I used to enjoy this show, even with the 10 minute commercial breaks. It was fun to see how stupid people can be. But about 2 years ago the show became 100% fake. I don't even care that they started have some "celebrity" guests that no one has ever heard of or the fact that it's always impossible to tell the sex of the guest. Or that the names are always something like Mecca and Tanner or Shakokwa and Shanaynay. I don't even care that they stole the name of the show from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. This show has done the classic MTV move of proving that you are stupid and will watch anything.

Although 'Catfish' was novel and fresh when it first hit the MTV airwaves, it is now old and tired and needs to be put on a shelf somewhere.Why am I saying those harsh words? 'Catfish' has nothing new to offer. It's the same archaic formula used by the show's two 'trackers', Nev and Max, every single time ~ i.e., someone thinks their Internet love who looks like a) a supermodel or b) a male hunk, might be fake, as they haven't met after just chatting for over eight years (you think)? Enter the guys from 'Catfish' who do a reverse google search on the photos, and run the phone number to see if it's legit. Do you mean to tell me these potentially duped individuals couldn't come up with that on their own by now, after seeing 'Catfish' for FIVE years???Having milked this 'Catfish' for all that's its worth, its time for it to go the way of another MTV show, 'Jersey Shore' ~ also kept WAY beyond its time! Must be something in the water at this network!

It's no secret that MTV churns out reality television minus a good portion of the reality. Catfish: The TV Show is no exception. The show is pretty formulaic, especially as you get deeper into the second season. Nev & Max "check their email" to find a candidate (or victim) for the episode. They meet with the victim, who proclaims deep emotional feelings for their online significant other, but various red flags are present - They've never met in person, never video chatted, etc. Nev & Max do a dramatic "investigation" where they use basic Google searches to confirm suspicions and raise questions about the potential "catfish." They then call the potential catfish, initiate a meeting, and take the victim to meet their online love. The results vary; sometimes the online lover is a true "catfish" and turns out to be older, less attractive, or even the opposite gender of their assumed identity. Other times, the story is less complex and involves minor lies. The endings range from disastrous to fairy-tale. This scene-by- scene formula is present in every MTV reality show, particularly those that feature a different person each episode (16 & Pregnant comes to mind, along with older ones like Pimp My Ride.)Clearly, the show is not engineered exactly as it is presented, and there is plenty of speculation as to how genuine the narrative is. However, like the documentary, it manages to be very interesting. Despite the complete lack of intuition on the part of many victims, some of the people who appear on the show are relatable and enjoyable to watch. Nev Schulman is not the world's greatest host. Scenes exist that seem eerily robotic/scripted. The "investigation" portion of the show often borderlines on being a complete joke. But it's still thought- provoking and fun to watch.There are plenty of issues to raise your eyebrows at, and the repetitiveness from episode to episode can be tiresome. But all in all, it makes for a delightful guilty pleasure.

The initial film was mildly entertaining, and the TV series takes the ridiculousness to a new level. Like the film, it has some truth to it and the characters add much to the entertainment level, not necessarily the idea of people manipulating and duping others over the internet. We've know that for years! I will admit that I do not like any form of reality TV simply because it is scripted and not genuine, and that goes for this TV series. To use an example of real-life, unscripted "documentary-style" TV entertainment, I would use Cops as an example. You have real individuals who are quite the character, real-time footage (nothing re- enacted), but you only get snippets of the life of the individuals involved in the show. If you like this style of fake, reality TV, then it will nonetheless entertain you and allow you to converse with others as if the scenarios on the show did indeed happen. But if you enjoy the fictional, scripted comedy as with other shows, this show may insult your intelligence, which in this case, you would not be watching these shows to begin with.