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Catfish: The TV Show

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Catfish: The TV Show
GenreReality
Based onCatfish
by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Developed by
Presented by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons9
No. of episodes242 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Andrew Jarecki
  • Ariel Schulman
  • Eddie Schmidt
  • Brad Bishop
  • David Metzler
  • Henry Joost
  • Jonathan Karshis
  • Julie Link Steffens
  • Marc Smerling
  • Marshall Eisen
  • Nev Schulman
  • Guillermo Bonilla
  • Nomi Ernst Leidner
  • Tom Forman
  • John Maroney
Cinematography
  • John DeTarsio
  • Max Joseph
Camera setupMultiple
Webcam (episodes 148–)
Running time41 to 42 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkMTV
ReleaseNovember 12, 2012 (2012-11-12) –
present (present)
Related

Catfish: The TV Show (often shortened to Catfish) is an American reality-based documentary television series airing on MTV about the truths and lies of online dating. The series, which premiered on November 12, 2012, is based on the 2010 film Catfish.[1]

Premise

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The show presents the "hopeful" as the one who initiates contact in an attempt to discover the true identity of their online romance, or "catfish". Some of the show's casting calls solicit stories from hopefuls.[2] Casting director Michael Esposito has said that the show has received more than 100 applications a day.[3]

They used to tank cod from Alaska all the way to China. They'd keep them in vats in the ship. By the time the codfish reached China, the flesh was mush and tasteless. So this guy came up with the idea that if you put these cods in these big vats, put some catfish in with them and the catfish will keep the cod agile. And there are those people who are catfish in life. And they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh. And I thank God for the catfish because we would be ... boring and dull if we didn't have somebody nipping at our fin.

— Nev Schulman (Catfish, the film)

The term "catfish" originated as the title of a 2010 documentary in which filmmaker Schulman discovers that the woman with whom he'd been having an online relationship had not been honest in describing herself. The term has since come to be used to refer to someone who creates a fake personal profile on social sites using someone else's pictures and false biographical information to pretend to be someone else, usually intending to trick someone into falling in love with them.

In each episode, Schulman and his co-host, first receive a request by someone who is emotionally entangled with someone they have never met in real life. Then they usually travel to the person's residence and do online research to try to uncover the truth about whether the other participant in the virtual relationship is legitimate or a "catfish", and make them meet either way. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the show was filmed online and instead of an in-person meeting, participants met through Zoom.[4] Some of these couples have been communicating for a few months—others, for years.[5][6] Schulman has said that the show is not all about pulling the rug out from under people, explaining:

Whether or not two people are totally lying to each other and it turns out to be a huge disaster, that's only the first part of the story. We then want to know why they are doing it, who they are, what they are feeling, what led them to this place, and why that resonates with thousands of other young people who have the same feelings, who don't have someone to talk to or don't know how to express themselves.

— Nev Schulman, August 2012 Zap2It article [1]

As explained in 2014 reports on Hollywood.com[7] and Vulture,[8] it is usually the catfish who makes the first contact with MTV. Producers then proceed to gather information about the deception from the catfish and contact the hopeful afterwards. For legal reasons, everyone involved in the series signs a contract agreeing to appear on camera before the episode enters production. In Season 3's Miranda and Camryn episode, the catfish changed their mind about meeting the hopeful, and appeared only by Skype.

The hosts are given no information about the catfish. In 2023 Kamie Crawford told Popculture[9]

I think people have this misconception that Nev and I are in on something before we go into filming. We have no idea what is happening ever. We literally open the laptop and read the email, and that's our first time hearing about anyone or knowing anything.

Nev Schulman has explained that while the catfish has agreed to appear on the show, they do not know when or how the hosts will be looking for them.[10]

A lot of the stories that we get come from the catfish side of things. People who feel so terrible [...] that they've been lying to a friend or a lover on the internet for a long time. They want to come clean, but they fear if they simply told the truth, the other person would [...] be very upset that they've been lied to and deceived, and likely discard them. And so they're hopeful that by coming on the show [...] maybe we can facilitate some kind of amicable exchange, that they can be heard, explain themselves in a more objective and non-judgmental way. So [the producers] orchestrate very delicately, and staying out of it as much as possible, a scenario by which [...] the hopeful reaches out to me [...]. And so [the hosts] just pick up from there. [The hopeful has] no idea of course that the other person's already expressed interest in meeting. And the [catfish] doesn't know that we're actually doing it. They just sorta think maybe it could happen. So they don't know when or why or how. So it's tricky, but everything is real. The feelings are real, the relationships are real. We haven't created any scenarios, we don't tell people what to say or do. It's very unpredictable.

