Ink Master (2012)

Game-Show · Reality-TV

A group of the country's most creative and skilled tattoo artists compete for a hundred thousand dollars and the title of Ink Master. The stakes couldn't be higher with "living canvasses" donating their skin to be permanently marked in this adrenalized competition elimination.

IMDb rating: 7.4 (5,427 votes)
Episode average: 7.1 -0.3 vs IMDb
Seasons: 17
Streaming (US): Paramount+
Language: EN
Type: TV series

U-shaped trajectory: strong first and last seasons, a sag between. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well. See every U-shaped show in the explorer →

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 17 seasons indexed

Seasons

Season 1 (2012)

7.56 avg 9 episodes 7.6 → 7.6 42 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Fresh Meat	7.6	90
2	Botched Heat Tattoo	7.5	64
3	Pasties and a Camel Toe	7.7	56
4	Ink Disaster Piece	7.5	57
5	Game On	7.6	57
6	Permanent Mistakes	7.9	61
7	Picture Imperfect	7.5	56
8	Ink Master Revealed	7.1	61
9	Ink Master Revealed	7.6	52

Season 2 (2012)

7.43 avg 13 episodes 7.4 → 7.5 42 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Tattooing the Dead	7.4	54
2	Semi Nude 911	7.5	46
3	The 80 Year Old Virgin	7.8	48
4	Tattoo Her What?	7.8	45
5	Trick or Freak	7.6	48
6	Half Naked and Fully Loaded	7.5	47
7	Star Wars Forever	8.0	52
8	Holy Ink	7.4	40
9	Buck Off	7.4	38
10	Blowing Chunks	6.1	49
11	Better Than Words?	7.7	39
12	This Bigger They Are	6.9	47
13	Ink Master Live	7.5	44

Season 3 (2013)

7.37 avg 13 episodes 7.4 → 7.2 45 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Baby Got Back	7.4	52
2	Thrills for Grills	7.5	44
3	Fire and Lace	7.6	38
4	Elysium Challenge	7.3	41
5	Baby Beat-Down	7.3	41
6	Animal Instinct	7.4	42
7	Monumental Mistakes	7.5	41
8	Baby Don't Go	7.1	40
9	Skulls and Villains	7.4	42
10	Eyes of the Beholder	7.1	45
11	Heroes & Heads	7.6	41
12	Enduring the Pain	7.4	41
13	The Epic Finale	7.2	47

Season 4 (2014)

7.20 avg 12 episodes 7.2 → 6.8 42 min avg

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Earn It	7.2	42
2	Bug Out	7.2	36
3	Tatt Ganged	6.7	39
4	Nude & Tattooed	7.5	37
5	X-Men's Hugh Jackman	7.7	40
6	2 on 1 Tat-Astrophe	7.1	30
7	Artist Slaughter	7.8	40
8	Episode #4.8	7.4	39
9	Episode #4.9	7.0	39
11	Karma's a Bitch	7.3	31
12	Fight to the Finish	6.7	35
13	Ink Master Live	6.8	10

Season 5 (2014)

7.11 avg 18 episodes 7.5 → 7.0 41 min avg

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Inking with the Enemy	7.5	48
2	Pinup Pittfalls	7.3	45
3	Head to Headache	7.2	41
4	Geishas Gone Wrong	7.4	40
5	Glass on Blast	7.1	42
6	Cheek to Cheek	7.1	39
7	Three's a Crowd	7.2	38
8	Ink My Oosik	7.0	40
9	Virgin Blood	7.1	38
10	Cold Blooded	6.9	39
11	Up in Smoke	6.7	43
12	Heads Will Roll	7.0	38
13	Painstaking Portraits	6.9	40
14	Firing Squad	7.2	39
15	Fight to the Finale	7.3	40
16	Ink Finale	6.7	36
97	Merry Ink	7.3	26
98	New Year's Ink	7.0	21

Season 6 (2015)

