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Best episodes of prank encounters7/2/2023 ![]() Andy Kaufman fooled the country time and time again, so much so that when he actually died of cancer in the late ‘80s, people thought that was a gag, too. He even convinced late-night host David Letterman that the beef between him and professional wrestler Jerry Lawler was real. His appearances on shows like Saturday Night Life and the short-lived Fridays, are the stuff of legend. Best known for his role on the television sitcom Taxi, Kaufman would use his notoriety to play pranks on, well, just about everybody. He was a “song and dance man” or, at the very least, a performance artist. By God, did they smile.Īndy Kaufman was classified as a comedian, but he hated the term. After every prank, regardless of how extreme or emotionally abusive, the butts of the jokes would simply be told to "Smile, you’re on Candid Camera." And they did smile. ![]() It has been hosted by a slew of gag-sters throughout its 38-season run, and it has never failed to produce funny results. The granddaddy of prank shows first started airing in the ‘40s! It was originally a radio show until it grew into a television show in 1948. The first few seasons of Punk’d were pretty good, until people started realizing that when weird things happened to them, they were probably being Punk’d. MTV’s Punk’d was a prank show but, instead of pranking unsuspecting strangers, Kutcher and his team would punk celebrities, reminding them that they are still just one of us. The brainchild of Ashton Kutcher started off strong and single-handedly made America actually like Justin Timberlake. The problem was, none of the pranks were funny because none of the writers writing the show are funny. WWE Swerved was their attempt at a prank show. When WWE tries to think outside of its professional wrestling box (the box being professional wrestling), the results usually aren’t very good. Maybe after reading this list, people will lighten up a little bit and realize that America was founded on laughing at the expense of others. ![]() Because of that, we’re ranking the best and worst prank shows to have ever graced our television screens. Whether it was Allen Funt or Peter Funt telling people to smile because they were on Candid Camera, or Tom Green interviewing people with bits of poo attached to the microphone, prank shows have always pushed the boundaries of what’s considered entertainment. Prank shows have done a lot worse to people over the course of television history. It may end up being a funny, entertaining show, but it has received a ton of backlash before the first episode has even aired. But that’s exactly what Netflix did for Prank Encounters, hosted by Gaten Matarazzo of Stranger Things. There are many ways to combat America’s unemployment rate, but creating a hidden camera show that hires unsuspecting civilians, then puts them through emotional turmoil on their first day, only to reveal it was a setup for a laugh is not the kindest way to go about it. ![]()
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