Presenters

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In its first 7 seasons, the show was hosted by Nev Schulman and Max Joseph. Seeking to pursue a directing career, Joseph left the series and his last episode aired on August 22, 2018.[11][12] For the remaining episodes of the seventh season that aired in 2019, he was replaced by alternate presenters, including singer Elle King, model Selita Ebanks,[13] basketball player Nick Young, actress Kimiko Glenn, model Slick Woods, actress Tallulah Willis, rapper Machine Gun Kelly, and presenter Kamie Crawford. Eventually Kamie Crawford was selected to officially become part of the hosting duo in the show's 8th season alongside Schulman.[14] Crawford left the show in October 2024 after six years.[15]

Production

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In May 2018, filming of season 7 was suspended due to sexual misconduct allegations against Schulman. The suspension was lifted after the allegations were found to be "not credible".[16][17]

In early January 2024, the show was renewed for its 9th season by MTV,[18] which premiered on April 30, 2024.[19] It was announced that Joseph would return this season to host an episode.[20]

Series overview

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Main article: List of Catfish episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
112November 12, 2012 (2012-11-12)February 25, 2013 (2013-02-25)
216June 25, 2013 (2013-06-25)October 15, 2013 (2013-10-15)
310May 7, 2014 (2014-05-07)July 9, 2014 (2014-07-09)
419February 25, 2015 (2015-02-25)August 30, 2015 (2015-08-30)
520February 24, 2016 (2016-02-24)September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21)
620March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01)August 30, 2017 (2017-08-30)
740January 3, 2018 (2018-01-03)August 29, 2019 (2019-08-29)
899January 8, 2020 (2020-01-08)May 14, 2024 (2024-05-14)
911April 30, 2024 (2024-04-30)July 16, 2024 (2024-07-16)

Spin-offs

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There have been two Catfish spin-offs. The first, Catfish: Trolls, was hosted by celebrity artist Charlamagne tha God and featured online personalities confronting trolls who had been harassing them online. It aired for three-episode in 2018.[21] The second spinoff, Ghosted: Love Gone Missing, is hosted by The Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay and celebrity rapper Travis Mills and features stories about people trying to find former friends or romantic partners after having been ghosted.[22]

Podcast

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In 2020 MTV and Wondery began releasing episodes as podcasts under the title Catfish: The Podcast, with the first episode released on November 26, 2020.[23]

Reception

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The film Catfish was criticized and its authenticity questioned. Executive producer Tom Forman stresses that the TV version won't just tell "stories of deception. We've also stumbled into some love stories. We found people who are exactly who they say they are. We are putting those on television, too. We find people who are willing to get past an initial deception and really do make a connection at the end—in person and in real life. That's been really heartwarming. So, I think, when we set out, we really don't know how it's going to end: good, bad, or in the middle somewhere".[1]

International versions

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Country Name Host(s) Channel No. of seasons Broadcast
Colombia Catfish Colombia Diego Saenz, Sebastián Parra MTV 2 September 10, 2014 (2014-09-10) – November 5, 2015 (2015-11-05)
Chile Espías del Amor Julio César Rodríguez (1–3), Andrés Alemparte (1–3), César Antonio Campos (3), Marcelo Arismendi (1–2) Chilevisión 3 October 27, 2015 (2015-10-27) – Not renewed
Brazil Catfish Brasil Ciro Sales, Ricardo Gadelha MTV 3 August 31, 2016 (2016-08-31) – October 10, 2018 (2018-10-10)
Mexico Catfish Mexico Chapu Garza, José Luis Badalt MTV 1 March 1, 2018 (2018-03-01) – Not renewed
United Kingdom Catfish UK[24] Julie Adenuga (1), Oobah Butler (1-3), Nella Rose (2-3) MTV 3 April 21, 2021 (2021-04-21) – March 8, 2023 (2023-03-08)

In January 2016, MTV began casting a proposed UK version of the show through online ads that specifically targeted the catfish, not the hopeful: "Tired of keeping secrets from your online love? Come clean" and "Are you a secret Catfish? It's time to come clean".[25] The project was cancelled, but Schulman has said he would like to make a pan-European version.[26]

