Impractical Jokers | |
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Genre | |
Directed by |
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Starring |
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Narrated by |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 11 |
No. of episodes | 261 (+40 specials) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Production locations | |
Camera setup | Hidden camera |
Running time | 19–82 minutes |
Production company | NorthSouth Productions |
Original release | |
Network | TruTV |
Release | December 15, 2011 – April 6, 2024 |
Network | TBS |
Release | February 9, 2023 – present |
Related | |
Impractical Jokers is an American hidden camera comedy and reality show with improvisational elements. Produced by NorthSouth Productions, Impractical Jokers premiered on truTV on December 15, 2011, starring the members of The Tenderloins: James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, Sal Vulcano, and formerly Joe Gatto. In March 2024, it was announced that the series will relocate to TBS, who originally simulcast the tenth season, due to a programing network overhaul at truTV. Despite this, truTV will continue to air reruns. [2]
Impractical Jokers' eleventh season premiered on July 11, 2024. [3] That season features a rotating group of guest comedians instead of Gatto, who left the show halfway through season 9. [4] [5] [6] [7] A feature-length film was theatrically released on February 21, 2020. [8] [9]
A typical episode begins with a satirical content warning, describing the show as containing "scenes of graphic stupidity among lifelong friends who compete to embarrass each other" ("four lifelong friends" in seasons 1 through the first half of season 9, before Gatto leaves the show).
The cast members, or "jokers", compete against each other in two or three competitive challenges. The challenges are contrived scenarios in which one is challenged to embarrass himself by engaging with unwitting strangers, receiving commands from the other jokers who are orchestrating and surveying the bizarre scenario from behind the scenes with covert surveillance equipment. The challenges are loosely structured, relying heavily upon improvisation. The show's comedic themes range from witty dialogue to slapstick routines, with the reactions of both the jokers and strangers serving as punchlines. Some challenges involve multiple jokers competing at once to be the first to reach a stated goal. The most common challenge is a joker having to follow instructions given by the other three. If he refuses to follow any instructions, his turn ends, and he loses the challenge. At the end of each joker's turn, he receives either a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down", meaning he has successfully or unsuccessfully completed the challenge, respectively. After all of the jokers complete the challenge, the "thumbs downs" received by each joker are recorded on the "loser board".
After all of the jokers complete the last challenge, the joker with the most "thumbs downs" on the "loser board" is declared the "big loser" of the episode and undergoes a "punishment," usually involving public embarrassment. If there is a tie for the most "thumbs downs" between jokers, all of the tying jokers are "punished".
Joe Gatto, James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, and Sal Vulcano are four friends and former classmates from Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island, New York. Gatto, Murray and Vulcano were original members of the live improv and sketch comedy troupe the Tenderloins in 1999. They transitioned to producing more comedy material on the internet, with Quinn replacing former Tenderloin Mike Boccio in 2006. [10] In 2007, the Tenderloins won the $100,000 grand prize in NBC's It's Your Show competition.
In 2008, they filmed a pilot episode for a scripted sitcom for Spike TV, but the show did not go to series. TruTV announced Impractical Jokers, originally slated to be named Mission: Uncomfortable, on April 12, 2011, eight months before the show's debut. Murray explained how the hidden camera format made sense based on the jokesters' skills. "We needed to find the right format... thing is, we've been doing this for years, but when it's on camera, the embarrassment is amplified." [11] Vulcano said "We wanted to utilize our improv strengths … put ourselves into a situation where we know we can be funny and also ourselves. If we’re ourselves and also showcase our friendship, something might resonate there." [12] The concept of feeding each other lines using an earpiece was inspired from talk show host David Letterman feeding neighboring storeowner Rupert Jee lines on Late Show with David Letterman . [12] Quinn and Vulcano have said when they gave their pilot episode to TruTV, it was recorded on their iPhones. At the time that they pitched the idea to TruTV, Murray was VP of Development for NorthSouth Productions, the company that has produced the series since its inception. Murray describes the show as an "upside-down hidden-camera show where the joke is on us, instead of the public. So it takes away the thing people hate about hidden-camera shows, which is, 'Oh, I feel bad for the people getting pranked.' We're messing with each other. The public is just there to witness our embarrassment." [13]
