You'd think a prank show hosted by Eric Andre and Johnny Knoxville would be a slam dunk. Unfortunately, ABC and Jimmy Kimmel somehow found a way to miss the mark.
First of all, "Academy Award-winning" Gabourey Sidibe (read: Precious) given her relevance and comedic history, adds to the show as much as you would expect her to. Even acknowledging she was the diversity hire because "Eric didn't count enough", one of the few jokes which actually land. Aside from making zero sense from a casting perspective, she just isn't very likeable here. I don't have any other versions of her to compare, but her attitude and comments during the show come across poorly.
Next, we have Eric Andre. The individual who has the most relevance today than the other two hosts, and in my opinion the funniest by far. However, as the series progresses it becomes clear that Andre is well aware of the show's trajectory, and his presence onscreen slowly degrades to one of uninterested boredom. Fans of Andre will watch, waiting for his humor, realizing this is not an Eric Andre show.
Lastly, (dusting off the cobwebs) Johnny Knoxville is back again to deliver his "brand" of prank comedy. I know many people still love Knoxville and the whole Jackass legacy, but I've grown tired of it after so many years. If someone out there still laughs at Johnny nut-slapping whoever he stands next to, by all means, you keep doing you. Knoxville is the energy this show needs, and he honestly does his best to keep it going. As the show progresses the line between "energy" and "desperation" becomes blurrier, and Knoxville's forced laughter does little to hide his awareness of The Prank Panel's failure.
Now given all that, does this show even succeed at anything? Not really. Maybe two or three pranks are worth watching, but you'll have to sit through 20 min of filler to find them in an episode. While I do appreciate getting to know the people coming on the show, and there are some funny moments with them, most of the time is building for the "payoff" during the prank. And I should say, the actual payoff is sometimes so lackluster, you'll be wondering "is that really it?"
Below I included a moment when Johnny Knoxville's forced laughter was most noticeable for me.
**SPOILER** The most telling instance of Knoxville's realization that this show has failed comes during a prank involving a young man targeting his mother and grandmother. He wants to scare them as payback for his childhood trauma, but neither of the two are even remotely affected by the prank. The joke of the episode is twisted into how unresponsive they were to any threat thrown at them. But during this, Knoxville is clearly (annoyed?) that the prank failed so miserably. He laughs loudly and indicates he thinks it's funny how bad it's going, but really he knows the production invested too much to cut the prank so they have to show it anyways. If you watch this prank you'll notice Johnny's obvious forced laughter while watching it unfold on hidden camera.
First of all, "Academy Award-winning" Gabourey Sidibe (read: Precious) given her relevance and comedic history, adds to the show as much as you would expect her to. Even acknowledging she was the diversity hire because "Eric didn't count enough", one of the few jokes which actually land. Aside from making zero sense from a casting perspective, she just isn't very likeable here. I don't have any other versions of her to compare, but her attitude and comments during the show come across poorly.
Next, we have Eric Andre. The individual who has the most relevance today than the other two hosts, and in my opinion the funniest by far. However, as the series progresses it becomes clear that Andre is well aware of the show's trajectory, and his presence onscreen slowly degrades to one of uninterested boredom. Fans of Andre will watch, waiting for his humor, realizing this is not an Eric Andre show.
Lastly, (dusting off the cobwebs) Johnny Knoxville is back again to deliver his "brand" of prank comedy. I know many people still love Knoxville and the whole Jackass legacy, but I've grown tired of it after so many years. If someone out there still laughs at Johnny nut-slapping whoever he stands next to, by all means, you keep doing you. Knoxville is the energy this show needs, and he honestly does his best to keep it going. As the show progresses the line between "energy" and "desperation" becomes blurrier, and Knoxville's forced laughter does little to hide his awareness of The Prank Panel's failure.
Now given all that, does this show even succeed at anything? Not really. Maybe two or three pranks are worth watching, but you'll have to sit through 20 min of filler to find them in an episode. While I do appreciate getting to know the people coming on the show, and there are some funny moments with them, most of the time is building for the "payoff" during the prank. And I should say, the actual payoff is sometimes so lackluster, you'll be wondering "is that really it?"
Below I included a moment when Johnny Knoxville's forced laughter was most noticeable for me.
**SPOILER** The most telling instance of Knoxville's realization that this show has failed comes during a prank involving a young man targeting his mother and grandmother. He wants to scare them as payback for his childhood trauma, but neither of the two are even remotely affected by the prank. The joke of the episode is twisted into how unresponsive they were to any threat thrown at them. But during this, Knoxville is clearly (annoyed?) that the prank failed so miserably. He laughs loudly and indicates he thinks it's funny how bad it's going, but really he knows the production invested too much to cut the prank so they have to show it anyways. If you watch this prank you'll notice Johnny's obvious forced laughter while watching it unfold on hidden camera.