MTV has a series based on Catfish in the works

Oh good, it’s April Fool’s Day, where real news stories are buried amidst a sea of practical jokes, and no studio will announce anything major lest they fear no one will take it seriously.

Well after a bit of vetting, I don’t think this is fake. MTV is developing a show based around last year’s movie CATFISH, the cautionary tale of the dangers of social media. They’ve apparently brought the “creative team” behind the project on board, which includes Henry Joost, Nev and Ariel Schulman.

Read no further, if you haven’t seen the film yourself yet.

I loved this movie when I first watched it, I really did. I thought the twist from creepy horror set-up to sad human drama was one of the most jarring I’ve ever experienced in a movie, and I’d never experienced anything quite like it.

However, once I started hearing that the entire thing was supposed to be entirely true? They lost some points. Originally I thought the thing was scripted, which was fine to me, but despite its novel concept, I thought the cast was a bit amateur, as they always looked like they were holding back a grin when they were supposed to be freaked out.

But then I hear it’s supposed to be “all true?” I didn’t buy that at all. I believe that yes, a guy did start Facebook chatting with a girl who turned out to be a lonely middle-aged woman who created a series of fake people and profiles to back up her story, but I believe they knew this before or very early on in the film, and their reaction to the slow “reveal” was a farce.

In any case, I’m wondering how this will all translate to TV. It’s supposed to be a show about people who forge identities online, and the consequences that result from that. Sounds like a good “True Life” episode, but how’s that going to work for a whole series? And just how scripted will it be?