The Story Behind How the Impractical Jokers Got Their Show Picked up Is Awesome

If you're lucky enough to have a good friend that genuinely makes you laugh, then you can count yourself extremely lucky. If you've got a group of pals you can always joke around with and have a great time, then that's even better.

But what about literally getting paid to have a blast with your friends where you constantly challenge one another to not only be funnier but produce great content that millions of people enjoy? That's what the cast of Impractical Jokers was able to accomplish, but are they really friends?

In an interview with MassLive, one of the show's four stars and creators, Joe Gatto, talked about the friendship he had with James Murray, Brian Quinn, and Sal Vulcano prior to landing the gig with truTV.

The four men all attended Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island and would go on to create the improv comedy troupe, The Tenderloins.

If you aren't familiar with the show, the premise is simple: The four friends each participate in a series of hidden camera prank challenges where the "marks" are essentially themselves. One member of the group is fed instructions or things to say at the hands of their three other friends through a wireless headset.

The goal is to ultimately humiliate whoever is participating in the challenge, and fans are obviously loving it as the series has been going strong since 2011, and as of this writing, is in its 9th season.

What's more is that Joe Gatto confirmed that they were able to secure production from the show after submitting a sizzle reel that was shot entirely on iPhones.

When asked about the veracity of that story, Joe said it is "one hundred percent true. The sizzle tape that we used to sell the show was filmed on our iPhones. We went out and did stuff around Manhattan and we cut the package from that."

Joe also says that the four of them all came up with the concept of the show together while they were having lunch at an apartment that he and James shared in New York at the time.

"We were sitting around eating, which is when we come up with most of our great ideas," he said. And anyone who has watched Impractical Jokers knows that's true, especially for Joe.

It was already confirmed in February of 2021 that the show was greenlit already for a Season 10, and truTV has launched spinoff programs centering around the Impractical Jokers crew on its network. To say that the show is one of its biggest, if not most popular program, for the network would not be hyperbole.

What's more is that the group of four have also launched an extremely successful live comedy tour and have performed shows all over the country.

You can catch new episodes of Impractical Jokers Thursday nights at 10 p.m. EST on truTV.