7.04 avg 18 episodes 7.5 → 6.8 43 min avg

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Meet Your Make	7.5	45
2	Fight or Flight	7.0	34
3	Sink or Swim	7.3	35
4	Tut For Tat	6.9	33
5	Problem Parts	7.3	31
6	Firing Line	7.2	31
7	Predator/Prey	7.2	41
8	Composed and Exposed	7.0	34
9	Like a Moth to Flame	7.1	32
10	Hell on Wheels	6.8	32
11	Hail Mani	7.3	33
12	Slitting Throats	7.5	37
13	Players Choice	6.9	34
14	Active Duty	7.0	33
15	Go Big or Go Home	6.8	35
16	Masters vs Apprentices Live	6.4	38
17	Hallowink	6.8	21
18	Cupid's Ink	6.8	14

Season 7 (2016)

7.30 avg 13 episodes 7.2 → 7.0 43 min avg

Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Initiation	7.2	48
2	One Man's Trash	7.4	40
3	Salt in the Wound	7.1	38
4	The Devil's in the Details	7.3	40
5	New School, Old Artist	7.6	36
6	Under Pressure	7.5	35
7	Knuckle Sandwich	7.4	33
8	Breathing Fire	7.0	32
9	Sink or Soar	7.7	34
10	Shipwrecked	7.5	34
11	Head in the Game	7.3	31
12	Turning the Tables	6.9	35
13	Revenge Live	7.0	36

Season 8 (2016)

6.61 avg 16 episodes 6.8 → 5.9 42 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 8 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Weeding Out the Weak	6.8	44
2	The Game Begins	6.6	39
3	Ruffled Feathers	6.6	38
4	Put on Your Armor	6.7	37
5	Sparks Fly	6.6	35
6	Sticky Situation	6.6	37
7	New School, Old Scars	6.8	36
8	Bent Out of Shape	6.6	37
9	Head Games	6.7	36
10	Like Sand Through the Hour Glass	7.1	34
11	Duck and Cover Up	6.7	33
12	Road to the Finale	5.0	37
13	Heavy Lifting	6.8	34
14	Bio-Mechanical Failure	7.0	33
15	No One Is Safe	7.2	33
16	Peck vs. Nunez Live	5.9	42

Season 9 (2017)

6.91 avg 16 episodes 6.9 → 6.4 41 min avg

Bad finale

Season 9 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Fire & Ice	6.9	37
2	Crossing the Line	7.0	33
3	Unnatural Disasters	6.5	31
4	Lend Me Your Ear	7.1	32
5	War and Ink	6.7	29
6	Get the Flock Outta Here	6.7	29
7	On the Bubble	6.5	28
8	Masterpiece Mayhem	7.0	28
9	Pin-Up Panic Attack	7.0	28
10	Drill Baby, Drill	7.3	28
11	Grim Inker	7.2	27
12	Pit Fall	6.7	28
13	Sell Out	7.2	28
14	Casting the First Stone	6.9	28
15	Marathon to the Finale	7.5	29
16	Shop Wars Finale	6.4	28

Season 10 (2018)

7.13 avg 16 episodes 8.0 → 6.5 41 min avg

Season 10 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Pick Your Side	8.0	44
2	Fill'er Up	7.2	34
3	Divine Proportion	7.2	34
4	Step It Up	7.3	33
5	Ink on the Dotted Line	7.6	31
6	Chin Up	7.2	29
7	Eye of the Tiger	7.1	30
8	Pain in the Glass	6.9	28
9	Ink Raider	6.9	28
10	Some Assembly Required	7.4	29
11	Quit Buggin' Me	7.2	29
12	Total Meltdown	7.2	27
13	Monkey See, Monkey Do	7.1	28
14	No Stain, No Gain	7.1	28
15	Final Exam	6.1	31
16	Return of the Masters Finale	6.5	27

Season 11 (2018)

7.43 avg 16 episodes 7.6 → 6.6 41 min avg

Bad finale

Season 11 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Opening Shots	7.6	33
2	Not on My Watch	7.5	26
3	Right on Target	7.8	29
4	No Wrist, No Reward	7.7	27
5	That's Gonna Leave a Mark	7.7	28
6	Fight Your Own Battles	7.6	27
7	No Wasted Space	7.5	26
8	Chalk This Way	7.5	24
9	Tipping the Scales	7.3	26
10	Put Up or Shut Up	7.5	25
11	In Deep Waters	7.4	26
12	Too Hot to Handle	7.3	24
13	Who's Got the Power?	7.4	24
14	What Are You Crayon About?	7.2	22
15	Prelude to a Bloodbath	7.3	23
16	Grudge Match Finale	6.6	29

