''Black Ink Crew'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

series that premiered on January 7, 2013, on VH1. It has aired ten seasons and chronicles the daily operations and staff drama at an African American–owned and operated tattoo shop in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The show's success has resulted in similar spin-off series based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

Production

''Black Ink Crew'' second season premiered on September 23, 2013, with the season returning on March 31, 2014, for five more episodes. The third season premiered on January 26, 2015, with the season returning August 24, 2015 for eight more episodes and a reunion special on October 19, 2015. The show was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on April 4, 2016. In December 2016, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on January 18, 2017. The sixth season premiered on December 6, 2017. On August 20, 2018, the series was renewed for a seventh season, which premiered on September 19, 2018, with the season returning March 13, 2019, for eight more episodes. On July 24, 2019, the series was renewed for an eighth season, which premiered on August 14, 2019, with the season returning on February 26, 2020 for ten more episodes. On March 8, 2021, the series was renewed for a ninth season, which premiered on April 19, 2021. The second half of season nine premiered on February 21, 2022. On September 27, 2022, the series was renewed for a tenth season, which premiered on October 18, 2022.

Cast

Main

* Ceaser (born David Emanuel; seasons 1–9, supporting in season 10), the owner of Black Ink in Harlem, New York, who also owns tattoo studios in Brooklyn, Atlanta, Orlando and Houston * Dutchess (born Crystana Lattimore; seasons 1–5), a former tattoo artist for Black Ink and the owner of Pretty-N-Ink * O'Shit (censored onscreen as "O'S**t", born Richard Duncan; seasons 1–5, supporting in seasons 6–7, guest in seasons 8–9), a former tattoo artist at Black Ink * Alex Estevez (seasons 1–2), a former receptionist at Black Ink * Puma (born Paul Robinson; seasons 1–4, 8–10, supporting in season 7, guest in season 6), the former public relations manager at Black Ink and owner of Art2Ink * Sassy (born Ashley Nicole Bermudez; seasons 1–3, supporting in season 4 & 8, guest in season 9), the former manager of Black Ink and manager of Art2Ink * Sky (born JaKeita Days; seasons 2–8, guest in season 1), the former receptionist at Black Ink and former manager of Black Ink Atlanta * Teddy Ruks (born Shariff Homer; seasons 4–10, supporting in seasons 1–3), the former assistant manager at Black Ink and Ceaser's cousin * Donna Marie Lombardi (born Taylor Pinckney; seasons 4–9, supporting in season 3), a former apprentice of Ceaser and Dutchess, tattoo artist and piercer for Art2Ink * Melody Mitchell (seasons 6–7, supporting in seasons 4–5), a former tattoo artist and manager at Black Ink * Walter Miller (seasons 6–9, supporting in seasons 1–5), the assistant manager of Black Ink 113th * Young Bae (seasons 6–10, supporting in season 5), a tattoo artist at Black Ink * Miss Kitty (born Karis Phillips; season 8, supporting in seasons 5–7), the former brand ambassador for Black Ink * Tatiana Ritter (seasons 9–10, supporting in seasons 6–8), the manager for Black Ink * Alex (season 10, supporting in seasons 6–9), a tattoo artist at Black Ink * Spyder (season 10, supporting in season 9), a tattoo artist at Black Ink

Cast timeline

Note:

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{VH1 original programming 2010s American reality television series 2020s American reality television series 2013 American television series debuts English-language television shows Television series set in tattoo shops Television shows set in New York City VH1 original programming