Season 1
8 episodes Oct 25, 2019 8.3
He fights monsters on "Stranger Things," but here Gaten Matarazzo brings the scares as the host of his own prank show.
Overview
Monstrous frights meet hilarious reveals on this hidden-camera prank show as real people become the stars of their own full-blown horror movie.
Seasons
2 listed- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 2 seasons
- Episodes
- 15 episodes
- First aired
- Oct 25, 2019
- Last aired
- Apr 1, 2021
- Episode length
- 25m
- Network
- Netflix
Latest episode: S2 E7 Graveyard Shift (Apr 1, 2021)
Season 2
7 episodes Apr 1, 2021 7.4
Cast
Reviews
4 min readThe Horror of Being Watched
I’ll admit it: I clicked on Prank Encounters expecting to hate-watch. The premise—unsuspecting people lured into a horror-themed prank under the guise of a job interview—sounded like the kind of stunt that would leave a bad taste in your mouth, especially in 2019, when gig work was already precarious enough. But what I found wasn’t just mean-spirited.
It was boring. Not in the way of a slow art film that demands patience, but in the way of a party where everyone’s trying too hard to be funny, and no one’s laughing.
The show’s biggest sin isn’t cruelty—though, as Brad Newsome of the Sydney Morning Herald put it, it’s "even crueler because it takes Gaten Matarazzo... and makes him the face of the cruelty." No, the real problem is that Prank Encounters mistakes production value for invention. The sets are elaborate, the lighting moody, the camerawork slick.
It looks like a low-budget horror movie, which, in theory, should be fun. But hidden-camera pranks live or die by spontaneity, and here, the spontaneity feels staged. The participants—hired for a one-day gig, fully aware they’re signing up for something odd—react with the stiff, over-enunciated delivery of community theater actors.
Reality Blurred’s Andy Dehnart called it "a dull, unconvincing mess," and he’s not wrong. The show’s attempts at horror-comedy fall flat because the comedy relies on the participants being genuinely freaked out, and the horror relies on them being convincingly trapped. Neither quite lands.
Take the episode where two strangers are told they’re working a night shift at a haunted hotel. The setup is straight out of Scare Tactics (a comparison that led to a lawsuit from that show’s co-creator), complete with a possessed doll and a ghostly child’s laughter. But the participants don’t scream or bolt—they perform.
Audience Opinions
Audience 4.2/10
"A divisive hidden-camera prank show that struggles to balance humor with genuine scares, often feeling forced or repetitive."
The series leverages Gaten Matarazzo’s charm and the novelty of hidden-camera pranks to create moments of amusement, but many find the execution uneven. The humor often falls flat, with pranks feeling scripted or overly reliant on jump scares rather than clever setups. latestnetflix.com's read is that while some enjoy the lighthearted fun, others criticize it for lacking originality and failing to deliver consistent laughs or thrills.
What viewers praise
- Gaten Matarazzo’s charm Matarazzo’s likable presence and comedic timing are frequently highlighted as the show’s strongest asset.
- Novelty of hidden-camera pranks The concept of blending pranks with horror elements is seen as fresh and entertaining by some viewers.
- Lighthearted fun A portion of the audience appreciates the show’s attempt at playful, low-stakes entertainment.
Common complaints
- Forced humor Many viewers feel the pranks come across as scripted or awkward, lacking spontaneity or genuine laughs.
- Repetitive format The show’s reliance on similar prank setups leads to a sense of predictability and monotony.
- Overuse of jump scares The horror elements are criticized for being cheap or unoriginal, relying too heavily on startling rather than cleverness.
- Uneven execution The balance between comedy and horror often feels off, leaving some viewers unsatisfied with either aspect.
Recommended for
Fans of hidden-camera pranks Gaten Matarazzo admirers Light horror-comedy seekers Casual Netflix binge-watchers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsGaten Matarazzo’s Hidden-Camera Horror-Comedy Prank Encounters: What Really Went Down
Netflix’s Prank Encounters (2019) promised a twisted mashup of horror and comedy, with Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo fronting a hidden-camera prank show where unsuspecting job applicants were terrorized by actors in elaborate, jump-scare-heavy setups. The concept was simple: trick people into thinking they were interviewing for a night-shift gig, only to trap them in a haunted-house-style nightmare. latestnetflix.com's take is that but behind the scenes, the show’s execution—and reception—was far from straightforward.
The Pitch: Horror Meets Hidden-Camera Chaos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNHnyT967Yk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz32KVRZtvQ
The premise was pure reality-TV gold: real people, lured by fake job postings, walked into a warehouse expecting a mundane interview, only to be ambushed by masked figures, demonic clowns, or possessed teddy bears . Matarazzo, then riding high on Stranger Things fame, served as the show’s host and executive producer, guiding viewers through the mayhem with his signature mix of enthusiasm and deadpan humor.
In the official trailer , the tone was clear: Prank Encounters wasn’t just about laughs—it was about pushing boundaries. Clips showed victims screaming, running, and even collapsing in terror as actors in full horror-movie makeup lunged at them. The show leaned hard into the "prank gone too far" aesthetic, blurring the line between comedy and genuine distress. But how much of it was staged, and how much was real?
The Reality Behind the Pranks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ddrm3ig8vk
Matarazzo himself shed light on the show’s production in multiple interviews, revealing a surprisingly controlled environment. In a chat with Jimmy Fallon , he explained that while the victims were real, the situations were carefully orchestrated. "We have a lot of safety measures in place," he said, emphasizing that participants were never in actual danger. The pranks were designed to be intense but ultimately harmless, with hidden cameras capturing every reaction for maximum shock value.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcgO8UxH5vM
One of the most talked-about pranks involved a giant, possessed teddy bear that "attacked" a victim in a dimly lit room . The clip, which went viral, showed the participant bolting in terror as the bear lurched toward them. Matarazzo later confirmed that the bear was operated by a puppeteer, and the victim’s fear was 100% genuine—even if the threat wasn’t .
But not everyone was convinced the show struck the right balance. Critics and viewers alike questioned whether the pranks crossed a line, especially when some participants appeared genuinely traumatized. The French review site SensCritique gave the series a lukewarm 4.5/10, calling it a "missed opportunity" that leaned too heavily on shock value without enough payoff 
.
Mixed Reactions and a Short-Lived Run
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWAU8FDByKs
Despite the controversy, Prank Encounters had its defenders. Fans of Matarazzo appreciated his energy as host, and the show’s high-concept premise made it a talking point. In a separate interview , Matarazzo hyped the series as a fresh take on the hidden-camera genre, arguing that the horror elements set it apart from typical prank shows.
Yet, the series never got a second season. Netflix canceled Prank Encounters after just one batch of episodes, leaving its future uncertain. Was it the mixed reviews, the ethical concerns, or simply a lack of audience interest? The streaming giant never commented, but the show’s abrupt demise suggested it didn’t land the way producers hoped.
The Legacy: A Cult Favorite or a Cautionary Tale?
Years later, Prank Encounters remains a curiosity—a relic of a time when Netflix was willing to greenlight increasingly bizarre reality experiments. Clips from the show still circulate online, with some viewers praising its creativity and others cringing at its more extreme moments.
For Matarazzo, the series was a chance to step outside his Stranger Things comfort zone. Whether it was a success depends on who you ask. Some saw it as a bold, if flawed, experiment in blending horror and comedy. Others viewed it as a cautionary tale about the limits of prank TV.
One thing’s for sure: Prank Encounters didn’t pull any punches—and neither did its critics.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.