Cheaters | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Genre | Reality |
Created by | Bobby Goldstein |
Written by | Bobby Goldstein |
Directed by | John McCalmont (2000–02) Kenneth M. Smith Jr. (2002–10) |
Presented by | Tommy Habeeb Joey Greco Clark James Gable Peter Gunz |
Theme music composer | Bobby Goldstein |
Opening theme | "Broken Hearted" by Bill Mason and Bobby Goldstein |
Ending theme | "Broken Hearted" by Bill Mason and Bobby Goldstein |
Composers | Bill Mason and Bobby Goldstein |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 21 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Bobby Goldstein |
Producers | Bobby Goldstein Vincent Devany |
Production locations | Various, but mostly in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex |
Editors | Jeremy Hechler Israel Cavazos Tim Wilkins Matt Phillips Andrew Phillips |
Running time | 60 mins. (weekly episodes) 30 mins. (strip version) |
Production company | Bobby Goldstein Productions |
Original release | |
Network | Syndication |
Release | October 2, 2000 – August 30, 2021 |
Cheaters is an American weekly syndicated reality television series featuring couples with one partner who is committing adultery, or cheating, on the other partner. Investigations are headed by the "Cheaters Detective Agency". [1] The series premiered on October 2, 2000, and ended on May 17, 2021. It has been hosted by Tommy Habeeb, Joey Greco, Clark James Gable and Peter Gunz.
This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2013) |
Actor Joey Greco was the show's longest-running host, hosting from late 2002 to mid-2012 and returning briefly in 2015. At the onset of the show's 13th season, he was replaced by Clark James Gable, the grandson of legendary actor Clark Gable. Gable would host the series until his unexpected death in 2019 due to a drug overdose. In February 2020, it was announced via social media that Love & Hip Hop star Peter Gunz would become the new host beginning in October 2020. Filming of season 21 took place in Dallas during the summer of 2020, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. [2] [3]
The show's complainants can be either married or long-term significant others, and have included both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.
Each episode begins with a brief interview of the complainant, detailing how the complainant met their partner and what has led them to believe that the partner is cheating, citing suspicious activities or behavior. Next, the narrator (originally Robert Magruder from 2000-2015, then Ken Eaken since 2015) describes the progress of the investigation of the partner (referred to as "the suspect"). Private investigators follow the suspect over the course of several days or weeks at their home, workplace, and/or in public with their alleged paramour (dubbed "the companion"). If the complainant and suspect live together, hidden cameras are occasionally installed in their home. A recorded telephone conversation between the complainant and suspect, in which the suspect lies about his or her whereabouts, is also played.
When the investigation turns up enough evidence of the suspect's infidelity, the show enters its second segment, "the confrontation." The host meets with the complainant to reveal the findings of the investigation and shows them the evidence collected (originally on a video camera, then on an iPad). The host sometimes warns the complainant that the footage is disturbing or upsetting but the complainant nonetheless requests to see it. Graphic footage from the investigators—for example, the suspect and their companion engaged in a sexual act—is shown uncensored to the complainant but digitally blurred to the show's viewers; however, uncensored versions of the encounters have been released on DVD.
The briefing takes place when the suspect and their companion are concurrently being observed together nearby; the intent is to allow the complainant to catch the suspect in the act of infidelity. After contacting the detective on his cell phone to find out their whereabouts, the host and the complainant, along with a full crew of production personnel all carrying 35 mm cameras, and security personnel travel in a van and seek out and confront the alleged cheater. The confrontation often takes place in public places, such as bars, restaurants and parks, with the complainant and host both demanding an explanation from the suspect for their behavior. Confrontations are often violent in nature, forcing security guards to restrain the complainant, suspect and/or companion. Confrontations also have the potential to end badly, as in one episode where host Joey Greco was apparently stabbed during a confrontation on a yacht and transported to a hospital. However, it has been disputed whether or not the stabbing was real or staged. Suspects also have been known to push the security guards, which causes the security guards to push back and let them know that they will retaliate. [4] In very rare cases, animals unwittingly featured will have their heads blurred out for humorous effect.
