IT TAKES A MASTER TO CREATE ONE ON THE NEW SEASON OF "INK MASTER" PREMIERING TUESDAY, JANUARY 9 AT 10PM ET/PT

Season Ten Welcomes Back Three Series Winners to Coach Teams; Artists and Returning Masters Vie for $100,000 Each

Ink Master Season 10 Premieres Tuesday, January 9 At 10pm ET/PT

New York, NY, November 28, 2017 - "Ink Master" returns for a tenth season starting Tuesday, January 9 at 10pm ET/PT. For the first time, the series will welcome back three "Ink Master" winners to coach and mentor artists in the quest for $100,000, an editorial feature in Inked and the coveted title of "Ink Master." In addition, the former "Masters," Season Two's Steve Tefft, Season Seven's Anthony Michaels and Season Nine's DJ Tambe, will be competing against each other to win $100,000 of their own.

From Truly Original, the tenth season of "Ink Master," titled "Ink Master: Return Of The Masters," will debut on Spike TV starting January 9 and will continue to air on Tuesday nights when the network relaunches as Paramount Network on January 18.

"I am ecstatic that we are bringing back Steve, Anthony and DJ to go head to head this season," said Chachi Senior, SVP Alternative Programming and Development, Paramount Network. "Their coaching styles, as well as their talent as artists is the perfect set up for an intense season 10."

This new season starts off with 24 potential contestants who are put through a series of intense tattoo-style challenges, after which Tefft, Michaels and Tambe will select their top six artists to compete as part of their teams. Throughout the competition, the artists will be tested on their technical skills along with their on-the-spot creativity, as they must conceive and execute original tattoos on "human canvases." Each episode will focus on a different and distinct style of tattooing and, as always, while the artists' masterpieces will last a lifetime, so will their mistakes.

After each challenge, the contestants will face a tough panel comprised of musician, filmmaker and artist Dave Navarro, as well as world-renowned tattoo artists Chris Nu�ez ("Miami Ink") and Oliver Peck (Elm Street Tattoo).

Viewers can find more on each artist including biographies, photo galleries, artwork portfolios and team introduction videos by visiting inkmaster.spike.com. Throughout the season, fans can watch full episodes and video clips, and are encouraged to join the conversation on social media using #InkMaster. The latest in tattoo culture and series news can be found on the official "Ink Master" Facebook page, on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

"Ink Master" completed its 9th season on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 with a LIVE 90-minute finale that delivered 1.7 million viewers. Season 9 averaged 1.8 million viewers while ranking #1 in its cable timeslot with M18-49 and #2 with P18-49 and W18-49.

"Ink Master" is produced for Spike by Truly Original ("Swamp People," "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," "Vanity Fair Confidential") with Glenda Hersh, Steven Weinstock and Andrea Richter serving as executive producers. Truly Original is a subsidiary of Endemol Shine North America.

Chachi Senior is Spike's Senior Vice President, Alternative Programming, and Chaz Gray, Executive Producer of Current, Original Series, Spike, oversees production of "Ink Master."

About Truly Original:

Truly Original creates a broad range of scripted and unscripted programming for television and digital platforms. Run by Emmy award-winning producers Glenda Hersh and Steven Weinstock, who serve as Truly Original's co-presidents and CEOs, the company is a subsidiary of Endemol Shine North America. Truly Original's series include Ink Master, Ink Master: Redemption, and Ink Master: Angels for Spike; The Real Housewives of Atlanta, The Real Housewives of Potomac, Don't Be Tardy, Shahs of Sunset, Summer House and the upcoming Stripped, for Bravo; Vanity Fair Confidential for ID; Swamp People for History; Comic Book Men for AMC; Hack My Life for truTV; The Horn for Red Bull TV, and many others. Truly Original is headquartered in New York City.

About Paramount Network:

Paramount Network is a premium entertainment destination that pushes the limits of story-telling with bold original scripted and non-scripted series. Inspired by over a century of cinema, Paramount Network is where today's brightest stars bring the experience of the big screen to every screen with stories that are immersive, inclusive, and deeply personal.