Toddlers and Tiaras

Toddlers & Tiaras is an American reality television series that debuted on TLC in 2009. The show follows the controversial world of child beauty pageants, looking closely at the pageant contestants and their families as the children prepare for their pageant shows. The show airs without any narration in order to avoid passing judgment.

Season 1 of Toddlers & Tiaras premiered on TLC on January 27, 2009. The show was renewed for a second season on April 20, 2009. Season 2 premiered on July 22, 2009, season 3 premiered on January 20, 2010, and season 4 premiered on June 2, 2010. Season one of Toddlers and Tiaras is now aired on DMAX in the United Kingdom as well.

Toddlers and Tiaras's new season premieres at 9:00pm EST on TLC. This feautures Eden Wood , and Makenzie Myers , two very big names in the pageant world. Neither girl wins Ultimate Grand Supreme. Another big name , Alex Howe , takes home the crown , sash , bed , and cash.

On any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, personality and costumes. Toddlers and Tiaras follows families on their quest for sparkly crowns, big titles, and lots of cash.

The preparation is intense as it gets down to the final week before the pageant. From hair and nail appointments, to finishing touches on gowns and suits, to numerous coaching sessions or rehearsals, each child preps for their performance. But once at the pageant, it's all up to the judges and drama ensues when every parent wants to prove that their child is beautiful.

Much is made about the price of the pageant competing. How much have pageants put you in the hole?

Wood: I've spent easily $100,000 in savings and Eden has made back maybe $40,000 or $50,000 in prizes. You gotta know going into this, you're never gonna make the money back. It's an extremely expensive sport, but it's what we love.

Performs and has an album on the way. What do you see of her future in pageants, though?

Wood: We're probably going to retire at least by the end of this year. We don't have anything lined up pageant-wise, and that's unheard of. We've always had one every couple of months, even since the media hit. Eden is in a different place now and she wants to be a performer, an entertainer. We've really slowed down and are focusing on what she wants to do, which is to be onstage. It doesn't have to be in a pageant. We finished the last three songs on her album and we're getting ready to go on tour with two other little Toddlers & Tiaras girls. Eden's the headliner. We start that in Little Rock, Ark. on Sunday.

It sounds to me like instead of being invested in whatever art there is to pageantry, pageants for Eden are more a means to an end.

Wood: She is the pioneer of the pageant world. It's always been frowned on in the industry to work with pageant girls. There were a few in Little Miss Sunshine, and there may have been some modeling gigs, but nothing to the magnitude of Eden. This is uncharted territory. We're from a town of 566 people  Taylor, Ark. ], and  Toddlers production company Authentic Entertainment has given her a national and international love affair with an audience. She's gotten further than some people get in their whole careers just from being on that show. I know she isn't A-list. Or B. She's more D or E. But she's known.

Watch footage of Eden and her infamous competitor Mazenzie from Wednesday's Toddlers & Tiaras season premiere: