While the central stars of Impractical Jokers are used to making life slightly more hectic and confusing for unsuspecting outsiders, they were bamboozled themselves at the end of 2020 as co-founder Joe Gatto exited the group over personal reasons. Thankfully, the remaining three didn’t do much sitting around wondering what to do next, and instead got right into filming new episodes for fans to look forward to in 2022. Instead of finding a permanent placeholder for the absent star, Brian "I Just Guest-Starred on Star Trek: Picard" Quinn, Sal Vulcano and James Murray brought in a slew of celebrity guest stars from the comedy world to keep things interesting. As evidenced in the video above, viewers can look forward to seeing rap legend Method Man, SNL star Colin Jost, the previously revealed pro wrestler Chris Jericho and more!
Following Impractical Jokers’ post-basketball sneak peek with Eric Andre debuting on Saturday, April 2, the show will officially return with new weekly episodes on Thursday, June 16. Interestingly enough, these won't be part of a new season as expected, but will be slotted in as a third cycle of Season 9 episodes. It's unclear if that implies an intent to find a full-time fourth member for Season 10, or if they wanted to feel out how the show would work as a trio with a limited set, but CinemaBlend confirmed that those tenth season episodes haven't started filming yet.
Whatever the case is, the poing here is that the boys are back, and they're apparently throwing up all over themselves with excitement. Maybe excitement is the wrong word. "Hilarious coercing" might be a better fit there. The trailer is filled with moments that appear as if they'll provide some physical discomfort for the cast, from gym pranks — just seeing Murr throw all that protein powder into his mouth made me want to start gagging — to mouth-based mini-golf to electric zapping and more. And yes, I suppose "Jillian Bell kicking Sal in the nuts" counts as physical discomfort.
For those who weren't able to take in the entire trailer video above, here's a full list of the guest stars announced for Impractical Jokers' Season 9 return.
- Method Man
- Colin Jost
- Chris Jericho
- Brooke Shields
- Jillian Bell
- Adam Pally
- Jon Gabrus
- David Cross
- Rob Riggle
No sign of Joey Fatone in this lineup, though the singer essentially confirmed he’d be back with the group in some capacity in the future, even outside of filming episodes of After Party. But there will no doubt be a surprise or two in store as the season goes along — the announcement does mention "others" — so maybe the pop star and game show host will rear his bearded head at some point down the line. If not, it's not like there aren't more than enough stellar celebs to enjoy in the meantime.
Impractical Jokers will return to truTV for the remainder of Season 9 on Thursday, June 16, at 10:00 p.m. ET. But don’t forget about the April 2 special airing on truTV, TBS and TNT immediately following the final minutes of the NCAA Final Four game that evening. And be sure to check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way.