The final segment, "the conclusion," presents parting thoughts from the complainant, the suspect and their companion as they depart the scene of the confrontation. Next, updates from previous cases, including interviews from suspects and their companions, are presented. Lastly, the narrator describes what became of the complainant, the suspect and the companion (and in rare cases, others that may also be involved) after the show.
The show was created by Bobby Goldstein, an attorney in Dallas, Texas. It made its debut in 2000. The original host of the show was actor Tommy Habeeb aka "Tommy Grand" (2000–2002). 2004 brought syndication reruns of previous seasons, edited into a half-hour Monday-through-Friday strip format with new intros by Joey Greco as host. When Cheaters began airing in high-definition, the show's title card, used for eleven seasons, was altered to 3D, and more high-definition graphics were incorporated into the show.
Cheaters aired two episodes on The CW Plus on Saturday nights: a one-hour-long episode followed by a 30-minute episode from 2006-2017 and again from 2018-2019. A 10-minute version of the show called Cheaters: Amazing Confrontations is available through on-demand services.
In 2006, G4 began showing the strip version with faster-paced editing and music due to complaints that the show seemed boring and contrived,[ citation needed ] as well as a different narrator, for weekly airings on its Midnight Spank block. [5] On December 9, 2009, G4 moved this show to the short-lived "Junk Food TV" block. G4 stopped airing the show in December 2012.
In January 2017, the syndicated half-hour strip format version of Cheaters returned to cable television, this time on VH1 during late Friday nights/early Saturday & Sunday morning slots. Cheaters also re-aired on MTV2.
In October 2022, Pluto TV launched a Cheaters channel, airing episodes of the 30-minute strip format. [6]
Until December 2022, Cheaters aired on Ion Mystery and TrueReal (prior to its merger with Defy TV).
In 2002, the Houston Press tracked down several people who said they were paid $400 per show by one of the detectives of the agency to act on the show, and were paid $50 per referral of other actors. [7] One performer said, "What [the show's private detective] told me was that some of the episodes are real, but... they would do these ringer episodes to supplement the show." The show's private investigator denies that he staged anyone's scenario and further added that the number of inquiries the agency receives made this unnecessary. [8] The producers of Cheaters currently reiterate the reality of each episode in a legalistic message at its end, though a Federal Communications Commission representative confirmed to the Houston Press that "there's no law or regulation against presenting acted-out scenarios as reality on television." [9]
On December 16, 2005, four employees of the show, the host Joey Greco, director Hunter Carson and two security guards, were indicted on charges of restraining a woman. On November 9, 2006, the four were acquitted. [10] In another episode, Greco was detained at the scene of a bachelor party while helping a man confront his cheating fiancée. After Greco explained the situation about the couple to police, he was given a short talk about disturbing the peace and released with a written warning.
On November 3, 2009, Inside Edition reiterated the claim that the show was staged, citing several more actors who said they were paid to appear. One of them appeared in the Greco stabbing episode and claimed it was staged. Despite the depiction of a male being placed under arrest for stabbing Greco, Inside Edition found that no actual arrest matching that description was made by the Rowlett, Texas police department, where the episode took place. The ambulance shown, along with the EMS personnel appeared to be from "Greater Dallas EMS". Greater Dallas EMS was a private transfer ambulance in the Dallas area but would have never been dispatched for a 911 emergency. They are now out of business after being raided by the FBI in an investigation known as Operation Easy Rider. Physician–patient privilege would prevent the hospital that treated Greco from releasing records to Inside Edition. Nothing prevents the producers of Cheaters from voluntarily displaying the records, yet they have not done so. Despite the lack of records, Goldstein denied in an interview that the episode was staged. In a follow-up, aired on Inside Edition the following week (November 9, 2009), Greco was interviewed by investigative reporter Matt Meagher about the previous week's accusations. Greco declined to respond, claiming that he could not legally do so. [11]
On August 8, 2010, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission press release reported that Bobby Goldstein Productions, Inc., and Cheaters II, Ltd. (Civil Action No. 3:08-CV-1912-P) paid $50,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. The suit was brought on the behalf of two female office assistants who were the target of frequent sexual jokes and comments, unwanted physical advances, and propositions for sex. The alleged perpetrators included members of upper management. Says attorney Robert A. Canino, a regional attorney from the EEOC Dallas District Office, "just because the creator of Cheaters promotes a TV show business which thrives on featuring sexual transgressions, it is no justification for engaging in sexual improprieties which violate the employment rights of his female employees behind the scenes." [12]
Visual Entertainment of Canada has released several best-of collections of Cheaters on DVD in Region 1. [13] In addition the Cheaters Spy Shop was launched in September 2011 to sell items used on the show and has been promoted in episodes beginning in the Season 12. [14] Cheaters DVD releases are uncensored, with language and sexual content (including occasional views of acts such as fellatio and penetration) shown unfiltered.
This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2013) |
The show has been parodied and referenced in several films and television shows, such as Janky Promoters (2009), George Lopez , Disturbia (2007), Sex Drive (2008), Just Go With It (2011), Mind of Mencia , TV: The Movie (2007), Talkshow with Spike Feresten , Workaholics , Unhitched , The Simpsons , and The Jay Leno Show .
In the 2020 song, "Need It", by Migos ft. NBA Youngboy from the former's Culture III , Migos member Offset sings during the chorus: "Then I leave her, I can’t get caught up, I can’t be on Cheaters". [15]
In the song, "Hats Off" by Lil Baby & Lil Durk (off their collaborative project, The Voice of the Heroes, released in 2021), featured artist on the track, Travis Scott, raps during his verse: "Sorry, gotta fuck on the low, I can't make Cheaters." [16] Scott was accused of cheating during his high-profile relationship with model/socialite Kylie Jenner. [17] [18]
The Screen Savers is an American TV show that aired on TechTV from 1998 to 2005. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered on computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world. However, after it was taken over by G4, the show became more general-interest oriented and focused somewhat less on technology. The final episode of The Screen Savers aired on March 18, 2005. Repeat episodes continued to air until March 25, 2005 when its replacement program Attack of the Show! began 3 days later on March 28, 2005. Two spiritual successors to The Screen Savers, This Week in Tech on the TWiT Network with Leo Laporte and Tekzilla on Revision3 with Patrick Norton, were started after the original show concluded. On April 19, 2015, Leo Laporte announced The New Screen Savers, which began airing on TWiT network May 2, 2015.
Xplay was a TV program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, aired on G4 in the United States and had aired on G4 Canada in Canada, FUEL TV in Australia, Ego in Israel, GXT in Italy, MTV Russia & Rambler TV in Russia, NET 25 & Solar Sports in the Philippines, and Adult Swim and MuchMusic in Latin America.
G4 was an American pay television and digital network owned by NBCUniversal and later Comcast Spectacor that primarily focused on video games.
G4techTV was an American cable and satellite channel resulting from a merger between Comcast-owned G4 and TechTV. The network officially launched on May 28, 2004.
EP Daily is a daily news television show that covers video games, movies, TV shows, comic books, collectibles and gadgets. Created and executive produced by host Victor Lucas, and his Vancouver, British Columbia production company EP Media Ltd, EP Daily was a staple on airwaves since its debut in September 1997. The show continues to produce and publish content on the Electric Playground Network's YouTube channel.
Kristin Nicole Adams, née Holt, is a television personality, entertainment news correspondent, and singer.
Joel Seligman is an American legal scholar and former academic administrator. He served as the 10th president of the University of Rochester, in Rochester, New York, from 2005 to 2018. Seligman is also one of the leading authorities on securities law in the United States. Seligman stepped down from his presidency in 2018 following his handling of a university-wide sexual harassment scandal.
