''Punk'd'' is an American

hidden camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...

–

practical joke A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

television series that first aired on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in 2003. It was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, with Kutcher serving as producer and host. It bears a resemblance to both the classic hidden camera show '' Candid Camera'' and to '' TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes'', which also featured pranks on celebrities. Being "punk'd" referred to being the victim of such a prank. New episodes hosted by King Bach and DeStorm Power aired on BET. A reboot of the series hosted by

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' (2012) during one of his high school suspension ...

premiered on

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in 2020 and moved to

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until its cancellation in December 2021.

History and format

Originally, Ashton Kutcher and MTV were developing a program called ''Harassment'', a hidden camera show which would feature pranks on regular everyday anonymous people. However, a January 2002 prank involving a fake dead body at the Hard Rock Hotel in

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backfired and the couple who were targets of the prank sued Kutcher, MTV, and the hotel for $10 million. The concept was later retooled to involve celebrities instead. Pranks would be set at a variety of locations, public and private. One of the show's first pranks was set at singer

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's home, where he was led to believe that government agents were seizing his home and valuables because of unpaid income taxes. ''

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'' magazine ranked the prank #3 on its list of 32 Epic Moments in Reality-TV History. Another (the very first) involved Frankie Muniz's special custom-made limited edition Porsche being stolen. A frequent segment during the first two seasons was a ''Punk'd'' cast member pretending to interview celebrities at red carpet events, only to mock them instead. This segment closely copies what originated on ''

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'' in the 1980s, when Stern and his writers began sending interns (most notably Stuttering John Melendez) to ask celebrities embarrassing questions on the red carpet. During the first season then-fifteen-year-old Ryan Pinkston posed as a reporter from a children's television program, and would insult the celebrities. During season two, the producers then chose a foreign interviewer accompanied by her interpreter who would then ask inane questions to the guests. Several actors, like Jill Wagner, Masi Oka, B. J. Novak, Caitlyn Taylor Love, Dax Shepard, and a then-unknown

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and director. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 20 ...

were accomplices in the pranks. But when the next celebrity targets who saw the show would recognize the members of ''Punk'd'' and realized what was happening to them, the show would get new field agents every season. The series finale aired on MTV on May 29, 2007, and culminated in early June with the Punk'd Awards.

Revival

In October 2010, ''

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'' revealed that ''Punk'd'' was being revived with

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replacing Kutcher as the host; however, it stated that Kutcher would remain as executive producer. After a five-year hiatus, the program was revived with a March 2012 premiere. The first episode of the ninth season, featuring Bieber as a guest host, was filmed in late August 2011. On December 31, 2011, MTV confirmed that the program would be revived in 2012, and that a different celebrity guest host would be featured each episode, the guests included:

Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...

Bam Margera Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV Reality tel ...

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, Lucy Hale,

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, Dax Shepard,

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, Heather Morris,

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, and

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. Ashton Kutcher made a returning appearance on an episode where he got to punk again. The ninth season ended on June 7, 2012.

BET reboot

On May 25, 2013, Katalyst Media stated that a tenth season was in development. At their 2015 upfronts, BET announced that they would be rebooting the program for their network. Although Katalyst had closed by then Goldberg returned as executive producer with a revival of the Katalyst banner without Kutcher. Ryan Good also executive produced. The reboot is tailored for the network's audience and goes behind the scenes of many pranks. The reboot premiered on August 18, 2015. To promote the program, BET announced the return of '' BET: Uncut'', a block for uncut music videos, on August 11, 2015. In reality, after a revelation and introduction from new hosts, King Bach and DeStorm Power, BET aired highlights from past segments of the program as well as previews for their program.

Quibi reboot

In 2020, it was announced that a new ''Punk'd'' reboot would air on the mobile video platform

hosted by

. After Quibi was shut down in December 2020, on January 8, 2021, Roku bought the rights to Quibi's content library, including ''Punk'd'' for seven years. Season 2 premiered on

on December 10, 2021.

Syndication

Punk'd began in off-network syndication in 2008 and in the fall of that year, Trifecta Entertainment & Media put it into barter syndication and aired on affiliates of Fox,

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, and

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stations. However, as of fall 2012, the show has left local syndication along with '' The Hills'' and '' Laguna Beach'' due to lack of ratings.

References

External links