FOX.

Copyright © 2008 ABC Studios / Adam Larkey

According to TV By the Numbers, 7.9 million viewers tuned in to see 10 contestants vie for what they think is a shot at being called “the most beautiful person in America.” The twist? The judges, supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, stylist Nole Martin and former MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo, are judging the contestants on their inner beauty as well.

True Beauty slaughtered it’s reality competitor, Momma’s Boys, which is produced by Ryan Seacrest and aired on NBC.

While True Beauty was a ratings winner, it was slaughtered by the critics. I hated it and so did the Huffington Post, Reuters and the Examiner. Such bad reactions to the show only makes me wonder how many contestants it will lost next week, when the second episode airs.

Did you watch it? What did you think?

True Beauty, the beauty pageant-oriented reality show that was created and co-produced by Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher premieres tonight.

Copyright © 2008 ABC Studios / Adam Larkey

The show features six women and four men living together in Los Angeles. They think they are competing for a beauty titled, but really the judges will be judging them on their inner beauty. Former MTV DJ Vanessa Minnillo is the host and Cherly Tiegs and Nole Martin will serve as the judges.

Here’s a promo for the show I haven’t posted before:

The contestants are

• Billy Jeffrey, 31, an entrepeneur from Idaho
• Monique Santiago, 21, a go-go dancer from New York
• Julia Anderson, 23, a dancer from Dallas, Texas
• Ray Seitz, 29, an artist from San Diego, California
• Laura Leigh, 21, a model from Staten Island
• Joel Rush, 26, a sales rep from Tampa, Florida
• Chelsea Bush, 21, a model from Brentwood, Tennessee
• Hadiyyah-lah-Fatimah Sa’id, 23, a receptionist from Minneapolis, Minnesota
• CJ Miller, 26, a barista from Los Angeles, California

You’ll be able to watch these ten beautiful people make fools of themselves at 10pm EST on ABC.

True Beauty, the new ABC reality show that is being produced by Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher is set to debut on January 5, 2009 at 10/9c. Six women and four men are competing for the titled of “True Beauty.” They think the judges Nol Marin, Cheryl Tiegs and host Vanessa Minnillo are judging them on their outer beauty, but their actual evaluations are based on their inner beauty.

ABC released a preview for the show, which you can watch below.

Honestly, I just don’t see the show doing all that well. It would need to pull in numbers better than ANTM for ABC to consider it a success and I can’t see True Beauty doing that. It feels a lot like America’s Most Smartest Model, which fit the line-up and the audience of VH1.

Maybe I’m being too negative. We’ll have to wait until January 5 to find out!

Tyra Banks’s top-secret development deal with Ashton Kutcher and ABC has finally been revealed! The show, called True Beauty is about finding the inner beauty of the contestants. The show will air in January 2009 and after it’s premiere will follow Samantha Who? in ABC’s line-up.

Six women and four men will live together in a mansion in Hollywood and compete in pageant-style competitions. However, the judges will be evaluating the contestants based on their in inner beauty-and the contestants are unaware of this. The show will be hosted by MTV’s Vanessa Minnillo and Cheryl Tiggs and Nole Martin will serve as judges. THe winner receives a cash prize and a spot on People’s 100 Most Beautiful People of 2009 list.

Does anyone else find the premise of this show to be pretty terrible? Also, why did ABC go for it? It seems like a show that would be more up VH1’s, MTV’s or the CW’s alley.

I’ll still tune in, though, just to see the inner workings of Tyra’s brain.