In August 2019, Network 10 chose to cancel its Australian version of Catfish which was going to be hosted by Casey Donovan.[27][28][29]

In January 2024, Catfish UK host Oobah Butler announced that the show was not renewed for a fourth season.[30]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Porter, Rick (August 3, 2012). "'Catfish: The TV Show': MTV delves into online relationships". Zap2it. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Catfish: The TV Show is now casting!". MTV Shows. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014.
  3. ^ AfterBuzz TV (August 26, 2015). "Catfish: The TV Show Season 4 Episode 21 Review w/ Michael Esposito". YouTube.com.
  4. ^ Writer, Kelly Wynne Culture (2020-08-05). "Kamie Crawford Talks Virtual 'Catfish' Season and How To Date During Corona". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
  5. ^ Willmore, Alison (August 7, 2012). "MTV Readies a Reality Series Based on 'Catfish' for November". IndieWire. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  6. ^ "Catfish: The TV Show". MTV. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  7. ^ Lutes, Alicia (June 8, 2014). "Is 'Catfish' Catfishing America?". hollywood.com. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  8. ^ "Here's How MTV's Catfish Actually Works". 21 May 2014.
  9. ^ "Catfish: Nev Schulman and Kamie Crawford Talk Chaotic New Season". YouTube. 4 October 2023.
  10. ^ TheLipTV2 (August 1, 2014). "CATFISH - TV Show, Scams + More With Nev Schulman". YouTube.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Max Joseph on Twitter". Twitter.
  12. ^ Johnson, Zach (August 30, 2018). "Max Joseph Gets Emotional in His Final Catfish Episode". E! News. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  13. ^ "'Catfish' Nev & Max Get Model Selita Ebanks to Help with Two-Part Season 3 Finale". Bustle. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  14. ^ Heyn, Elizabeth (January 8, 2020). "Kamie Crawford Co-Hosts MTV's 'Catfish' with Nev Schulman". Heavy. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "Catfish's Kamie Crawford Announces Departure from Show After 6 Years: 'Change Is Hard'". 2024-10-04.
  16. ^ "MTV Is Halting Production on 'Catfish' Amid Sexual Assault Allegations". Time. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  17. ^ Guglielmi, Jodi (June 25, 2018). "MTV Resumes Production on Catfish, Calls Nev Schulman Sexual Misconduct Claim 'Not Credible'". People. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  18. ^ "'Catfish: The TV Show' & 'Help! I'm In A Secret Relationship!' Renewed Amid Ratings Win For MTV". Deadline. 2024-01-04.
  19. ^ "Former Catfish Co-Host Max Joseph Makes Surprise Return in Season 9 Trailer (Exclusive)". TVLine. 2024-04-09.
  20. ^ "Max Joseph Announces Return to Catfish". Men's Journal. 2024-04-30.
  21. ^ Wynne, Kellie (2018-07-31). "What Is 'Catfish Trolls'? Meet Camyonce, Rollin' Ray, Charlamagne and More". Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  22. ^ Harnick, Kris (August 24, 2019). "MTV Taking on Ghosting With New Reality Show Starring Rachel Lindsay and Travis Mills". Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  23. ^ "Catfish: The Podcast". Wondery - Feel The Story. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  24. ^ Mangan, Lucy (21 April 2021). "Catfish UK review – exposing the cruellest fraudsters on the internet". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  25. ^ Catfish: The TV Show on Twitter
  26. ^ Moore, Hannah (2016-10-10). "MTV could make a UK version of Catfish, according to presenter Nev Schulman - BBC Newsbeat". Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  27. ^ Tan, Steffanie (20 August 2020). "NOOO: Channel 10 Has Binned Its 'Catfish Australia' Show Hosted By Casey Donovan". Pedestrian. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  28. ^ Vrajlal, Alicia (20 August 2019). "Casey Donovan's new show cancelled". Yahoo! Lifestyle. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  29. ^ Perry, Kevin (19 August 2019). "10 Cancels Production on Casey Donovan hosted program Catfish Australia". TV BlackBox. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  30. ^ Butler, Oobah [@Oobahs] (2 January 2024). "Catfish UK has come to an end. Had a genuinely amazing time making three series with great people, and it was a life changing job. Now focusing on new docs and interesting stuff. Cheers for watching!" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 September 2024 – via Twitter.
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