The Joe Schmo Show

Invasion Iowa

2005

Invasion Iowa is a television series that aired on Spike TV beginning on March 29, 2005, on ITV4 beginning on 3 November 2005 and The Comedy Channel in April 2007. The series depicts events from September 2004, in which William Shatner played a hoax on the small town of Riverside, Iowa by claiming to film a science fiction movie there. Unbeknownst to the residents of Riverside, the movie was in fact fake, a satire on the genre. In front of and behind the cameras, Shatner and his purported entourage performed a living, breathing parody of Hollywood. Producers designed the various plots and gags to elicit reactions from the townspeople. Shatner played the part of the eccentric star. Improvisational actors pretended to be members of his entourage. Residents of Riverside were encouraged to audition for parts in the movie and take jobs on its crew, only to bear witness, firsthand, to an elaborate send-up of tinseltown. Producers chose Riverside because it is the self-proclaimed future birthplace of Shatner's most enduring character, Captain James T. Kirk. Invasion Iowa was created by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who also created Spike TV's earlier "reality parody" series, The Joe Schmo Show, and its sequel, Joe Schmo 2.

Caught in the Action

Caught in the Action is a reality television series centering on friends setting up their unsuspecting friends to be placed in the center of their own action movie. From bar room brawls, to car chases, to hostage negotiations, the series places people in the middle of an elaborate high-octane hoax.

Space Cadets

2005

Space Cadets is a British television program made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. Presented by Johnny Vaughan, it was aired across ten consecutive nights beginning on 7 December 2005, with the final episode aired on the evening of 16 December 2005. It was accompanied by a behind-the-scenes sister show Space Cadets: The Satellite Show, with interviews and phone-ins.

$25 Million Dollar Hoax

2004

$25 Million Dollar Hoax is an unscripted television series that was originally shown on American network NBC in November 2004. It is based on a United Kingdom show titled The Million Pound Hoax, broadcast on Sky One earlier that year. $25 Million Dollar Hoax consists of three unscripted hour-long episodes in which small-town girl Chrissy Sanford plays a hoax on her family by convincing them she had won a US$25,000,000 lottery prize through the internet, and that it had changed her from a sweet girl into a spend-a-holic. This program is an example of reality television. $25 Million Dollar Hoax contained guest appearances by Ed McMahon, George Gray, and N*SYNC's Lance Bass. Chrissy successfully pulled off the hoax, which won her and her family over $400,000 in cash and prizes.

History's Greatest Hoaxes

2016

History's Greatest Hoaxes looks at some of the most spectacular hoaxes that show that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time. It looks at remarkable hoaxes including the Hitler Diaries, the Piltdown Man, the War of the World broadcast, Papillon, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Alien Autopsy film.

Bedsitcom

2003

Bedsitcom is a British reality television hoax series that was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2003. The series follows the lives of six young people living in a loft flat in London - three of them actors being directed by the writers.

I Wanna Marry "Harry"

2014

Summer love is in the air, as an average English "bloke" is given the royal treatment and an upper crust makeover before meeting 12 single American women searching for Prince Charming. Will he be able to convince them he's regal? And if he does, will they fall for the crown, or fall in love with the real him? Join "Harry' as he courts each of the ladies, taking them on romantic dates worthy of a princess and trying to make some version of their fairytales come true.

Pervert: Hunting the Strip Search Caller

2022

This docuseries follows the investigation into a hoax caller who talked managers into strip-searching employees at fast food businesses across the US.