Netflix Responds to Gaten Matarazzo’s ‘Prank Encounters’ Controversy

Netflix’s announcement of Gaten Matarazzo‘s upcoming prank show Prank Encounters gained some negative attention over the past weekend, but at least according to the service, it seems that scathing response was unwarranted. According to a statement from Netflix provided to Decider, Prank Encounters will not be targeting people looking for full-time or part-time employment. It will only be focusing on people looking for hourly work, a small detail that makes this new series infinitely more palatable.
Last Friday (June 14) Deadline announced that Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo would be hosting and executive producing a new Netflix reality series targeting workers their first day on the job. The original description on Deadline read, “Each episode of this terrifying and hilarious prank show takes two complete strangers who each think they’re starting their first day at a new job. It’s business as usual until their paths collide and these part-time jobs turn into full-time nightmares.” This description immediately sparked a backlash from people on social media with many claiming that bait and switching someone over something as important as a new job was cruel, rather than funny.
However, it seems as though Prank Encounters deserves a re-evaluation from its critics, which included us. In a statement given to Decider, a Netflix spokesperson said:

“The pranks in Prank Encounters are spooky, supernatural, and over the top, and everyone had a great time. All participants came in with the expectation this was a one-day, hourly gig and everyone got paid for their time.”
Based on this new description it seems like Netflix has no intention of falsely offering participants full-time work, which is a huge relief. Thanks to this clarification, Prank Encounters now sounds like a silly, fun reality show rather than the economic dystopian nightmare people were imagining. Showing up to install a shelf through Task Rabbit only to get a high five from Dustin from Stranger Things is delightful and charming. Thinking you finally have health insurance to get the same treatment is not. Happily, the show seems to be leaning on the former, not the latter.
Prank Encounters is set to premiere later this year on Netflix.