Bill Needle

What if the reality show you're competing on was all fake? What if the deaf girl, the black guy, and the trophy wife were all just actors and actresses? TV's greatest hoax is coming, and it's gonna be epic: tune in to The Joe Schmo Show on January 8 at 10/9c on SPIKE.

The Joe Schmo Show is a one-hour, 10-episode series featuring a real guy who believes he is on an over-the-top reality show looking for America’s next bounty hunter and the chance to win $100k. What he doesn’t know is the entire show is FAKE. For over a year his entire world was carefully planned by a team of writers, producers, and actors all performing for him. His “competitors” are actually actors representing every classic reality show cliché, including the Buddy, the Jerk, the Model, and even Lorenzo Lamas, playing a washed-up version of himself. The actors must do their best under these insane circumstances to follow a pre-determined script. One break in character or a single misspoken word could bring the entire show crashing down around them. He’ll experience everything from flame throwers and stun guns to being chained to federal inmates and capturing his own fugitive. “Joe” must navigate this ridiculous world while we discover how a contestant reacts to being thrust on a show filled with every outlandish element reality television has to offer. How far can producers push this 'reality,' and the ensuing ridiculous competitions? Will “Joe’s” character remain intact? And of course, will the actors be convincing enough or will our unsuspecting “Joe” figure it all out?

Bill Needle

Good stuff tonight. Especially love the little non-pc throw-away lines by host "Jake Montrose": "Now it's no secret that the world's greatest trackers are native americans. From lost hikers, to wild animals, to backwoods stills, if it's out there they can sniff it out"

Also loved some of the interpreter/deaf girl stuff. The interpreter has some pretty funny 'signs' for some of the ruder things that are said, like "my belly rubbed and nuts licked."

The model with the portfolio that is mostly X rated.

The deaf girl ventriloquist.

Casual Pouch: "I have the sack of a 25 year-old."

"If anything goes wrong I will stick my fist up your a** and work you like that deaf girl's puppet."

The deaf girl trying to help him defuse the vest bomb. "I torry Tase."

The entire ridiculously over the top eviction ceremony: "Lady justice, may I enter you?" And why was the interpreter standing in a fountain the whole time? Montrose: "We obviously can't throw your badge in the fire tonight, but tomorrow night we are going to burn the sh*t out of it."

RoyalTea

Cut the khaki wire, not the mocha wire

dsa_shea

I can't believe I missed this. How was the first episode?

RoyalTea

I think it re-airs tonight.

Bill Needle

And then find the dark brown wire...success!

Bill Needle

Yes, at 9 & 10 pm east coast time.

dsa_shea

Awesome! Thanks!

Bill Needle

Remember that it is actually the first two episodes, don't change the channel too early.

Red Dog

Hilarious stuff. The characters are great. Lorenzo was hilarious, particularly with his spirit animal rituals.

fujishig

Wow, I didn't even know they resurrected this show... and Ralph Garman is still the host? The only thing I still remember from the first season is Wiig being on it...

Bill Needle

Yeah, Lorenzo definitely sold the premise and his "character." I was pleasantly surprised how all-in he was, to the point I was disappointed they had him voted off first. Maybe they'll bring him back somehow.

Timber

Deaf girl and short model are both ridiculously hot. I'm in...

dsa_shea

Immunity vest! lol!

Spiderbite

Yeah, his chanting (or whatever) during the ritual had me rolling. He comes across as the perfect douche. I hated to see him be the first to go as well.

Glad this was posted as I forgot to watch the initial showing and caught the two re-aired episodes last night. The host is fantastic. I never get tired of his shtick. And the chick playing his wife has an unbelievable body. Actually, all the chicks are pretty damn hot. The deaf chick is hot as shit and she looks vaguely familiar. Has she been in anything else?

It took me a few minutes but I finally realized where I had seen "the asshole" before. He was one of the stoner guys in Club Dread. A small but memorable part.

D'ohboy

Seems like they're taking a lot of chances with this one:

Randy/Michael Weaver to me, is very recognizable. Not to mention Ralph Garman on his third go round and with his SMODCAST exposure.

Then, the Schmo is from the Pittsburgh area, just like Joe Schmo #1 Matt Gould.

I wonder if they thought ahead and filmed multiple seasons before this one aired to catch potential Schmos off guard?

DRG

I googled the deaf girl (Jo Newman) and it seems she's done some topless scenes in a few movies... Love and Other Drugs, some female prison movie (I think), and another with Laura Prepon from That 70s Show.... if you're into that sort of thing.

Spiderbite

Thanks. Looked her up and she has done some Skinemax show called Femme Fatales episode. Pretty nice though she has an awful tramp stamp in it.

What's the real name of the uber-hot host's wife?

Timber

Oh, trust me I looked deaf girl up and am now following her on Twitter.

brainee

I missed the first night, but was able to catch up on the double replay yesterday. It was the most I've laughed at a show in a while. I just hope they're able to keep the Schmo in the dark.

Though in a way, having 10 years of reality tv shows since the first two seasons may help the show succeed in maintain the subterfuge. 10 years ago, reality tv was still pretty simple. Both in the contestants and the show set-ups (it's startling to see how simple something like Survivor was in the early seasons). But things have gotten much wilder. And we've really seen players so laughably over-the-top that they don't even seem like real people (a lot of fame whores essentially treating it like an acting job). So the new Schmo show can go even further, while still seeming within the realms of reality tv possibility to a guy like Chase. Looking forward to seeing how far they try to push things

brainee

Does she get naked with Laura Prepon?

*adds to Netflix Queue*

PhantomStranger

The stuff with Lamas was probably the most realistic, everyone expects former Hollywood stars to be pampered babies. I do think they took too many chances in the casting and set-up. Hire a real deaf actress, because that cover is too easily blown when it's a person with hearing.

Garman doesn't really fit the role of ex-bounty hunter very well. It would have been much more convincing if they had hired someone as an extreme parody of Dog the Bounty Hunter.

Bill Needle

Excatly. Bear in mind that they will most likely ramp up the bizarreness level as the series progresses. They can't overdo it too soon or they might not have a show should Chase call shenanigans. But the longer they go the more Chase becomes personally invested in the "show" and the less likely he would suspect it is fake and therefore the more they can push the envelop of absurdity.

And as mentioned above I also really hope they filmed more than one new season before they started airing the current one. It was kept relatively hush-hush until recently with even a bogus IMDB page for "The Full Bounty," which was announced a year ago as though it was an actual new show and not revealed until I believe this past fall to actually be another season of Joe Schmo.

whotony

Mentioned that duringte show.

Also how did lady liberty keep,her arm up while holding the scales for so long.

Spiderbite

They mentioned Super Troopers (which for some odd reason I have still yet to see). I never heard them mention Club Dread during the show.