I remember first watching this show on a boring Saturday afternoon. I had no expectations going into it. None. I had no idea what this show was about other then it sounded like it was probably a prank show. I was right on that one. It was a prank show, but what I found out very quickly was that it was one of the best prank shows produced in the last decade. Not since I saw the first Punk’D did I laugh so hard at a prank show. Starring “The Tenderloins” a New York based improv group made up of five life-long friends- this prank show is unique in that the pranksters have no idea what they are going to have to say or do until they are actually in the middle of the prank. It is that simple deviation of the prank formula that sets this show apart.
There has been a ton of prank show failures since Punk’D, which have included the Punk’D revival, Prank My Mom, and a slew of other shows that have aired mostly on MTV. What I appreciate about this show is that you get laughs on two fronts; on one hand you’re laughing at the pranks themselves, which have included people giving blind presentations in front of college lectures to grabbing food off of the plates of people at a buffet joint but you’re also laughing at the pranksters themselves who have to go through with those pranks as well as others. These include multiple variations of a prank wherein they have to get people to say random words like “Nazi-lover” or “Chumbawamba” without actually telling them to say it.
Needless to say, this is a show that delivers the laughs. It is consistently funny and over-the-top. This is a series that though you may not feel the need to watch live, it is definitely worth the DVR space. Very funny. Worth the watch. Check it out- This is probably the best show TruTV has ever produced and is only being overlooked because it airs on TruTV and not Comedy Central (where it really should be).
Official Episode Description: (10:00pm) The pranksters prove insensitive while conducting a sensitivity-training class, have surprise celebrity encounters on the street and try being unreceptive receptionists in a busy office.
Official Episode Description: (10:30pm) The pranksters share shameful secrets in the park, don headsets at a fast-food drive-through, and ask unsuspecting strangers to dance.
Also on tonight…
8PM
NBC: Up All Night (comedies)
ABC: Last Resort (action drama)
CBS: The Big Bang Theory/Two and a Half Men (comedies)
FOX: The X Factor (music competition)
CW: The Vampire Diaries (supernatural drama)
HGTV: Hotel Impossible (reality)
SPIKE: Impact Wrestling (wrestling)
9PM
CBS: Person of Interest (action drama)
ABC: Grey’s Anatomy (medical drama)
NBC: Take It All (game show)
CW: Beauty and the Beast (supernatural drama)
BRAVO: The Real Housewives of Miami (reality)
GSN: Newlywed Game (game show)
LIFE: Project Runway All Stars (reality)
10PM
FX: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The League (comedies)
ABC: Scandal (drama)
CBS: Elementary (crime drama)
NBC: Rock Center (news showcase)
USA: Burn Notice (action drama)
MTV: Jersey Shore (disgusting “reality”)
ID: Nightmare Christmas (docu)
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