Tech-aided mayhem in MTV’s new hidden camera show

ROB Anderson

The prank show—that distinctly “unscripted” program that continues to be in the periphery since the early days of television—has evolved, according to YouTube sensation and jokester Rob Anderson.

“I’m a big fan of the older shows, like ‘Candid Camera’ and ‘Jackass,’” Anderson, cohost of the new MTV series, “Bugging Out,” told the Inquirer in an e-mail interview. “They paved the way for our program, which is going to appeal to the current generation of viewers.”

Cohosting the show that airs Mondays at 10 p.m. is comedienne Traci Stumpf, who described similarities to her comic gigs.

“I do a lot of the pranks and the ‘man on the street’ stuff that you see in the show,” said Stumpf in another exclusive interview. “I’m used to playing to a live audience, which I love. When we shoot ‘Bugging Out,’ we have the luxury of a live studio audience, so it’s like being able to do a stand-up show. [But] I get to be in the writer’s room before we shoot—and they use a lot of my input in the jokes.”

Anderson compared his older work with his new practical jokes: “I’ve been doing pranks for years on YouTube, so I got to take some of the things I’ve done there, and do them on a much larger scale!”

Stumpf said that viewers can expect “dating robots, computer cops, talking dogs,” aside from their wacky hosting. She explained that image-capturing technology can either be worrisome or helpful.

“In your own personal life, it’s a little scary, because anyone can capture you doing anything at any given moment… a picture of me kissing my dog can be twisted into anything,” she said. “It’s great for the show, because people keep all sorts of things on their phone, and when we get access to [them,] mayhem ensues.”

Anderson described his dynamic with Stumpf as unpredictable: “She genuinely makes me laugh—sometimes, I don’t know what she’s going to say, and she’ll usually have something off the cuff that cracks up everyone in the studio.”

There were certain pranks, however, that they were forbidden from doing on the show: “We didn’t want to do anything that would harm anyone or destroy property,” clarified Anderson. “We just wanted to make them think that might happen. In the end, we want everyone to laugh when they realize it’s all a prank.”

TRACI Stumpf