The Impractical Jokers' Pitch To The Network Was Actually Pretty Easy

If you turn on truTV at any given time, chances are you'll see an episode of "Impractical Jokers." Over a decade into its television run, the unscripted prank show is a pop culture staple beloved by fans the world over, with its hosts — Brian "Q" Quinn, James "Murr" Murray, Sal Vulcano, and, until his recent departure, Joe Gatto — now at globally-recognized celebrity status. It's a funny, easy watch that's suitable for viewers of just about any age, which made pitching it to truTV executives far easier than one would imagine. 

Speaking with "Eureka!" host Josh Golden, the "Impractical Jokers" hosts recalled the process of getting truTV brass to give the series a chance. Gatto specifically mentions that they put together a sizzle reel to show off, highlighting the show's simple premise of the four of them embarrassing each other by any means necessary. They knew that the challenges and punishments they put together were funny, so it was an easy pitch. Sure enough, the powers that be couldn't help but agree, so "Impractical Jokers" received the green light.

At the same time, just because the truTV executives found the concept behind "Impractical Jokers" viable doesn't mean that it was ready to go to TV immediately. It needed some tweaks and adjustments to become the powerhouse it is today.

As is the case with most television shows, the pilot for "Impractical Jokers" is a bit different from what the series would ultimately become. In fact, the show's original pilot featured a vastly different title: "Mission: Uncomfortable." The intro sequence was also entirely different, and so was the whole aesthetic of the show. Sadly, we don't know how different this episode truly is since this version of the pilot never made it to air. Outside of the intro sequence and a handful of clips, it has never made it to the public.

Thus, the "Mission: Uncomfortable" unaired pilot is considered to be lost media, which, for those unfamiliar, is exactly what it sounds like. There's a massive online community dedicated to finding such pieces of media history, with searches dedicated to lost movies, TV shows, video games, music, and more. As one could imagine, there are those on the hunt for this missing "Impractical Jokers" episode, with chats like the one started by Redditor u/gamerguy287 bringing these like-minded individuals together to pool their knowledge. One can only hope that their search efforts yield tangible results someday.

While the lost media community searches high and low for the unaired "Mission: Uncomfortable" pilot, expect "Impractical Jokers" to resume its reign of small-screen dominance for years to come.