''The Pickup Artist'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

dating themed game show that aired on VH1. The show was hosted by

pickup artist Pickup artists (PUA), self-identified as dating coaches, the seduction community or the pickup community, is a movement of men (or women) whose goal is seduction and sexual success. The community exists through Internet newsletters and blogs, ma ...

Mystery ( Erik von Markovik) and his

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J-Dog (Justin Marks) and James Matador, with Tara Ferguson replacing J-Dog in season 2. The first season featured eight male contestants that had previously been unsuccessful in love and relationships. Throughout the show the contestants are tutored in the art of the "pickup" as taught by Mystery and his wings. In each episode the men were given challenges that involved picking women up in different situations, such as on a bridge during the day or in a nightclub. As the show progressed the men were instructed to pick up women of varying levels of difficulty, such as in the second to last challenge of the first season where the men had to pick up a stripper, described by Mystery as "the ultimate challenge." The winner of the first season was Alvaro "Kosmo" Orlando. The second season featured nine contestants and aired in October 2008, with the second season's winner being 27-year-old Simeon Moses.

Seasons

Season One

Contestants

Episode Progress

: The contestant won

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. : The contestant was chosen as a

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and had

. : The contestant was eliminated. : The contestant quit the competition. : The contestant won the title of the Pickup Artist. *Note 1: Episode 1 had no elimination. *Note 2: Alvaro changed his name to Kosmo in Episode 2. *Note 3: Contrary to statements made earlier in the episode, no wing men were allowed to be selected in Episode 5. *Note 4: Episode 8 was a recap episode.

Season Two

Contestants

Episode Progress

: The contestant won

. : The contestant was chosen as a

and had

. : The contestant was eliminated. : The contestant won the title of the Pickup Artist.

Reception

The initial viewer ratings were disappointing, debuting with only 673,000 viewers. Viewer ratings picked up by the season's end, resulting in the series being picked up for a second season. Critical reception for the series was mixed, with

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panning the second season's opening episode.

Controversy

Controversy began to cloud ''The Pickup Artist'' after revelations that some of the contestants' livelihoods were not as they were listed on the VH1 show profiles. Alvaro "Kosmo" Orlando had been referred to as a game programmer, but he actually had been an aspiring actor for the previous four years - working out of Miami, New York, and Los Angeles.

Runner-up {{Short pages monitor