''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
wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
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
immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
.
: The contestant was chosen as a
wingman
A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot or UAV who supports another pilot in a potentially dangerous flying environment. ''Wingman'' was originally the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation.
According to t ...
and had
immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
.
: 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
immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
.
: The contestant was chosen as a
wingman
A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot or UAV who supports another pilot in a potentially dangerous flying environment. ''Wingman'' was originally the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation.
According to t ...
and had
immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
.
: 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
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
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.