In one of his outgoing interviews, Impractical Jokers’ Joe Gatto was the latest co-host to confirm that the skits and pranks on the show are not fake.
TruTV’s flagship show, Impractical Jokers, is gearing up for its milestone tenth season. For nine seasons, to date, the show has been keeping viewers in stitches and continually making people laugh with new pranks and skits.
Moreover, the tenth season is set to mark the first season that will be without original co-creator and co-host, Joe Gatto, who announced in December 2021 that he would not be returning to show.
During his outgoing interviews, he re-addressed the suspicions that the series is scripted, by re-affirming the authenticity of the show.
Contents
What is Impractical Jokers?
Impractical Jokers first premiered on truTV in 2011 and has since become one of the channel’s most popular shows and the flagship show.
The premise of the show is, “Comedians Joe Gatto, James ‘Murr’ Murray, Brian ‘Q’ Quinn, and Sal Vulcano are real-life best friends who love challenging each other to the most outrageous dares and stunts ever caught on hidden camera.”
In light of the success of the show, the franchise has been extended to include the 2020 release of Impractical Jokers: The Movie, along with the live tours and cruises hosted by the show’s hosts.
Is Impractical Jokers fake?
One of the commonly asked questions about the show is whether the pranks are scripted, and if the people that have been featured are hired actors meant to act surprised about the pranks.
Throughout the years, the co-hosts have all confirmed that the pranks and skits featured on the show are real, and that the people’s reactions are as authentic as they can be.
The latest of the original four-formation to affirm these sentiments was Joe Gatto. Gatto announced on New Year’s Eve, 2021,that he will not be returning to the series for the upcoming tenth season.
In his Instagram confirmation post he said, “Bessy and I have decided to amicably part ways, so now I need to focus on being the best father and co-parent to our two incredible kids.”
Adding, “They say that laughter is the best medicine, and I hope I’ve been able to provide some of that over the last decade. Seeing you laugh has been my own medicine, particularly in these weird and difficult times we find ourselves.”
Impractical Jokers’ Joe Gatto on the show’s authenticity
In 2018, Joe Gatto had an interview with Life and Style magazine, where he was asked about the authenticity of the show.
Gatto affirmed that the show is completely authentic in terms of the reactions of those being pranked by stating, “…the show works thanks to that genuine hesitation and fear, dealing with a stranger who doesn’t know they’re on a hidden camera show. That’s the magic of the show.”
Therefore, if the reactions were not authentic, the show would lose its believability and popularity with time, which has not been the case so far.
Impractical Jokers’ Joe on production measures placed to preserve authenticity
In the same interview, Joe Gatto explained how in past seasons they had maintained their anonymity despite the popularity of the show and the fame Sal, Murr, Q and himself have since garnered by explaining, “If anyone recognizes us, we just shuffle them along and pick somebody else — there are so many people in the city.”
Joe added, “If someone recognizes us, they’re not on our show.” Moreover, he credited the production team for steering fans away from giving away the pranks during production, stating, “We have our production team that helps us swoop in and Liam Neeson these people, like (in) Taken — (they) pull them off to the side.”
Who will replace Joe Gatto on Impractical Jokers?
In light of Joe Gatto’s announcement that he will not return to Impractical Jokers for the tenth season, as he works on finalising his divorce from wife, Bessy.
Additionally, as he focuses on working on being co-parents, the big question now is who will replace the co-host in the series?
It seems that the show is tentative with the decision as the tenth season will include a celebrity guest feature for every episode of the season.
This has left room for the possible return of Gatto in subsequent seasons, however, no word on the matter has been shared yet. The show is set to return with a special episode on Saturday, 2 April 2022 following the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Final thoughts
Impractical Jokers has been keeping television viewers laughing with the candid camera and skit show for nine seasons.
A milestone which is only made better by the fact that the show is set to mark the release of its tenth season in April 2022, which will, unfortunately, not include original member and co-host, Joe Gatto, following his exit from the show after season nine.
One of the recurring questions, in light of the show’s nine season run, is whether the pranks and candid camera moments on the show are real.
The show’s hosts have, in multiple interviews, affirmed the authenticity of the reactions, and admitted that it has gotten more difficult with how much more acclaim they have received in recent years.
