VH1 begins taping modeling show The Agency and buys Top Model reruns

VH1 will team up with the Wilhelmina modeling agency and GRB Entertainment on the reality show The Agency, a behind-the-scenes look at the skin-deep world of modeling. The Agency, which focuses on Wilhelmina's booking agents, began taping Monday; 10 resulting half-hour episodes will start airing weekly in 2006. The announcement comes just after VH1 picked up reruns of UPN's America's Next Top Model. VH1 reportedly paid $75,000 per episode and has rights to 77 segments through the forthcoming fifth and sixth seasons. Executive vice president of programming and production Michael Hirschorn commented to Daily Variety that the show seemed like a good fit for the increasingly pop culture-oriented Web. Hirschorn noted that the success of Top Model on the channel has "given us reason to believe that this is something people who watch VH1 are interested in seeing. It's a logical progression." VH1 began airing Model on Thursday. There's no word yet on whether The Agency will be coupled with Model in a viewing block.