The early 2000s was a boon mini-era for reality TV and all manner of unscripted programming in the U.S., from Jackass to Big Brother to American Idol to dozens of other mainstream hits. One of the more undersung creations during that stretch was Syfy’s Scare Tactics, the only show on TV where the point was to make someone dampen and darken their pants in fear, all for the comedy! Now, Jordan Peele is utilizing his horror and comedy expertise to resurrect Scare Tactics for 2024 audiences.
That’s right, this year’s audiences. This isn’t some lofty pipe dream that audiences will need to wait on for ages. The latest take on Scare Tactics will premiere on USA Network during the Fall 2024 TV schedule, and it’s being called “an audacious reimagining of the popular prank series.” If Jordan Peele is behind it in any capacity, it’s going to take a new approach to whatever the subject matter might be. In this case, it’s making someone believe they’re caught up in an alien encounter or a serial killer’s warpath, among other terrifying situations.
With Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions behind it, Scare Tactics gives unwitting subjects a chance to appear in their own horror movie of sorts as they participate in what they believe are normal situations, only to have everything get twisted around when they least expect it. It’s hard to compare it 1:1 with similar shows like Punk’d or Candid Camera, because it really is all about the turns when things turn horrific. Such as it goes in the classic clip below.
It’s not clear at the moment if Jordan Peele will serve as the on-screen host when Scare Tactics debuts, or if he’ll remain a behind-the-scenes creative. But with Monkeypaw behind it, the quality will no doubt match up with past productions such as the instant “best horror movie” candidates like Get Out, Us and Nope, not to mention USA and Syfy’s current horror fan-fave Chucky.
OMG, can we expect to see Chucky himself show up on Scare Tactics in some way? Maybe HE could be the host. All the potential…
Calling it an “all-time favorite hidden-camera show” amongst the studio’s staff, Monkeypaw President Win Rosenfeld described the new show as such:
It’s cathartic and hilarious to watch people get a little scared, and the scenarios we cooked up for this season are really wild. We can’t wait to share a little light-hearted schadenfreude with audiences soon.
As someone who generally doesn’t enjoy the vast majority of prank shows, Scare Tactics always spoke as much to my horror fandom as anything, given how impressive the production design and effects would be for each of the scenarios. Plus, there's that catharsis he mentioned, where participants come out the other side of the experience a bit upset, but also possibly having achieved at a new level of relief than they've ever felt.
Scare Tactics began back in 2003 on Syfy, with Season 1 hosted by the late Shannen Doherty, and Season 2 fronted by Stephen Baldwin. Tracy Morgan took over as host in later seasons. In 2017, Blumhouse TV was announced to be developing a reboot, but it doesn't appear anything came out of that.
A show whose resurgence is always welcomed via streaming or a Jordan Peele-produced reboot, Scare Tactics will arrive on USA Network this fall.
