Back in the early 2000s, MTV had hit a stride with their prank show Punk’d. Hosted by Ashton Kutcher, the series followed Kutcher as he would set up his celebrity friends in wild and bizarre pranks. The fun of the show was watching how celebrities reacted to brazen acts, laughing with the audience along the way. Cut to 2011 when TruTV launched their own prank show, Impractical Jokers, but for real people. Presented by the Tenderloins, these four improv besties took on the world of real-life pranking, putting themselves right in the middle of the action. With 10 seasons under their belt, a movie, and a run on a wildly underrated game show called The Misery Index, Impractical Jokers is the perfect show to let loose and laugh. Because the quartet are friends and have an amazing rapport, the comedy comes naturally, and the antics are always hilarious. Impractical Jokers succeeds because of The Tenderloins’ relationship with one another; to say they’re comedic geniuses is an understatement.
Joe Gatto, James “Murr” Murray, Brian “Q” Quinn, and Sal Vulcano are four former classmates from Staten Island who formed a comedy troupe called the Tenderloins. Converting their content from stage to screen, the Tenderloins found viral success on the web competition, “It’s Your Show.” The NBC-produced show handed out a $100,000 grand prize to The Tenderloins for their sketch entitled “Time Thugs.” While they did face the hardship of the entertainment industry with a failed television pilot for Spike TV, luck would be on their side when TruTV decided to take on a hidden camera show produced by the troupe themselves.
Impractical Jokers put the quartet straight into the action as they played jokes on each other with the thanks of a handy dandy earpiece and a hidden camera. With the twist essentially being a comedy show where the jokes on them, Impractical Jokers took off, becoming a hit for the network. As the show blew up, Impractical Jokers brought in a plethora of celebrities to join in on their fun. Fans were enamored with the ridiculous show that got compared to other prank hits like MTV’s Jackass and the classic series Candid Camera.
The Chemistry Between the Tenderloins Is the Key to ‘Impractical Jokers’ Success
Chemistry is incredibly necessary when making something work. For Impractical Jokers, the program is synonymous with The Tenderloins, and their chemistry makes the show tick! When it comes to comedy, it’s imperative to try and fail in order to learn and grow. Thanks to their panache for humiliation and eagerness to embarrass one another, The Tenderloins have given their audience the chance to live out their funny fantasies from the safety of their couch. With the game being “if you refuse, you lose,” each member of the group has pushed themselves beyond the limits in order to entertain and deliver high-class comedy.
Whether it’s the main prank or part of the punishment, The Tenderloins’ ability to improv their way through any situation while knowing how to push their colleagues to the max has been the recipe for longevity. On the surface, many of the antics Murr, Joe, Sal, and Q endure can be diabolical. Without their friendship and television-making motives, many of the pranks would never fly. But they have proven that they’ll do anything for a laugh! Each Joker has their own archetype in their friend group that helps balance their chemistry, as they each fulfill a certain role in the troupe. Murr has a less imposing demeanor, making him seem innocent to the public eye. Joe has an ability to lean into the extremes, causing an uproar from the public. Sal is the one who would likely break in the middle of a prank. And Q is your big, old teddy bear that is unassuming yet full throttle.
The format of Impractical Jokers is simple. The Jokers will share the various challenges of the episode. Through the use of an earpiece, the Joker or Jokers sent out for the prank will engage with the public while the others are stowed away, communicating through a live mic as hidden cameras capture every move. If the performer refuses or fails to complete the task, they will receive a thumbs-down. Whoever receives the most thumbs-down is forced to receive a punishment. The Jokers are always game to go, though trepidation comes into play. Of course, not everything can go according to plan. Impractical Jokers has had their fair share of prank fails and angry reactions. And even still, it’s gotten the viewers reacting in laughter. Often times, people in the wild are not in tune to the hidden camera nature of the show, so watching Joe scratch his bum in the middle of a food court or Sal tossing a chicken finger behind a man in the middle of the boardwalk, the reactions the Jokers elicit are real.
‘Impractical Jokers’ Is Unafraid to Push the Pranks to the Extreme
Comedy is about being fearless. Throughout the history of Impractical Jokers, The Tenderloins brought their fearlessness to the screen, but oh boy, there was always a hint of terror in their eyes. Whether Sal is forced to watch an adult film on full blast in the middle of a café or the gang pissing off 14,000 people when Sal and Joe opened up for Imagine Dragons, Impractical Jokers pushes the quartet to the extremes. And somehow, their ideas are endless! In the nearly 250 episodes, the guys have done it all. Once, Sal was giving a speech at a wedding where, through the art of timing, he had a page break in his speech that caused the phrase “break the Hymen…tradition” to fill the room, causing all the guests to react in a tizzy. Inappropriate to say the least, but it’s all for the laughs!
Once at a New York Mets game, Joe was tasked with stealing autographed baseballs from children. It goes so wrong that parents yell at him as he shares his plans to sell the balls on eBay. Not every prank can go off without a hitch. And sometimes, punishments are even made up on the spot. Hence, the beauty of Impractical Jokers. With the Tenderloins being such good friends, they know everything about one another. So much so, they know their actual fears. So if Murr has expressed his fear of heights, viewers could expect something height-related would make it into his punishments. And it sure did. The fact that they were able to convince him to go skydiving proves that these men would do anything to make excellent television.
One of the longest running gimmicks the show has included is the call out of the unseen figure Larry. Deemed as one of the nicest guys they know, Larry, a former crew member for the program, has appeared in countless pranks and punishments without ever showing face. Joe is often the man heard screaming “Larry!” in many of the pranks. It became such a thing for the fans that the Tenderloins have shared that when they are recognized in person, it’s what the fans scream out to them. The unseen character is one of the most beloved recurring elements on the show, which is already filled to the brim with bits. With a show like Impractical Jokers, anyone can jump into the show at any moment. There’s no continuity, but for longtime fans, knowing the ins and outs of the relationships the men have gives them an inside edge to watching the program.
Though Joe Gatto did leave the show and The Tenderloins following Season 9, the spirit of the show has thrived. Impractical Jokers is still one of the most beloved prank programs to ever hit the airwaves. Impractical Jokers works because of the people who make it. No matter where the show is broadcast or how long it continues, Impractical Jokers has stood the test of time as a premiere practical joke reality show that fans can never get enough of.