CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- UPN has picked up its summer reality series "America's Next Top Model" for a second season. 10 new episodes are expected to be ready for the network by midseason. The announcement came via press release earlier today:

UPN has picked up a second cycle of the popular dramality series AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL with world-renown supermodel icon Tyra Banks. UPN has ordered 10 one-hour episodes, which will again feature Banks as she and a panel of industry experts judge a new group of 12 women in the search for the next top model.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL has established itself as one of UPN's strongest series ever among young women, as the June 3, 2003 episode delivered the network's highest series ratings ever in the time period among women 18-34. Since its premiere, AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL is delivering double- and triple-digit growth in the time period over the 2002-2003 season-to-date average in all key adult and female demographics, improving +91% among adults 18-34, +70% among adults 18-49, +62% among total viewers, +136% among women 18-34 and +108% among women 18-49. AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL has also become one of UPN's most upscale series.

Producers have already begun a nationwide talent search for the next group of real women who think they have what it takes to make it in the high-stress, high-stakes world of supermodeling. Applications are now available at http://www.upn.com.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL follows 12 young women of various backgrounds, shapes and sizes, who live together in a New York penthouse and vie for a modeling contract. The dramality exposes the transformation of everyday young women into potentially fierce supermodels, as they face weekly tests that determine who can make the cut. The finalists compete in a highly accelerated modeling boot camp, a crash course to supermodel fame that includes mentoring by supermodel Tyra Banks and exposure to high-profile fashion industry gurus, all under 24-hour-a-day surveillance of the AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL cameras, which will chronicle every move.

The executive producers are Ken Mok ("Making the Band") and Tyra Banks. AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL is produced by 10 by 10 Entertainment in association with Ty Ty Baby Productions. The dramality was created by Tyra Banks and developed by Mok and Kenya Barris.