Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

NETFLIX ORDERS PRANK ENCOUNTERS, HIDDEN-CAMERA PRANK SHOW HOSTED BY GATEN MATARAZZO

15/06/2019

-- Propagate Produced Series Launches Later This Year --

Netflix has ordered Prank Encounters, an epic hidden-camera prank show hosted by Gaten Matarazzo (Stranger Things). Each episode of this terrifying and hilarious prank show takes two complete strangers who each think theyre starting their first day at a new job. Its business as usual until their paths collide and these part-time jobs turn into full-time nightmares.

Prank Encounters launches later this year.

Episodes: 8

Executive Producers: Gaten Matarazzo; Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, and Kevin Healey for Propagate; Rob Hyde (Terrence Howards Fright Club, Troy)

Director: Anthony Gonzalez (Dance Moms, Undercover Boss)

Production Company: Propagate

Gaten Matarazzo Bio

Known for his memorable portrayal of Dustin on the fan favorite Stranger Things, Gaten Matarazzo has solidified his place as a breakthrough actor of his generation.

Recognized by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the top 30 stars under the age of 30, Matarazzo began his professional career in the original Broadway production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert as Benji. He also appeared as part of the Godspell cast of 2013 and then drew rave reviews as Gavroche in the 2014 revival of Les Mis rables. Recently announced, Matarazzo will return to theater and lead the star studded cast in Hollywood Bowl's summer production of Into the Woods' this July.

When he is not filming, the 16-year-old devotes his time to raising awareness about cleidocranial dysplasia - a condition that a ects the development of bones and teeth. With the help of a Utah-based doctor, Matarazzo launched - CCD Smiles - a Foundation built to help families pay their children's dental bills. He recently visited Capitol Hill to speak in favor of a new piece of legislation called the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA). This bipartisan legislation will provide insurance coverage to individuals born with congenital abnormalities or birth defects.

Matarazzo also formed a six-piece band called Work In Progress, and will travel the country on tour this summer delivering enthusiastic performances with their covers and originals. The band also consists of his musically precocious siblings - Carmen on the drums and Sabrina as a vocalist. The band takes inspiration from every decade since the '60s, drawing from classic rock, metal, alternative, and emo.

About Propagate

Propagate founders Ben Silverman and Howard Owens met at William Morris in the late 1990s. Silverman had pioneered the global format business by packaging and bringing to America a stream of hits including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Big Brother and Queer As Folk. Silverman and Owens founded Reveille in 2002 with the mission to build an independent American alternative studio based on the concept of creating and producing culture-defining television. With hits like The Office, The Tudors, Ugly Betty, MasterChef and many others, Reveille became the gold standard of American independent television studios. Silverman and Owens founded Propagate in 2015 as an independent content studio inspired to create and influence culture. With offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Paris, and others soon to be announced, Propagate is one of the world's fastest-growing independent premium content creation companies. Its emerging portfolio includes November 13: Attack on Paris for Netflix, Lore for Amazon, Charmed for the CW, Haunted for Netflix, In Search Of for the History Channel and Planet of the Apps for Apple, with more on the way.

About Netflix

Netflix is the worlds leading internet entertainment service with 139 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.
LINK: https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/netflix-orders-prank-encou...
See more stories from netflix

North America Stories

08/11/2025

College Hoops Preview 2025: TNT Sports Puts Multi-Feed Production Model Front and Center for Largest Slate Ever

College Hoops Preview 2025: TNT Sports Puts Multi-Feed Production Model Front an...

08/11/2025

Station Execs Bullish on Prospects for 2026 Ad Market, Deregulation

While most station groups reported major declines in ad revenue in the third quarter, thanks to a steep decline in political advertising compared to a year ago,...

08/11/2025

Nielsen: Alabama Is Most Watched College Football Team

NEW YORK Nielsen has announced that it has started releasing rankings of the most watched college football teams. In its first ranking, through the first 10 wee...

08/11/2025

OpenDrives Event Marks Transition Into Data Services Company

LOS ANGELES OpenDrives recently hosted an event at its headquarters here marking the soft launch of Astraeus, its new data services platform....

08/11/2025

WRAL's Sockett honored for service to community

Capitol Broadcasting Company Director of Technology Peter Sockett was honored on October 29, 2025, with the Wade H. Hargrove Community Leadership Award from the...

08/11/2025

Berklee Artists Return to Perform at Boston Snowport Holiday Market

Berklee Artists Return to Perform at Boston Snowport Holiday Market The performances, a weekly highlight of the holiday market, are the result of a partnershi...

08/11/2025

Berklees 2026 Alumni Grammy Nominees: See the Full List

Berklees 2026 Alumni Grammy Nominees: See the Full List From R&B and Americana to gospel, jazz, and game scoring, Berklee talent was recognized across a range...