On December 31, 2021, Joe Gatto announced on his Instagram that he would be leaving Impractical Jokers after nine seasons. [14] [15] Shortly thereafter, Quinn, on behalf of Murray and Vulcano, sent well wishes for Gatto and announced that Impractical Jokers would continue working despite Gatto's absence in 2022. [16] Subsequently, Paste reported that TruTV and HBO Max had removed "several episodes featuring Gatto in compromising situations" from their platforms. [17] On February 14, 2022, the show announced that the season would proceed with a lineup of various celebrity guests. [4]
Prior to every challenge, the Jokers explain where they are and what the challenge is. Often (but not always) the cast member(s) performing the prank wears an earpiece, while the others have a mic in a covert location. Cameras are hidden near the area to capture the action. The challenge location is usually a public area in or around New York City such as a city park, or store. The criteria of each challenge are the same for each of the Jokers competing in the round. If the Joker cannot or refuses to complete their task, they get a thumbs-down. At the end of the episode, the Joker(s) with the most thumbs down receives a punishment. The punishments cannot be refused, lest they be kicked off the show. [13]
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
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First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
1 | 16 | December 15, 2011 | May 3, 2012 | TruTV | |
2 | 28 | September 6, 2012 | December 12, 2013 | ||
3 | 31 | January 2, 2014 | October 30, 2014 | ||
4 | 26 | January 29, 2015 | October 22, 2015 | ||
5 | 26 | February 11, 2016 | November 3, 2016 | ||
6 | 26 | February 9, 2017 | November 2, 2017 | ||
7 | 26 | February 1, 2018 | December 6, 2018 | ||
8 | 26 | March 28, 2019 | March 5, 2020 | ||
9 | 26 | February 4, 2021 | August 4, 2022 | ||
10 | 21 | February 9, 2023 | April 6, 2024 | TruTV/TBS | |
11 | TBA | July 11, 2024 | TBA | TBS | |
Specials | 40 | February 2, 2012 | August 11, 2022 | TruTV |
As of the 2017–18 television season, the series is syndicated to American broadcast stations by Trifecta Entertainment & Media, with a clearance rate of 85% of television homes. [18] Internationally, the series airs on Citytv in Canada, late nights on E4 in the UK and E.tv in South Africa. [19] [20] [21]
The cast consists of four long-time friends, collectively on the show referred to as "Jokers".
Celebrities have made appearances in the series:
Impractical Jokers staff have also made appearances:
Impractical Jokers has been well received by most critics, with Linda Stasi of the New York Post calling it "possibly the funniest, most ridiculous show I've seen in years". [39]
While it has been compared to earlier hit prank shows such as Candid Camera and Jackass , critics have offered praise for its unique twist on the genre, wherein the stars' reactions to the pranks are often equally as humorous as those of the innocent bystanders. Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times stated that "the gag pays off twice: once in the reaction of the unsuspecting passer-by, once in the discomfort of the fellow doing the asking". He later wrote that the cast-members' occasional integrity "[kept] these four clowns a little bit lovable". [40] Dean Robbins of The Daily Page echoed this sentiment, stating that "the friends are jovial rather than Jackass-obnoxious, even rejecting some dares as too offensive". [41]
The series has been generally well received, garnering 1.5 million viewers during its December 15, 2011, premiere. [42]
The review of the show by Variety's Brian Lowry was less positive, ending with this statement: "Nobody will ever confuse Impractical Jokers with high art, certainly, but as low-brow, micro-cost comedy in the context of truTV's programming resources, it's actually quite practical—and occasionally funny". [43]
On February 6, 2023, the borough of Staten Island officially declared the first Monday of every February "Impractical Jokers Day" in honor of the tenth season of the show. [44]
Jokers Wild was a spin-off of the original series in which the guys filmed a different style of skits that differ from ones that they normally film for the show. These skits are story type as opposed to live interaction with people. The first episode of Jokers Wild aired on September 25, 2014. Only four episodes of the six that were filmed for this series ever aired on truTV as the show did not do well in the ratings and was cancelled after the 4 episodes aired. [45] [46]
Impractical Jokers: Inside Jokes is a spin-off of Impractical Jokers in which episodes that have already aired are shown again with pop-up facts throughout, including behind-the-scenes stories and facts directly from the Jokers. The first episode of Impractical Jokers: Inside Jokes aired on July 14, 2016, following the mid-season British special. [47] [48]
Impractical Jokers: After Party is an aftershow hosted by Joey Fatone, in which the Jokers and surprise guests go through a deep dive of challenges, special play-by-play punishment analysis from the latest episode, and bonus content from the latest episode or the whole show. The first episode of the series aired on August 3, 2017, after the episode "The Q-Pay" had aired. After Party is filmed at The Flagship Brewing Company bar in Staten Island. When the series came back on August 2, 2018, the series moved to The Mailroom Bar in Lower Manhattan.
Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party is a spin-off of Impractical Jokers, in which the Jokers do a video group chat while eating dinner and having guests visit one or more participants. The spin-off was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States that prevented Impractical Jokers episodes from being produced. The show's theme song is "Uzi (Pinky Ring)" by Wu-Tang Clan. The first episode of the series aired on May 21, 2020. [49] On August 5, 2020, the series was ordered 10 additional episodes and began airing on October 15, 2020. The first season ended on January 14, 2021. At the end of the episode, "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey plays to commence the return of regular episodes. [50] [51]
On March 7, 2018, truTV announced that Impractical Jokers was renewed for an eighth season and a feature-length film to begin development in spring 2018, directed by Chris Henchy and produced by Funny or Die. Production on the film began at the end of April 2018. A trailer was released on December 17, 2019, and the movie was released on February 21, 2020. [52] [53] [54]
TruTV and Built Games developed a mobile game called Impractical Jokers: Wheel of Doom, released in 2018. [55] Wilder Games developed a party game series including Impractical Jokers: Box of Challenges and Impractical Jokers: Ultimate Challenge Pack that were released in 2020. [56] [57]
The Official Impractical Jokers Podcast started in 2017, hosted by producers Casey Jost and James McCarthy. Episodes are usually released the day after new episodes have broadcast. [58] Assistant director and producer Chá DeBerry joined the podcast as a host in 2021. [59] [60]
TruTV is an American basic cable channel owned By Warner Bros Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of comedy, docusoaps and reality shows, with a recent strong primetime focus on live sports.
Monsignor Farrell High School is a Catholic high school for boys, located in the Oakwood section of Staten Island, New York, United States.
TruTV was a Latin American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Entertainment. The programming schedule is centred towards reality shows. It was launched on April 1, 2009 replacing Retro. It is divided in two feeds, one in Spanish language and another one in Portuguese language, for Brazil. In July 2010, an HD feed was launched.
The Tenderloins are an American comedy troupe composed of James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, and Sal Vulcano. The group stars in the television series Impractical Jokers, which premiered on December 15, 2011. The program airs on truTV and TBS in the U.S. and on Comedy Central in the UK, Ireland, and India.
Hardcore Pawn is an American reality television series produced by RDF USA and Richard Dominick Productions for truTV about the day-to-day operations of American Jewelry and Loan, a family-owned and -operated pawn shop and broker on Detroit’s 8 Mile Road corridor.
Blake Raymond Anderson is an American actor, comedian, producer, screenwriter, and fashion designer. Beginning in 2006, Anderson helped create and join the sketch-comedy troupe Mail Order Comedy, which produced online videos and sketches, such as those involving the rap band The Wizards, along with co-members Anders Holm, Adam DeVine, and Kyle Newacheck. In 2011, Anderson, along with Holm, DeVine, and Newacheck, began starring as fictional versions of themselves in the Comedy Central television series Workaholics, which Anderson co-created. Workaholics ran on the network from 2011 until 2017, airing seven seasons. Anderson has appeared in other film and television works, often with other members of Mail Order Comedy.
Guinness World Records Gone Wild, also known as Guinness World Records Unleashed, is an American reality television series on truTV. The series debuted on February 7, 2013 and is hosted by Dan Cortese. The series' first season averaged more than 1.3 million viewers and ranked as one of ad-supported cable's Top 3 programs in the Thursday 8 p.m. timeslot with key adult and male demos. It was also cable's No.1 unscripted entertainment program in the timeslot with men 18-49 and adults 18-34. It was announced in April 2013 that truTV has ordered an additional ten episodes. Season 2 premiered on November 7, 2013, and features a title change to Guinness World Records Unleashed.
