A&E orders tattoo reality show

The network has ordered 13 episodes of a reality series starringtattoo artist Thomas Pendelton, star of the network’s previoustattoo-related docusoap “Inked.”

In “Tattoo Highway,” Pendelton and his wife and business partner,Monica (who also appeared on “Inked”), have transformed a 1970stour bus into a mobile tattoo parlor. They will travel to citiesincluding Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Salt Lake City,inking customers.

Executive producer Bob Horowitz said the traveling element willdifferentiate the show from previous tattoo docusoaps.

“All the other series have been based in tattoo parlors,” he said.”Here the premise is this is the first tattoo parlor on wheels, andhe goes where the stories are. Imagine all the things that canhappen when you take something like this on the road and all thethings that can happen.”

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In one episode, Pendelton mixes the cremated ashes of a deceasedwife into the ink for a portrait on her husband’s chest. Inanother, he uses UV ink for a tattoo visible only with a blacklight for a customer wanting a constant reminder of hismother.

“From the creation of the art to the environment that I tattooedin, it has always been about my customers’ experience,” Pendeltonsaid. “In a street shop, it was easy to forget just how personalthat experience should be. Rolling up and parking the shop right inthe middle of someone’s life, well, there is nothing more personalthan that.”

A&E plans to premiere the half-hour series in the spring.

“Highway” producers Horowitz and Lewis Fenton also just made a dealwith Bravo for a new docudrama series called “Double Exposure,”which follows fashion photographers Markus Klinko and Indrani,along with stylist GK Reid. The show will give viewers abehind-the-scenes look at fashion and celebrity photography.

“Success in this business is finding talent that jumps off thescreen, people who are unique and true to their business,” Horowitzsaid. “They are the real deal and you see they are trulycharacters. The series is bound to be a success.”