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Impractical Jokers — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Development

Joe Gatto, James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, and Sal Vulcano are four friends and former classmates from Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island, New York. Gatto, Murray and Vulcano were original members of the live improv and sketch comedy troupe the Tenderloins in 1999. They transitioned to producing more comedy material on the internet, with Quinn replacing former Tenderloin Mike Boccio in 2006. In 2007, the Tenderloins won the $100,000 grand prize in NBC's It's Your Show competition.

In 2008, they filmed a pilot episode for a scripted sitcom for Spike TV, but the show did not go to series. TruTV announced Impractical Jokers, originally slated to be named Mission: Uncomfortable, on April 12, 2011, eight months before the show's debut. Murray explained how the hidden camera format made sense based on the jokesters' skills. "We needed to find the right format... thing is, we've been doing this for years, but when it's on camera, the embarrassment is amplified." Vulcano said "We wanted to utilize our improv strengths … put ourselves into a situation where we know we can be funny and also ourselves. If we’re ourselves and also showcase our friendship, something might resonate there." The concept of feeding each other lines using an earpiece was inspired from talk show host David Letterman feeding neighboring storeowner Rupert Jee lines on Late Show with David Letterman. Quinn and Vulcano have said when they gave their pilot episode to TruTV, it was recorded on their iPhones. At the time that they pitched the idea to TruTV, Murray was VP of Development for NorthSouth Productions, the company that has produced the series since its inception. Murray describes the show as an "upside-down hidden-camera show where the joke is on us, instead of the public. So it takes away the thing people hate about hidden-camera shows, which is, 'Oh, I feel bad for the people getting pranked.' We're messing with each other. The public is just there to witness our embarrassment."

On December 31, 2021, Joe Gatto announced on his Instagram that he would be leaving Impractical Jokers after nine seasons. Shortly thereafter, Quinn, on behalf of Murray and Vulcano, sent well wishes for Gatto and announced that Impractical Jokers would continue working despite Gatto's absence in 2022. Subsequently, Paste reported that TruTV and HBO Max had removed "several episodes featuring Gatto in compromising situations" from their platforms. On February 14, 2022, the show announced that the season would proceed with a lineup of various celebrity guests. On March 18, 2026, the show was renewed for a thirteenth season.

Types of Challenges

Do as you are told

These challenges are the Jokers bread and butter as it can be applied to any situation. For example, the Jokers are working as a waiter at a local restaurant, a sales clerk at a store, or a janitor at the mall food court. A variant involves the joker, a crew member, and a local actor working in a commercial of some kind.

Revenge for the bully

This challenge involves the Jokers being "bullied" by an Impractical Jokers crew member, usually Dan Cast, in front of a member of the public. The other joker then gives the "bullied" joker a super lame plan of revenge and that other person must agree that the revenge plan is good to go.

Lame apology

The Joker gives the person next to him a scenario where he has done something wrong. Unfortunately the apology would not work or be lame.

Try not to laugh

This is yet another Impractical Jokers bread and butter challenge given that the show is a comedy show. This challenge can come in any form such as a joker reading crazy names while people are waiting in a waiting room, they read reviews written by the other guys, take part in a documentary with another person reading the answers written by the other guys, or put together a crazy situation in order to make a joker laugh.

Focus group

This challenge involves the jokers teaming up or competing head to head to give a presentation to a group of people. The catch is that the presentation has been written by the other guys and the person or team with the least amount of hands raised, loses.

Games Jokers play

This could be any type of game played at any location. For example, the grocery store could host a game where the jokers try to throw toilet paper into a person's cart, pin balloons on the back of their clothing, or catch things without dropping any items. The Jokers also team up to play a game at the mall where one joker distracts a person while the other tries to hook their bag with a giant fishing hook.

Fraud makers

This challenge involves a setup, usually in a grocery store, where the joker would stage an injury with another person watching and get that person to agree to the lawsuit. Another variant involves something getting stolen with the joker and another person being witness to the action. But the problem is that the incident reports don't match.

Housesitter wanted

The Jokers show a person around the house however, pranks ensue and the joker must eventually ask that person if they want to housesit. A variant sees a joker interviewing a person for a job.