"Sexual Harassment" is the second episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's eighth episode overall. The episode was written by B. J. Novak and directed by Ken Kwapis. The episode first aired in the United States on September 27, 2005, on NBC. "Sexual Harassment" saw the first physical appearance of recurring character Todd Packer after first being heard through a phone call in the first episode.
Infinite MHz is a TV show from the mid-1990s to early 2001 about PC games. It primarily aired on public-access television cable TV throughout New England, and was based out of Cape Cod, MA. It only held out for a brief period on national cable television. The two creator/hosts were Jess Holderbaum and Bradley Ouimette with guest appearances by Jim Peterson.
Joel Stephen "Joey" Greco is an American television personality, best known as the long- time host of the reality TV show Cheaters, hosting for ten seasons.
Anti-pedophile activism encompasses opposition to pedophiles, pedophile advocacy groups, child sexual abuse, and child sexual abuse material.
The Hello Pappy scandal, alluding to the nickname of television personality Willie Revillame and the Hello Garci scandal, was a scandal surrounding an incident during the August 20, 2007, episode of the Filipino variety show Wowowee, broadcast by ABS-CBN. During the episode, a technical error occurred during the final jackpot round of the show's "Wilyonaryo" segment which raised allegations within the media that the segment was, or could have been, rigged by the producers. The incident prompted an investigation by the country's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and was also the catalyst of an on-air feud between Revillame and Joey de Leon, a personality from the rival GMA Network.
"Dial 'N' for Nerder", also known as "N is for Nerder", is the fourteenth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 9, 2008. After a prank gone wrong, Bart and Lisa believe they have accidentally killed Bart's classmate Martin Prince. Meanwhile, Marge hires a TV show called Sneakers to spy on Homer and see if he is cheating on his diet. The episode was written by Carolyn Omine and William Wright and directed by Bob Anderson. During its first broadcast, the episode had an estimated 7.3 million viewers and received a 10 percent audience share.
Carol S. Vance Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison located in unincorporated central Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. The unit, located in flatlands, is along U.S. Highway 90A, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of central Richmond. The facility is in proximity to Sugar Land, and it is about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Downtown Houston. The unit, with about 940 acres (380 ha) of land, is co-located with Jester I Unit, Jester III Unit, and Jester IV Unit. The unit consists of four steel buildings and two brick buildings. The prison is the home of the Prison Fellowship Academy Christian prison program. It is located on the Jester State Prison Farm property.
Cheat! is a TV show on G4 that provided cheat codes, strategies, and other hidden features for video games. The show was hosted by Kristin Adams, who replaced original host Cory Rouse in January 2005. Cheat! last aired February 19, 2009 on G4.
The Hunt with John Walsh is an American investigation/documentary series that debuted on CNN on July 13, 2014. The series is hosted by John Walsh. The second season premiered on July 12, 2015, and the third season premiered on June 19, 2016. The fourth season premiered on CNN's sister station, HLN, on July 23, 2017. A successor to the show, In Pursuit with John Walsh was announced in early 2018. It premiered in January 2019 on Investigation Discovery.
To Catch a Cheater is a scripted American web series published on YouTube. With over 3 million subscribers, the web series supposedly follows people suspected of committing adultery, or cheating, on their partners. Actors have repeatedly come out in interviews and videos admitting the series is completely scripted, a claim producer Sameer Bhavnani states is not true and that the show features real couples and those claiming are actors are couples who "have changed their mind and regret being on the show".
Uyajola 9/9 is a South African reality television show playing on Moja Love channel 157 weekly. It is a hidden camera reality television series about people who suspect their partners of infidelity. The series premiered on 26 May 2019. The show is hosted by Jub Jub and Moss Makwati who are also co producers of the show.
Call Me Mother is a Canadian reality television series, which premiered on OutTV in 2021. Hosted by Entertainment Tonight Canada reporter Dallas Dixon, the series is a drag competition which will see up-and-coming drag performers join one of three drag houses to compete in group challenges, with one drag artist eliminated each week until the winner of the competition is crowned the "First Child of Drag".