Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
More On:
Stream and Scream
-
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Out of Darkness’ on Paramount+ with Showtime, a Smart, Dynamic Prehistoric-Humans Horror-Thriller
-
Stream It Or Skip It: 'Joko Anwar's Nightmares And Daydreams' On Netflix, A Group Of Separate But Interconnected Horror Stories From The Indonesian Filmmaker
-
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ on VOD, a Surreal Horror-Drama About Teens, TV and Tormented Identity
-
'In a Violent Nature' Is the Unofficial 'Friday the 13th' Remake You've Been Waiting For
This week your Netflix account is about to get a lot spookier with the premiere of Gaten Matarazzo‘s new reality show, Prank Encounters. Each episode of the prank show takes two complete strangers and surrounds them with a ton of paid actors and some of the creepiest setups from the mind of the Stranger Things’ star. It’s all harmless fun, but well before its first episode ever aired, Prank Encounters was the center of a heated controversy all because of a tiny but significant misunderstanding.
The drama revolved around Prank Encounters‘ method of luring its victims. Unknowing contestants are told that they will be starting a new job. But really that’s all a lie to get these scaredy cats into position. It was the potential severity of this lie that enraged fans and Netflix subscribers.
When the show was first announced, many assumed that the job contestants were being recruited for was some variation of part-time or full-time employment. The worst case assumptions about this show were that contestants would be desperately looking for new jobs or even careers only to be both conned out of a job then scared by a 17-year-old TV star. People on Reddit and Twitter were quick to condemn the show and insult Matarazzo, accusing Prank Encounters of being “vile” and “preying on the vulnerable.” But thankfully that’s not what’s happening at all.
Netflix confirmed to Decider that no contestants in Prank Encounters walked into the show with an expectation of gaining full-time employment. And most importantly, everyone was paid:
“The pranks in Prank Encounters are spooky, supernatural, and over the top, and everyone had a great time. All participants came in with the expectation this was a one-day, hourly gig and everyone got paid for their time.”
The only malicious thing in this Netflix original is the possessed bear that wants to kill people. So if the only thing stopping you from checking out Gaten Matarazzo’s newest show were those less-than-wholesome rumors about labor abuse, you can relax. Prank Encounters is just a silly and fun prank show that’s perfect for the Halloween season.
