What’s Worth Watching: The Body Beautiful

Skin Wars, “Body & Soul,” Wednesday, June 10, 9/8c, GSN

“There’s nothing more fierce than the power of transformation,” says the statuesque Rebecca Romijn, who knows a bit about the subject of body painting, given her time as the brilliant blue Mystique in the X-Men movies. She returns as host for the second season of Skin Wars, a derivative (of Syfy’s addictive Face Off, mostly) but enjoyable competition series challenging some of the country’s most accomplished body painters to push their talents to the limit.

The beats may be familiar, as the 12 contestants are initially tasked to create designs that reveal a bit about themselves, then move on to one-on-one battles with a chess theme. Time management is key, with tempers fraying and egos clashing as the clock mercilessly ticks on. Some of the artists take a goth horror approach to illustrating their living and breathing models, others go the glam route. And as is the case with the best of these series, the results can be breathtaking. Or not, because the judges—including drag diva RuPaul Charles and body-painting masters Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina—must single someone out each week to be told, “Please go wash off your canvas.”