When it comes to investigative tactics, Charles Stiles & Co do a terrific job.With a minimal amount of cameras, his team make it look like the action is really 'live' and 'active'...they create the illusion that the camera is following right behind the 'person of interest'.Although there is a disclaimer at the end which says some parts may be re-enacted for illustrative/dramatic purposes, it's often very difficult to distinguish the dramatized from the actual...simply amazing.Charles Stiles, as well as being an exceptional host, lends his 'eagle-eye' to cases when observing the goings-on on the security cameras..he is often seen leaning toward the camera monitors and squinting (somewhat like Steve Austin, the 6 million $ man does when he's looking at distant objects). Whenever I see Charles squint, I know there is an impending coup de grâce moment to ensue.Charles is THE man!If you're a fan of WCW/WWF/WWE, you'll love Mystery Diners! Just like World Championship Wrestling is 100% authentic, so too is Mystery Diners. Simply brilliant. I love it & I'm sure you will too. Enjoy.

This is the worst staged show I have ever seen..! Charles Stiles needs to go to acting school along with his so called aids...! It's just unbelievable in so many ways... The shamed employees just take it & then are apparently re-employed not long after.... Don't think so... & that the disgraced & dishonest employees would let themselves be named & shamed on TV.... Come on ..?! Do you really think the public is this stupid?? They would never get another job after this was aired if it was actually real..! Absolutely rubbish Charles is ridiculously unbelievable Could be a good show if it was real, who would seriously put themselves out there like that

Only 1 star as there is no zero. Why oh why is this even on a food channel, nothing to do with food, completely fake, terrible acting, set up situations, a million camera angles from a few supposedly secret cameras!!! Even a quick google will tell you how fake it is, and as unbelievable as it is so far 4 of the 19 reviews have been positive...so I guess that explains why they get away with such a blatantly bad show. This show and its brethren Restaurant Stakeout have no place on a channel that is supposed to be about food. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a food channel is going to be watched by serious foodies who like to see different recipes and cuisines being prepared and tasted, not this pap!!!

Fake or not, its brilliant! When you do a reality show about people who have done criminal things, you do have a possibility of a Tort Law case unless you change just enough facts so that no one can say that "Johnny B Smith" did this and "Johnny A Smith" did not. Thus, this show can't be 100% real, without a huge chance of being sued. You are going to have reenactments, actors playing the parts and so on. You are going to have dramatizations. This is USA, after all. With that said. I LOVE this show! Its fresh. Entertaining: I think its fun to watch what they come up with next just to keep this show new and different. I don't care if its fake or not. Every show has something new to see. I look forward to seeing what the employees are going to do next and what the next "scam" is going to be.Spoiler Bit: Reality: Yes people can too trim off too much meat. This does happen. Yes, people do too steal. People do face harassment on the job. All the things depicted in this show can and do happen. Those who think it doesn't, has never taken Criminal Justice classes to the extent I have. Yes, some of the happenings are more likely to happen at a private party, but still, its entertaining. Some of the situations may be over the top. The Octopus looking beer bomb that is potentially lethal, for example, I'd expect to see more at a frat party then at a restaurant. Homeless person sleeping in VIP room with the person having the key, but not coming back? Obviously, the locks had to have been changed in reality. Let's face it, we like to see people do dumb things like that beer bomb drink.The truth though, I know for a fact that some restaurants have been victims of food fights, bad management where the place that did not have a food fight, looked like it had one. I know that people do take tips illegally, make food that is not authorized (and not just because of food allergies). The depictions in this show may be dramatized, but they can happen and is fun to watch.