Catfish TV show is an American documentary reality show that is aired on MTV and is based on the increasing deception found in online dating.
The ‘Catfish’ phenomenon has become all too common in the digital age of online dating, where it is easy to create and maintain fake social media profiles using fake names, photos and information to create a false persona. Hosts, Nev Shulman and Max Joseph are then saddled with the arduous task of discovering the real identity of the catfish who had been fooling the “hopeful” all the while. The process and procedure are well documented and televised on the reality show.
The catfish tv show wouldn’t have come into existence without co-host Nev Shulman’s personal experience with catfishing, which was recorded in a documentary. In the film that has garnered millions of views, filmmakers, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman follow Ariel’s brother, Nev, into his online relationship with a girl Megan. After refusing to meet up with him on several occasions, he suspected that something was amiss and eventually tracked her down to her home in Michigan, only to discover that Megan was a middle-aged woman and not the 19-year-old model he thought he had been dating.
The concept was later bought by MTV which resulted in the production of the Catfish show. The popularity has also made the word ‘catfish’ to be included in the English dictionary.
Things you need to know about the Catfish TV show
1. It’s often the catfish that want the secret out
This may sound weird because the show always starts with Ned reading out an email from the ‘hopeful’ that is the person being catfished. But it turns out that its quite the opposite of what really transpired. It’s often the case of the Catfish getting tired of the game and wants to come clean. Of course, the show won’t be half as interesting if it’s portrayed this way, that’s why MTV constructs an email to make it seem as if it is the ‘hopeful’ that contacted them based on his or her suspicion and requests to set up a meeting with their online partner.
However, the catfish never knows what Nev Schulman and Max Joseph and their team are up to or when they are going to knock on his door. Everything is kept wrapped up until the confrontation day.
2. The producers of the Catfish TV Show always know how each episode will turn out
The producers carry out a preliminary investigation to determine how long it might take Nev and Max to crack a case. However, they claim they keep Bev and Max in the blind for them to figure things out on their own. Sometimes they go off track or take longer than expected but they have become better at investigating as time went on.
3. The term ‘Catfish’ is really based on the fish
Catfish isn’t just a catchy word, it explains a real-life phenomenon that is used to describe how live cod where shipped in big Vats from North America to Asia but had turned mush and tasteless on reaching their destination because of inactivity. However, some smart fishermen came up with the idea that putting catfish inside the vats can keep them agile. Likewise, there are people like that, who constantly keep you on your toes, who keep you thinking and active and make an otherwise boring life, eventful.
That is why catfish is used to describe a person who pretends to be someone else online.
4. Waivers are signed
It turns out that the element of surprise has been somehow tampered down before filming as all the participants have already agreed to sign waivers even before the show kicked off. They are contacted separately and background checks conducted before filming. However the catfish may develop cold feet initially but most time, they are happy to let go of the guilt and so continue with the show. This explains why the catfish is already miked before the hopeful appears for the confrontation because they’re already aware of what is going on.
5. MTV involves therapists in the show
Senior vice president Marshall Eisen says that there is always a therapist available to all participants after the show is wrapped up. Admitted, being taken for a ride can take a toll on someone’s emotions therefore MTV wants to cover all bases in case of any event. As Eisen said, “We want to make sure that a professional is there in case the person needs it, fortunately, we haven’t had any issues after the show had aired”.
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6. It takes a long time to crack a case
Nev and Max spend grueling hours or sometimes days in order to crack a case. Moreover, the producers can’t help them even if they go off track. But during editing, what took them 10 hours can be condensed to 5 minutes on the show because of time limitations but the producers try to show how tough the situation had been.
7. Most requests are from people with poor body image
The prevailing theme of the earliest episode was of people who are insecure about their body. They felt that their online partner wouldn’t like how they look therefore they feign to be someone else but wouldn’t agree to video calls, However, as the show progressed, MTV veered towards stories with different captions such as those catfishes who were just doing it for fun or as a sort of revenge.
8. People are now making up stories just to be on the catfish tv show
MTV has begun to receive emails bearing fake catfish stories just so the participants can be on TV. It has presented another problem for the producers who try to separate the wheat from the chaff but nonetheless, a few have managed to go on air. Take the case of a season 4 episode “Whitney and Bre”. Whitney was actually Bre’s longtime girlfriend but Whitney fooled MTV into believing that she was being catfished by Bre.
9. Sometimes, the Catfish might be the person next door
While a catfish is generally believed to be a stranger, sometimes it happens to be someone known to the hopeful. Just like in an iconic 2013 episode involving Antwane and Tony, in which Antwane has been catfished by his cousin Carmen for three years out of revenge.
Nevertheless, the show had witnessed some positive outcomes such as in ” Candis & Titus” of the 2015 episode, where it turned out that the person Candis had been dating online and relating her personal and marital issues with, had been her husband, Jamie, who had been catfishing his wife so he could know her better and improve their marriage.
10. Some people don’t believe in the authenticity of the catfish tv show
There are a whole lot of skeptics who believe that the show is not real. They cite various examples to support their views but one undeniable fact is that the show keeps you spellbound and is great for entertainment. Moreover, it opens the eyes of the viewers to the possible dangers of online dating so that they are more alert to the red flags, whenever they see them.