Main

Brian "Q" Quinn is an improvisational comedian from the New York City borough of Staten Island. He attended Monsignor Farrell High School, where he was involved in numerous activities, including drama and sports. He attended Brooklyn College and later went on to join the New York City Fire Department. He is the third host of the podcast Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!, which was formerly on SModcast.com.

James "Murr" Murray is an improvisational comedian from the New York City borough of Staten Island. He attended Monsignor Farrell High School there, and was also part of a community theatre. He continued his education at Georgetown University where he received a BA in English. He continues to work at NorthSouth Productions, where he is the Senior Vice President of Development. In 2018, he released a sci-fi/horror book called Awakened, which was co-written by Darren Wearmouth, and revolves around a monster that lives in the subways of New York City. Two sequels, called The Brink and Obliteration, were released on June 18, 2019, and June 23, 2020, respectively. He is married to Melyssa Davies.

Sal Vulcano is an improvisational and stand-up comedian from the New York City borough of Staten Island. He earned a degree in Finance from St. John's University. Vulcano is also an ordained minister, and officiated Gatto's 2013 wedding. In 2024 he revealed that he had married his longtime girlfriend and they had recently had a daughter.

Joe Gatto (Seasons 1–9) is an improvisational comedian from the New York City borough of Staten Island, where he attended Monsignor Farrell High School. He studied at Long Island Post University where he received a degree in Accounting. He founded the Tenderloins comedy troupe in 1999 and worked at the baby retail store Giggle until January 2012. He is the first married Joker, and has two children with his wife Bessy. On December 31, 2021, Gatto announced on his Instagram that he was parting ways with the Tenderloins and Impractical Jokers to focus more on his personal life and family.

Notable special guests

Rosie O'Donnell (Season 2)

Dan Reynolds (Season 2)

Wayne Sermon (Season 2)

Joey Fatone (Seasons 3, 5–7, 10 & 12)

Tommy Dreamer (Seasons 3 & 6)

Iain Armitage (Season 3)

Soren Thompson (Season 4 & 7)

Danica McKellar (Seasons 4 & 6–7)

Byamba (Seasons 4 & 7)

Grant Marshall (Season 4)

Colin White (Season 4)

Howie Mandel (Season 4)

Rachel Sklar (Season 5)

Alex Brightman (Season 5)

James Buckley (Season 5)

Travis Pastrana (Season 5)

Kay Adams (Season 5)

Gary Busey (Seasons 6–7)

Bryan Johnson (Seasons 6–7)

Bully Ray (Season 6)

Velvet Sky (Season 6)

Casey Jost (Season 6)

Jesse Bravo (Season 6)

Matthew Lewis (Season 6)

Christopher John O'Neill (Season 6)

Noah Syndergaard (Season 6)

Kayla Harrison (Season 6-7)

Australia's Thunder from Down Under (Season 7)

Big Jay Oakerson (Season 7)

Doug McDermott (Season 7)

Enes Kanter (Season 7)

Buddy Valastro (Season 7)

Harry Connick Jr. (Season 7)

Mike Spano (Season 7)

Guy Fieri (Season 7)

Carlos Peña (Season 7)

Mark DeRosa (Season 7)

Randy Couture (Season 7)

Shawn Klush (Season 7)

Tino Martinez (Season 7)

David Zucker (Season 7)

Tristin Mays (Season 8)

Yanni (Season 8)

Jay and Silent Bob (Season 8)

Steel Panther (Season 8)

Jeff Daniels (Season 8)

Dave Jacobs (Season 8)

Jameela Jamil (Season 9)

Eric André (Seasons 9–10)

Jillian Bell (Season 9)

Chris Henchy (Season 9)

Brooke Shields (Seasons 9 & 11)

Colin Jost (Seasons 9 & 11)

Rob Riggle (Season 9)

Chris Jericho (Season 9)

Adam Pally (Season 9)

Jon Gabrus (Season 9)

David Cross (Season 9)

Method Man (Season 9)

Bret Michaels (Season 10)

Paul Rudd (Season 10)