07/11/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Athlos NYC CMO Kayla Green on Building the Brand of the Young Track & Field League

SVG Sit-Down: Athlos NYC CMO Kayla Green on Building the Brand of the Young Trac...

07/11/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Inside Wasabi's Egress-Fee-Free Cloud Offering with Mike Welts, Isabel Freedman

SVG Sit-Down: Inside Wasabi's Egress-Fee-Free Cloud Offering with Mike Welts...

07/11/2025

PGA TOUR On the Road: How NEP Supports the TOUR's Spectacular Centralized Facility with an On-Site Truck Compound

PGA TOUR On the Road: How NEP Supports the TOUR's Spectacular Centralized Fa...

07/11/2025

Analysis: No Matter the Sport, Women Need a Fair Share of the Biggest Stages

Analysis: No matter the sport, women need a fair share of the biggest stages By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large Tuesday, November 4, 2025 - 10:19 Print Th...

07/11/2025

DAZN to Stream First Live Football Match on TikTok

DAZN to stream first live football match on TikTok By George Bevir Friday, November 7, 2025 - 09:55 Print This Story DAZN has partnered with TikTok to str...

07/11/2025

SVG Sit Down: E1 Founder/CEO Rodi Basso on the Future of E1 Series and Bringing the Action to Life

SVG Sit Down: E1 Founder/CEO Rodi Basso on the Future of E1 Series and Bringing ...

07/11/2025

TNT Sports Puts Multi-Feed Production Model Front and Center for Largest College Hoops Slate Ever

TNT Sports Puts Multi-Feed Production Model Front and Center for Largest College...

07/11/2025

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a Cinematic Symphony of Black Greatness and Resilience

Kahlil Joseph attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival BLKNWS: Terms & Condition...

07/11/2025

Fire Through Dry Grass: Remembering My Co-Director, Andres Jay Molina

By Alexis Neophytides For Jay and me, filmmaking wasn't just a response to crisis, it was a way through it. I first met Jay in the summer of 2019. He was ...

07/11/2025

A Statement from L3Harris Chair and CEO Chris Kubasik on the Secretary of War's Arsenal of Freedom

A Statement from L3Harris Chair and CEO Chris Kubasik on the Secretary of War...

07/11/2025

Fincons Group reveals how to unlock the potential of GenA...

Fincons Group, a leading international business consulting and system integrator firm, releases its free white paper, Unlocking GenAI's Potential for Appli...

07/11/2025

EBU Selects the LiveU EcoSystem to Deliver Round the Cloc...

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the world's leading alliance of public service media, has awarded LiveU a five-year contract to deliver 24/7 live new...

07/11/2025

Atomos Launches Ninja TX GO

Atomos introduced Ninja TX GO, a new HDMI monitor-recorder that brings the performance of the acclaimed Ninja TX to an even wider community of filmmakers and cr...

07/11/2025

Visual Data Media Services Completes Acquisition of Sound...

Visual Data Media Services, a global leader in content localisation and media supply chain services, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Sound ...

07/11/2025

NBC Sports Brings NASCAR Viewers Closer to the Action Wit...

When NBC Sports' Director of Remote Technical Operations for Motorsports Matt Hogencamp walks onto a NASCAR track, he's not thinking about lap times or ...

07/11/2025

Headroom Productions Brings Unmatched RF Precision To The...

When it comes to outfitting complex, multi-venue reality shows with flawless audio capture, few do it better than Headroom Productions. Based in Canada and led ...

07/11/2025

Riedel RefCam and Easy5G to Make Handball Debut at the Me...

The European Handball Federation (EHF) will introduce Riedel's RefCam and Easy5G systems at the final weekend of the Men's EHF EURO 2026. The RefCam, a ...

07/11/2025

Broadcast Solutions Expands its Management Team

Leading systems integrator Broadcast Solutions is taking a forward-looking approach and expanding its management team. Effective from 1 November 2025, Stefan Br...

07/11/2025

New Calrec 48 fader Argo M takes centre stage at Tonmeist...

Calrec is set to make a major impact at Tonmeistertagung 2025, featuring its cutting-edge broadcast audio solutions including the German debut of its brand new ...

07/11/2025

Grass Valley Demonstrates Leadership in Hybrid and Softwa...

Grass Valley will showcase its latest advancements in live production, networking, playout, and media management at Inter BEE 2025, taking place November 19 21 ...

07/11/2025

IABM Strengthens APAC Member Engagement with Dynamic Pres...

IABM continues to strengthen its presence in the Asia-Pacific region at Inter BEE 2025 with a dedicated IABM Hub including member pavilion, the IABM Industry Im...

