Impractical Jokers is currently in its tenth season, with plenty of rotating guest stars to keep the crew busy, but there are questions regarding how much of the show is genuine. Of course, not everything about this reality show is entirely accurate, with some elements of the format getting branded as fake by those who have previously worked on it.
There is nothing wrong with scripted entertainment within the reality format, and specific aspects of Impractical Jokers continue to push for genuine reactions. Regardless, the show is popular in its current iteration, even without Joe Gatto. Viewers shouldn’t expect any significant changes to be made soon.
Picking Specific People
The show Impractical Jokers makes the whole process look spontaneous and unplanned. However, for everything to go off without a hitch, the producers pick out particular people to participate, usually non-fans, so they don’t expect what will happen. In an interview with Life & Style, Joe Gatto revealed a few fake details about the show. He said, “If anyone recognizes us, we just shuffle them along and pick somebody else — there are so many people in the city.” That selection process can force the show to feel a little controlled.
The Robot Contenders
One unfortunate behind-the-scenes element of Impractical Jokers is that not everything can be authentic regarding the reactions of those chosen. Sometimes, someone who recognizes the cast might make it onto the show, crafting an even faker response. Joe Gatto told Life & Style about the fake fans: “They’ll walk over and turn into these robots. They can’t even act human. They’re excited and nervous to be on the show.” That makes for far less entertaining viewing than audiences would like.
Controlling The Environment
When getting involved in jokes in public, it’s easy to imagine how those passing by might be able to interfere with what’s about to happen. While it may seem fake from a particular perspective, controlling the environment to pull everything off without a hitch is necessary. Some direction is always needed.
Joe Gatto, who worked on some of the best seasons of Impractical Jokers, mentioned one more element to Life & Style about controlling that environment, saying, “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.” It might be the only way to deal with anyone that could derail the process.”
Setting Up Fake Scenarios
Occasionally, Impractical Jokers have to set up their own scenes, which might include real elements, but ultimately rely on a fake premise to genuinely work. That’s a shame, especially for the punishments; it’s always funnier when everything about it is accurate. Talking with the New York Post, Sal Vulcano spoke about one specific moment: “The audience was real, but the show was fake. It was my punishment.” Sometimes the only way to create these bizarre situations is via some fake backdrops.
Editing Out People
Although the show looks like the people involved in the pranks have no idea what’s going on, the illusion is shattered slightly with the obvious reveal that they must sign consent forms to confirm that they are happy to be a part of the TV show. That does suggest they get a general sense of what will happen.
The edit isn’t necessarily fake, but it does add another level of control that takes away from the authenticity. Sal even confirmed that some people have to be edited around (and removed from) a shot. One case included a man with his mistress, with Sal saying, “When it came time to release them so they could be on camera, he said he had a great time but couldn’t sign because he was married.” Once again, that authentic illusion is broken slightly.
The Filming Format
Despite the realism of some of the pranks, Impractical Jokers is still a TV show, with its scripted elements, from cringe-worthy punishments to little skits between the group. The series has to follow the same formula as any other filming schedule. That means an episode that looks like it takes place across a single day might be faked slightly. In an interview on the Star Sessions YouTube channel, the crew said an episode, “takes between three and four days to film.” It’s edited down to give that illusion again of something happening a little more in real-time.
The Locations
The locations used within the show are real. However, filming permissions mean that what happens there isn’t always totally unexpected. The natural assumption is that the Impractical Jokers arrive at a location unannounced and begin their antics. In truth, the crew broke it down, saying, “We don’t have a studio space or home base, so we’re beholden to the locations that we procure or don’t. And sometimes we have stuff booked, and then the person that owns the place or owns the pond is like, ‘no.’” When the people being pranked are those involved with the locations, there is a slight falseness to their reactions.
Celebrity Guests
The newer series of Impractical Jokers have made a few changes, especially in how an episode ends. In some of Impractical Jokers‘ biggest loser pranks, celebrity guests have been brought in to attract new audience members who might not have been previously invested in the series.
However, that means that the reactions and scenarios are scripted to an extent to use those celebrities, adding a fake and forced element to those interactions. James Murray commented, “In ‘Jokers,’ every episode will end with a different celeb guest as part of the punishment, which has been great fun,” thus confirming how the format is shifting to mesh with that planned segment.
Attempting To Get Scripted Lines In
There were always rumors that some lines the comedians attempted to get in weren’t completely genuine reactions to how the public influenced the pranks. Occasionally, there is an added level of scripted content, where a comedian tries to get in their own jokes to steer the prank unnaturally. Q addressed this on the Tell ‘Em, Steve-Dave! podcast when he said, “The show, it’s going to be a bit weirder, the show going forward.” This heavily implies that despite wanting authenticity, the creators still try to put a slightly faker tone to proceedings.
Character Creation
Character creation has always been a part of the show. It’s a fake element, but one that has to be included for the format to really work, The jokers can’t be themselves every time, and sometimes, a fake scenario has to be created for the prank to play out.
Throughout the pandemic, though, the team had to push that even further, which on some level seems faker. James Murray told the Los Angeles Times that they were “building a character in a four-minute scene ‘to see how far you can go,’” which is a shift from a slightly more authentic approach in previous Impractical Jokers seasons.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, Tell ‘Em, Steve-Dave!, Star Sessions/YouTube, New York Post, Life & Style