Season 12 (2019)

7.08 avg 16 episodes 7.0 → 6.2 41 min avg

Bad finale

Season 12 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Ink Will Speak for Itself	7.0	32
2	A Storm Is Brewin'	7.0	30
3	Down to the Wire	7.3	23
4	The Hunter & the Hunted	7.3	22
5	The Art Stands Alone	7.3	25
6	Art of War	6.5	24
7	Sabotage	7.3	22
8	Pins & No Needles	7.2	22
9	Drawing Alliances	6.9	22
10	By Accident or By Design	7.2	21
11	Roll of the Dice	7.3	21
12	Put Your Ink Where Your Mouth Is	7.6	21
13	Moving Pictures	6.8	20
14	Unfriendly Fire	7.2	21
15	Step Up or Shut Up	7.2	21
16	Battle of the Sexes Finale	6.2	22

Season 13 (2020)

7.23 avg 15 episodes 7.2 → 7.0 41 min avg

Season 13 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Rep Your Region	7.2	37
2	Clash of the Collages	7.4	29
3	Teamwork Makes the Dream Work	7.5	29
4	Battle Lines	7.2	26
5	Out of Your Element	7.7	27
6	Off the Chain	7.7	26
7	Head Spin	7.1	26
8	Sugar Rush	6.9	25
9	Artistry on the Line	7.2	25
10	Every Artist for Themselves	7.3	25
11	From Toast to Toast	7.3	24
12	Last Draw	7.8	24
13	There Can Only Be One	6.5	24
14	Compose Yourself	6.7	23
15	Race to the Finish	7.0	25

Season 14 (2022)

6.37 avg 10 episodes 7.1 → 5.4 48 min avg

Season 14 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Legends Return	7.1	64
2	A Work of Art	6.6	19
3	Devil's in the Details	6.6	18
4	Match a Master	7.2	18
5	Master Mash Ups	6.4	17
6	Up in Flames	6.7	16
7	Panes of Pressure	6.1	18
8	Let the Sparks Fly	5.8	19
9	Finale: Part 1	5.8	21
10	Finale: Part 2	5.4	35

Season 15 (2023)

7.13 avg 10 episodes 7.0 → 5.2 44 min avg

Season 15 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The New Ink Class	7.0	47
2	Skull & Bones	7.3	21
3	Put Me In, Coach!	7.2	20
4	Don't Fork It Up	7.2	20
5	Teams Transformed	7.8	20
6	Saddle Up, Buttercup	7.1	21
7	Fight Fire with Fire	7.6	19
8	Competition Shattered	7.6	18
9	Instant Karma	7.3	20
10	Fifteen's Finale	5.2	37

Season 16 (2024)

6.73 avg 10 episodes 6.7 → 6.1 45 min avg

Season 16 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Divide Of The Decade	6.7	34
2	Money Where Your Mouth Is	7.4	28
3	Out of the Box, Onto the Skin	6.8	25
4	Inked in Gold	7.0	24
5	A Sin in Tattooing	7.2	24
6	Episode #16.6	6.1	31
7	Monsters Ink	6.6	25
8	Episode #16.8	7.3	23
9	Episode #16.9	6.1	26
10	Episode #16.10	6.1	22

Season 17 (2025)

7.96 avg 8 episodes 8.1 → 7.8 45 min avg

Saved best for last

Season 17 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Hometown Throwdown	8.1	19
2	Back to the Drawing Board	8.1	16
3	Gut Check	8.1	16
4	Bottled Up	7.3	13
5	It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint	8.1	12
6	No Day at the Beach	8.1	11
7	All Scars Will Heal	8.1	13
10	Hometown Hero	7.8	6

Ink Master (2012)

Seasons

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