I’m a big sucker for pranks so back in the early 2000s, MTV’s Punk’d was my everything. The pranks were creative, elaborate, and some got pretty intense. But that’s where Ashton Kutcher came in handy as host; just when things were about to cross a line or a target was in tears, Kutcher would run out, everyone would cheer and the episode would end on a buoyant “it’s all in good fun” note.
The 2012 revival with Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and other celebrity guest hosts was fun enough, but the concept had definitely lost some of its charm. In its original run, Punk’d was already dealing with the problem of oversaturation and becoming too well known. How many times could Kutcher “punk” celebrities before, one, the entire industry caught on and, two, the gag started to grow old? The answer to that question was sooner than they realized because it couldn’t sustain a full eight seasons. So perhaps the five year gap between the original run and the revival just wasn’t long enough. I also wondered if maybe the revival felt a bit flat because it wasn’t the same without Kutcher at the helm. However, after watching a few episodes of Quibi’s iteration of the concept, I think I have a clearer sense of what the show needed to warrant a return - a major format shift.
My favorite part of a Punk’d prank was the prank itself, not the giddy breakdown of the mechanics required to make the increasingly convoluted schemes happen. The Quibi six-to-eight-minute episode format essentially forces the folks working on the new show to condense it and thankfully, they put the majority of the screen time towards watching the prank itself unfold.
Each of the three episodes screened offered just enough set-up and just enough commentary from new host, Chance the Rapper, but most of the time is spent with the “punkees” - Sabrina Carpenter, Liza Koshy and Megan Thee Stallion. All three pranks do look like they required quite a bit of resources to pull off, especially the one with Koshy, but that six-minute run time ensures they’re all a total breeze with zero wasted minutes. The prank on Carpenter is easily the best of the bunch and I do suspect there’s a chance that some might find the humor in Koshy’s episode a little off-putting, but personally, I found that all three installments played well.
In fact, Punk’d on Quibi might be exactly what we need right now. Half the fun I’ve been having on TikTok lately is from clever prank videos. Quibi’s Punk’d is essentially a whole bunch of TikTok pranks but with a seemingly sizable budget and a whole bunch of well-known celebrity targets. I spent most of the 18 minutes it took to watch all three episodes laughing out loud and then when I hit the end of my screeners, I desperately wanted to click “next” for another. Assuming the pranks are as effective moving forward, I have no doubt that this new Punk’d will become a fast favorite Quibi.
Rating: ★★★★