Spike TV Orders 'Tattoo Rescue' Pilot from 'Ink Master' Team (Exclusive)

8:00 AM PDT 3/14/2012 by Lacey Rose

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Spike TV

From the network responsible for hit "Ink Master" and upcoming "Tattoo Nightmares," comes an ink-themed pilot centered on a man looking to turnaround failing tattoo parlors.

Spike TV has inked a deal for another tattoo project.

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The network has ordered Tattoo Rescue, an hour-long pilot from the team behind ratings magnet Ink Master. The project, which joins Master as well as Tattoo Nightmares, centers on renowned tattoo expert Joey Germinario, aka “Joey Tattoo,” and his team of experts as they travel the country transforming failing tattoo studios into profitable businesses.

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In a reality TV-friendly twist, the New Jersey native will have to deal with a mix of belligerent owners, obstinate tattoo artists and shops with massive health code violations.

“Tattoos are a billion dollar industry employing thousands nationwide, mostly in small businesses,” notes Spike TV's EVP original series Sharon Levy. “However, many of these fail for a variety of fixable reasons. Joey Tattoo brings over 20 years of experience and insight to the table, in hopes of rescuing these establishments from themselves.”

Tattoo counts Vem Miller as its creator, with the pilot produced by Miller’s Sweatshop and Original Media, the Endemol USA subsidiary behind other series including NY and LA Ink, Swamp People and The Rachel Zoe Project.

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The news comes mere days after Ink Master capped off its first season with an impressive 2.3 million viewers. A second season of the series, which averaged 1.8 million viewers to become Spike’s highest rated original, will launch in the fall.

Weeks earlier, the Viacom-owned network announced it would pick up six episodes of Tattoo Nightmares, which features real people with particularly bad tattoos who seek the help of some of the best cover-up artists in the business to fix them. The series hails from Jersey Shore’s Sally Ann Salsano and her 495 Productions, and will launch this fall as well.

Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose