Impractical Jokers

Impractical Jokers
File:Impractical jokers logo (pressroom).jpg
Genre	Reality
Directed by	P.J. Morrison
Starring	Brian "Q" Quinn James "Murr" Murray Joseph "Joe" Gatto Salvatore "Sal" Vulcano
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	21
Production
Executive producers	Charlie DeBevoise Mark Hickman Brian Quinn James Murray Joe Gatto Sal Vulcano Dave Wechter Mark Anstendig (for truTV) Jon Crowley (for truTV)
Camera setup	Hidden camera
Running time	21 minutes
Production company	NorthSouth Productions
Original release
Network	TruTV
Release	December 15, 2011 (2011-12-15) – present

Impractical Jokers is an American hidden camera-practical joke reality television series that premiered on TruTV on December 15, 2011. It follows the four members of the comedy troupe The Tenderloins as they coerce one another into doing public pranks while being filmed by hidden cameras. The show differs from other prank television programs in that the stars of Impractical Jokers do not know the details of the prank until the moment they are performing it on strangers. While one cast-member performs the prank, the other three comedians in the troupe are behind the scenes feeding lines to their friend via microphone (with an earpiece). The lines fed to the prankster are meant to create a humorous and awkward exchange between the prankster and the stranger being pranked.

On June 21, 2012, TruTV announced that Impractical Jokers had been renewed for a second season consisting of 15 episodes.

Four bonus episodes from Season 2 aired during the month of September 2012. The official second season premiere is scheduled for December 13, 2012.

Development

In 1999, four high school friends, from Staten Island, NY, formed the live improv comedy troupe, The Tenderloins. After a long and successful history, including winning the $100,000 grand prize in the NBC's It’s Your Show competition, the group went into television. In 2008, they filmed a pilot episode for a scripted sitcom for Spike TV, but the show did not go to series. TruTV announced the series Impractical Jokers on April 12, 2011, 8 months before the show's debut. One of the show's stars, James Murray, explained how the hidden camera format made sense based on their 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."

Rules

Before every challenge, the four comedians outline the rules of the challenge. Challenges are often simply for one member to say whatever line is fed to him, although some challenges include more complex rules, such as successfully convincing a random stranger to say or do a certain thing. After the challenge is established, each member of the troupe takes a turn performing the challenge while the other three members watch and listen via a hidden camera and mic on the cast-member performing the prank. The location in which the challenge takes place is usually a public area such as a city park or a boardwalk. Although the criteria of each challenge is the same for each of the four comedians, the outcome is often very different depending on what lines are fed to them from the others.

Throughout each episode, a tally is kept for each time one of the comedians fails at his task. After three to five challenges, depending on the episode, a loser is determined based on number of challenges failed. The loser is forced to complete a punishment task at the end of the episode which is often far more embarrassing than the previous challenges. The punishment task is generally performed in front of an entire audience or group of people, unlike some of the challenges.

Episodes

Season 1 (2011–2012)

#	Episode Name	Original Airdate	Synopsis	Losing Joker
1	Episode 100	December 15, 2011	The comedians pretend to be eccentric White Castle cashiers, Times Square tour guides, and Costco store employees.	Sal
2	Episode 101	December 15, 2011	The group is challenged to apply the most lotion to beach-goers, survey amusement park guests at Six Flags Great Adventure, grab as many groceries from other customers at a grocery store, and pay the least at a frozen yogurt shop.	Sal
3	"Unmotivational Speaker"	December 22, 2011	The guys try off-color techniques at impressing women while speed-dating. Later, they act as fortune tellers at a boardwalk and ask surprising questions to people in a pharmacy.	Sal
4	"Boardwalk of Shame"	December 29, 2011	The troupe jokes with strangers on the street, plays a humorous word game with customers at a grocery store, and acts as salesmen at a car dealership.	Joe
5	"Drawing a Blank"	January 5, 2012	The jokers act as reporters preparing an interview, caricature artists in a mall, oddball apartment dwellers looking for roommates, and cut in line for Broadway Show tickets.	Sal
6	"Panty Raid"	January 12, 2012	The comedians provide information to boardwalk pedestrians, broadcast the news from Times Square, and make an attempt to teach a karate class.	Murr
7	"Out of TP"	January 19, 2012	The guys analyze handwriting at the mall, steal food from customers plates at a buffet, teach foreign languages that they do not speak to prospective students, and dance with strangers at the park.	Joe
8	"Who Arted"	January 26, 2012	The guys pose as bakery salesmen, focus group analysts, and shoe salesmen. They also teach classes at a local gym.	Q
9	"Joker's Choice"	February 2, 2012	The guys go over their favorite challenges from the season and tell each other personal thoughts.	None
10	"A Loser Presents"	February 16, 2012	The guys return to White Castle, pose as bouncers at a night club, and read horoscopes to patrons at the Jersey Gardens Mall.	Murr
11	"What Did I Eat?"	March 29, 2012	The jokers pretend to be very unwelcoming members of a boardwalk welcoming committee, pose as furniture salesmen, sell jewelry to couples, and pitch some whacky memoirs to potential readers.	Q
12	"Starfart Macchiato"	March 29, 2012	The lads play another round of "Don't I Know You?" with complete strangers, pose as driving school instructors and later shampoo boys at a women's hair salon, and share embarrassing text messages in a waiting room.	Murr
13	"Bellydancer"	April 5, 2012	The pranksters take jobs at a garden center, pose as deli employees, and try their luck as CPR instructors.	Joe
14	"Charity Case"	April 12, 2012	The guys have to get donations for outrageous Broadway plays, pose as puppy dog salesmen, teach golf, and hold the remote to a toy car they cannot control.	Murr
15	"Theater del Absurdo"	April 19, 2012	The guys raise donations for bizarre charities, eat food off other peoples plates at a Chinese resturant and provide unsolicited advice to shoppers at the Jersey Gardens Mall.	Joe
16	"Pick a Loser"	April 26, 2012	The jokers try to kiss strangers, play another round of "Don't I Know You?", play word games with people in a bookstore, and pose as professional photographers.	Q
17	"Supercuts"	May 3, 2012	The guys utilize a variety of strange objects to mess with customers at a party supply store, attempt to nose and behave inappropriately while inside of an elevator.	Q, Murr, Sal, Joe (Tie)

Season 2 (2012–2013)

#	Episode Name	Original Airdate	Synopsis	Losing Joker
18	"Elephant in the Room"	September 6, 2012	The jokers work inside a dentist's office, annoy patrons at a movie theater and participate in a crazy photography shoot at a public park for their blogs.	Sal
19	"The Stoop Sessions Part 1"	September 13, 2012	The guys review their favorite moments from the past season, and they reveal the most surprising occurrences, the best overall reactions and never-before-seen footage.	None
20	"Art Attack"	September 20, 2012	The guys try get strangers to hold their hands in a park, annoy the patrons at a comic book shop and participate in a competitive race down an aisle at a grocery store.	Murr
21	"The Stoop Sessions Part 2"	September 27, 2012	The guys review their favorite moments from season one, and they reveal the most surprising occurences, the best overall reactions and never-before-seen footage.	None

Reception

Impractical Jokers has been generally well received by critics, with Linda Stasi of the New York Post calling it "possibly the funniest, most ridiculous show I’ve seen in years."

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." 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."

The series has been generally well received, garnering 1.5 million viewers during its December 15, 2011 premiere.

The review of the show by Variety's Brian Lowry was more mixed, 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 occassionally funny."

International versions

• A UK version is currently being broadcast on BBC Three. It stars comedians Paul McCaffrey, Joel Dommett, Marek Larwood and Roisin Conaty . The pilot was filmed and placed online as part of "The Comedy Kitchen" in 2012. The first episode aired on 15th November 2012. It is produced by Yalli Productions.

• A Dutch version will be broadcast on Veronica in spring 2012.

• A Belgian version will be broadcast on Vlaamse Media Maatschappij in fall 2012.

External links

• Official website of Impractical Jokers
• Impractical Jokers at IMDb