Another one bites the dust from the Gen-Z MTV era as Catfish: The TV Show has officially been cancelled after 12 years and nine seasons on MTV. MTV has granted permission to the showrunners that they are allowed to shop the series elsewhere. However, MTV will still run reruns of the series on cable television.
The show debuted in 2012 as an instant hit. MTV, stacked with a top-notch reality show lineup already, struck gold with the new concept ushered in by the show’s creator and host, Nev Schulman. Schulman released the film Catfish in 2010, documenting his journey to find out if the woman he was having an online relationship with was truly a real person or not—only to find it was someone else posing as a family member. This fake identity mantra turned into one word: “catfish.” And the word, for better or for worse, has had its impact ring throughout the world for almost two decades.
On a personal note, Catfish was not only an entertaining show, but a real-world (no pun intended) warning on what society was evolving into, thanks to the ever-changing dot-com era and the increased visibility social media brought. Looking back at the show, Catfish really showed that there are people out there willing to do whatever to feel loved.
To talk to another human being. To tell friends and family that there was a significant other out there on the other side of a screen. It’s pretty chilling when you say it out loud to yourself, but this is the reality of the world we live in—and MTV and Nev Schulman were the pioneers of showing us young people what “catfish” were out there.
I get a sense of nostalgia for the early 2010s when I think about the show. Typing this eulogy for Catfish: The TV Show takes me back to watching the show alongside Jersey Shore, Rob & Big (RIP Big Black), The Challenge, Ridiculousness, and the VMAs. I think this was the twilight years of MTV, and it was a privilege to be entering my teenage years with just the right amount of IP slop to strike up fun conversations at the lunch table.
And yes, as stated before, the show could easily have a second life with another streaming platform and continue to churn out new episodes with new premises that could introduce a whole new generation to what it means to be a “catfish.” One thing, though, that will forever be certain, Catfish: The TV Show will always go down to me as the first show that warned us Gen-Z folks, what meeting people and dating online in the social media era could look like if you really don’t know who is on the other side of that screen. Mission accomplished, Catfish.
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