Tattoos are not just showing up on skin. The fascination with the art is such that viewers want to take a sneak peek into the lives and studios of famous tattoo artists – and networks are complying with shows that follow the tattoo ink trail of famous artists and their equally famous clientele.

Miami Ink was the original reality show about tattoo artists. Aired on TLC between 2005 and 2008, the show followed the lives and the customers of 305 Ink, a tattoo shop in Miami Beach. Artists o-owned by tattoo artists Ami James and Chris Núñez were featured on the show, as were artists Darren Brass, Tim Hendricks, Chris Garver, and Yoji Harada. Kat Von D joined the cast as well. Many episodes featured the personal lives of the artists but also showed customers who came into the shop for a tattoo, exploring the tattoo process and the motivations of people who got tattoos. Miami Ink is no longer on the air, but the show generated huge interest and was broadcast in 160 countries. The show created more demand for tattoo-themed TV and brought tattoo needles, tattoo ink sets, and tattoo supplies into the homes of millions of viewers.

London Ink is a reality show which was a spin-off of Miami Ink. It premiered in 2007 on Discovery Real Time. The show follows the art of Louis Molloy, Dan Gold, Nikole Lowe, and Phil Kyle. Molloy is famous for having tattooed David Beckham while Gold specializes in freehand new wave graffiti tattoos. Lowe specializes in Tibetan-themed, Japanese-themed and Indian-themed tattoos.

NY Ink is another reality-television spin off series of Miami Ink. NY Ink follows the work and personal life of artist Ami James at the Wooster St. Social Club tattoo studio in The Big Apple. The show premiered in the summer of 2011 and attracted an average of 1.3 million viewers. The show has been renewed for ten more episodes beginning in late 2011.

LA Ink was yet another spin-off on TLC, following the art and artists at the High Voltage Tattoo studio and the American Electric tattoo studios in Los Angeles. The show premiered in 2007 and by 2011, it was announced that the show was cancelled. LA Ink followed artists Kat Von D, Corey Miller, Hannah Aitchison, Kim Saigh, Pixie Acia, and
Dan Smith. The show, which broke some world records, had a huge audience and helped the general public understand more about tattoo machines, tattoo ink sets, and other tools of the trade.

Inked was a documentary series that ran over two seasons and 40 episodes, starting in 2005. The show followed the artists at the Las Vegas Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company. The documentary was not a spin-off of the popular Miami Ink series.