Post Malone (Season 10)

Steve Byrne (Season 10)

Anthony Davis (Season 10)

John Mayer (Season 10)

MJF (Season 10)

Kesha (Season 10)

Eddie Jackson (Season 10)

Roy Wood Jr. (Season 10)

Paul Scheer (Seasons 10–11)

Kal Penn (Season 10)

Rosanna Scotto (Season 10)

Bruce Campbell (Season 10)

Blake Anderson (Season 10)

Bobby Moynihan (Season 10)

Kim Fields (Season 10)

Paula Abdul (Season 10)

ALF (Season 10)

Michael Ian Black (Season 10)

Harvey Guillén (Season 10 & 13)

Matt Long (Season 10)

Adam Ray (Season 11–present)

John Silver (Season 11)

Joe DeRosa (Season 11)

Terry Matalas (Season 11)

Jax (Season 11)

Richard Kind (Season 11)

Jenna Wolfe (Season 11)

Jess King (Season 11)

Ally Love (Season 11)

Tyler Hoechlin (Season 12)

Lou Ferrigno (Season 12)

Justin Long (Season 12)

Teddy Swims (Season 12)

Rachel Feinstein (Season 12)

The Potash Twins (Season 12)

Dan Finnerty (Season 12)

Brad Meltzer (Season 12)

Alyssa Milano (Season 13)

Impractical Jokers staff have also made appearances:

Casey Jost hosts the Inside Jokes segments, and some of the behind-the-scenes antics.

Rob Emmer is a production assistant and actor that appears in some of the challenges in different roles.

Joe Imburgio is a producer on the show, and appears in some of the challenges and behind-the-scenes antics.

International versions

A British version of Impractical Jokers began airing in winter 2012 on BBC Three. It starred comedians Paul McCaffrey, Joel Dommett, Marek Larwood and Roisin Conaty. The pilot was filmed and placed online as part of "The Comedy Kitchen" in 2012. The first series included six episodes, which aired from November 15 to December 20, 2012. The second series also included six episodes, and aired from February 24 to April 2, 2014. It was produced by Yalli Productions. It was cancelled after Series 2 in April 2014, mainly due to its unpopularity. However, more recently, Comedy Central and Channel 5 picked up the rights to co-produce a third season of Impractical Jokers UK with Yalli Productions, starring Late Night Gimp Fight. It aired from 2016 to 2017.

A Dutch version was broadcast on Veronica TV in 2012, called De Fukkers. In 2015 a new version started at RTL 5, named Foute Vrienden. The series ran for 5 seasons, ending in 2019. A third All-Female version started in 2018 called Foute Vriendinnen.

A Belgian (Flemish) version broadcast on 2BE in the fall of 2012, titled Foute Vrienden. James Murray appeared in episode 5 of the first season. The second season, which started in March 2014, included 10 episodes.

A Brazilian version was broadcast on SBT titled Amigos da Onça. The series premiere aired on January 7, 2013 and ended on August 13, 2013. James Murray appeared in episode 3 of the second season.

A Lebanese version was broadcast on Al Jadeed in the fall of 2013.

A Mexican version broadcast on TBS Latin America started on May 20, 2015 with the title Impractical Jokers.

A Greek version was broadcast on Ant1 in February 2014 with the title Wanted.

A French-language Canadian version was broadcast on V on February 24, 2014 with the title Les Jokers.

A Swedish version was broadcast on TV6 in April 2014 with the title Radiostyrd.

A Spanish version was broadcast on Neox in 2014 with the title Sinvergüenzas.

An Egyptian version was released in 2015 with the title Al Mohayesoun.

A Russian version was broadcast on Che in 2018 and 2019 with the title Shutniki (Шутники)

An Australian version starring comedy duo The Inspired Unemployed (Matt Ford and Jack Steele), along with Dom Littrich and Liam Moore, premiered August 9, 2023 on Network 10 and Paramount+, with the title The Inspired Unemployed (Impractical) Jokers.

The Lithuanian version of the show premiered in 2025 on TV3 called "Niekdariai". After the first season ended in 2026 TV6 has started airing the Australian version of the show