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Christopher Paul Anthony Distefano is an American comedian. Primarily a stand-up comedian, Distefano began his career in entertainment on MTV and MTV2's shows Guy Code and Girl Code. Distefano's first hour-long standup special, Chris Distefano: Size 38 Waist, was released in 2019 by Comedy Central. His second special, Speshy Weshy, premiered on Netflix in May 2022. Distefano co-hosts Hey Babe! podcast with Sal Vulcano from Impractical Jokers and hosts his own podcast, Chrissy Chaos.
Impractical Jokers UK is a British reality television series that first aired in the United Kingdom in 2012 on BBC Three. The series is based on the American hidden camera-practical joke reality television series Impractical Jokers. Throughout the show they challenge their friends to do and to say embarrassing things to an unsuspecting public.
Salvatore Edward Anthony Vulcano is an American improvisational and stand-up comedian, actor, and producer from the New York City borough of Staten Island. He is a member of The Tenderloins, a comedy troupe consisting of himself, James Murray, Brian Quinn, and formerly Joe Gatto. Along with the other members of The Tenderloins, he stars in the television series Impractical Jokers, which premiered in 2011, on TruTV.
Impractical Jokers: The Movie is a 2020 American reality comedy film directed by Chris Henchy, based on the truTV television series Impractical Jokers. The film stars Brian Quinn, James Murray, Sal Vulcano, and Joe Gatto, also known as The Tenderloins. It was theatrically released on February 21, 2020. The film received generally unfavorable reviews. It grossed $10 million against a budget of $3 million.
The Misery Index is an American television comedy game show developed for TBS that premiered on October 22, 2019. The show, based on the card game "Shit Happens," is hosted by Jameela Jamil, and stars the four members of The Tenderloins comedy troupe who also star in truTV's Impractical Jokers.
Meth Lab Season 2: The Lithium is the sixth studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man. It was set to be released on November 13, 2018, but was re-scheduled and released on December 14, 2018. Serving as a sequel to the rapper's previous album, The Meth Lab, it is the second album released through Hanz On Music Entertainment. The album features various guest performers including Noreaga, Redman, Sheek Louch, Snoop Dogg, and fellow Staten Islanders The Tenderloins, among others. The latter group would collaborate with Method Man in the ninth season of the show, however, Joe Gatto had left the show by this point.
Joseph Anthony Gatto Jr. is an American improvisational comedian, actor, and producer from the New York City borough of Staten Island. He is a former member of the Tenderloins, a comedy troupe consisting of Sal Vulcano, James Murray, and Brian Quinn. Along with the other members of the Tenderloins, he starred in the television series Impractical Jokers, which first aired in 2011, on TruTV.
Brian Michael "Q" Quinn is an American podcaster, improvisational comedian, and actor. He is a member of The Tenderloins, a comedy troupe also consisting of Sal Vulcano, James Murray, and formerly Joe Gatto. Along with the other members of The Tenderloins, he stars in the television series Impractical Jokers, which premiered in 2011, on TruTV.
James Stephen "Murr" Murray is an American improvisational comedian, author, and actor from New York. He is a member of The Tenderloins, a comedy troupe also consisting of Brian Quinn, Sal Vulcano, and formerly Joe Gatto. Along with the other members of The Tenderloins, he stars in the television series Impractical Jokers, which premiered in 2011, on TruTV.
The ninth season of Impractical Jokers premiered on February 4, 2021. Part of the season was filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic suspended operations in March 2020. Filming and production resumed in September and continued as late as December. The aftershow After Party season 4 was postponed, and debuted with "Space Oddity" on April 15, 2021. Following "The Prince and Me" episode, the season resumed on July 8, where cast member Sal Vulcano would be referred to as Prince Herb for the remaining episodes of the season; however, he dropped the moniker in the "Eric André" episode that aired on April 2, 2022. This was the last season to feature Joe Gatto prior to his departure from the show at the beginning of 2022 after 17 episodes into the season. The season's remaining episodes aired starting from June 16, 2022 with various celebrity guest stars that participate in the losing Joker's punishment.
The tenth season of Impractical Jokers premiered on February 9, 2023 and concluded on August 1, 2024. It is also the first season to be simulcast on truTV and TBS, and the last season to be broadcast on the former network. This is also the first full season without Joe Gatto, following his departure from the show in the previous season.