07/11/2025

Ikegami to Demonstrate its Latest-Generation Broadcast Pr...

Following a successful IBC Amsterdam in September and NAB New York in October, Ikegami will demonstrate examples from its wide range of broadcast television pro...

07/11/2025

Pixellot Signs Landmark Five-Year Contract Extension with...

Pixellot, the largest streamer of global youth and amateur sports, today announced a five-year extension of its partnership with PlayOn Sports, the premier fan ...

07/11/2025

ES Media Group hires industry veteran Brian Clark to driv...

ES Media Group, which specialises in providing professional services to the broadcast industry, has announced the hire of industry heavyweight Brian Clark as Gl...

07/11/2025

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Presents Opera Adaptation of Little Women

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Presents Opera Adaptation of Little Women Marc Adamo's acclaimed opera brings Louisa May Alcott's beloved story to life...

07/11/2025

Amplify Berklee Gala Raises $1.4 Million for Berklee City Music Students

Amplify Berklee Gala Raises $1.4 Million for Berklee City Music Students This year's event featured performances from student K-pop group B-Girls, the Ove...

07/11/2025

DoubleVerify Taps Into IMDb for Insights on Streaming Content

NEW YORK DoubleVerify has launched a streaming TV offering designed to give advertisers greater transparency, control and efficiency across their streaming TV i...

07/11/2025

Telefnica Selects Ateme for New Cloud-Native VOD Platform

PARIS Ateme said it has been working with Spain-based multinational telco Telef nica to deploy a cloud-native media processing platform for next-generation vide...

07/11/2025

SMPTE to Hold Its Annual Meeting on Dec. 10 Via Zoom

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has announced it will hold its annual meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 10, via a Zoom webinar at 11 a.m. ET....

07/11/2025

CIMM, TVB Study Examines Local TV Measurement Problems, Solutions

NEW YORK The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have released a study examining how local viewing is measured across television, mobile d...

07/11/2025

Altice USA to Become Optimum Communications

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. Altice USA announced it will change its corporate name to Optimum Communications Inc., effective Nov. 7. The company will cease trading u...

07/11/2025

Strategies for Simplifying Ad Ops to Drive Revenue

As audiences consume media across more platforms than ever, advertisers are demanding outcome-driven, cross-platform campaign strategies. But fragmented and out...

07/11/2025

Tribeca Festival Returns to Art Basel Miami Beach for Fourth Annual Edition

November 7th, 2025 Tribeca Festival Returns to Art Basel Miami Beach for Fourth Annual Edition Two Nights of Live Performances at the Miami Beach Bandshell ...

07/11/2025

'The Night My Dad Saved Christmas 2', Starring Santiago Segura, Ernesto Sevilla and Pablo Chiapella, Arrives on Netflix on December 6

Back to All News The Night My Dad Saved Christmas 2, Starring Santiago Segura, ...

06/11/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Athlos NYC CEO Kayla Green on Building the Brand of the Young Track & Field Event

SVG Sit-Down: Athlos NYC CEO Kayla Green on Building the Brand of the Young Trac...

06/11/2025

ESPN Exits ESPN BET Deal With PENN, Goes Into Business With DraftKings

ESPN Exits ESPN BET Deal With PENN, Goes Into Business With DraftKingsDraftKings will integrate innovative fan experiences' across ESPN platforms and DTC s...

06/11/2025

Peter Hujar's Day Makes the Ordinary Monumental

Ben Whishaw at the premiere of Peter Hujar's Day (photo by Robin Marshall / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival) By Bailey Pennick The premise is si...

06/11/2025

New Gracenote Report Highlights Impact of Ineffective Content Discovery on Consumer Happiness with Streaming

With nearly 50% of streamers willing to cancel a service based on difficulty fin...

06/11/2025

ESPN Strikes Exclusive Betting Partnership With DraftKings

BRISTOL, Conn., and BOSTON ESPN and DraftKings today announced an agreement naming DraftKings the sports programmer's exclusive official sportsbook and odds...

06/11/2025

Canon Introduces New PTZ Cameras for Live Event, Studio Production

MELVILLE, N.Y. Canon USA has launched the CR-N400 and CR-N350, two new Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras designed to deliver high image quality, versatile connectivit...

06/11/2025

World Series Game 7 Delivers 27.3 Million Viewers

NEW YORK Fox Sports said its coverage of the Los Angeles Dodgers' win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the decisive Game 7 of the 2025 World Series delivered 2...

06/11/2025

Roku, DoubleVerify Report Substantial Drop in Falsified Ad Impressions

NEW YORK DoubleVerify and Roku, Inc. are reporting that they have seen a marked reduction in fraudulent ad requests imitating Roku device traffic across the s...