Punk’d turned Ashton Kutcher’s celebrity pranks into a hidden-camera series.
MTV premiered Punk’d in 2003, with Kutcher and his production team staging elaborate practical jokes on celebrities. The targets were placed in situations involving fake emergencies, bizarre public incidents, or unexpected professional problems while hidden cameras recorded their reactions.
Kutcher hosted the original run and often appeared at the end to reveal the prank by saying that the victim had been “Punk’d.” The show became an influential example of celebrity-centered hidden-camera television and helped establish Kutcher as a prominent producer and television personality.
Punk’d is sometimes confused with Scare Tactics, another MTV hidden-camera program. Scare Tactics focused mainly on horror-themed scares, while Punk’d concentrated on elaborate practical jokes aimed at famous people.