''Buzzkill'' is a hidden-camera

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

which started airing in 1996 on the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

network. The show derived its name from the slang term ''buzzkill'', meaning a sudden undesired event that causes one's "high" or "buzz" to become of a lesser experience or depleted. Each new episode was set in a different location and consisted of three separate pranks.

Premise

A forerunner to prank reality shows, ''Buzzkill'' was essentially a series of elaborate

prank A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...

s (backed by a major

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

network's budget) played not only on the

layman In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. ...

but often on

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

and major public figures. Each prank was played by three aspiring actors from the Chicago area: Dave Sheridan (creator), Frank Hudetz, and

Travis Draft Travis Draft is an actor and entertainer. He has played over 500 characters on TV. He is most known for appearing on ''Buzzkill (TV series), Buzzkill''. Early life and career Draft started his career at Chicago's The Second City in 1992 as an o ...

. The show's most memorable moment was when Hudetz disguised himself as famous designer

Isaac Mizrahi Isaac Mizrahi (born October 14, 1961) is an American fashion designer, actor, singer, television presenter and chief designer of the Isaac Mizrahi brand for Xcel Brands. Based in New York City, he is best known for his eponymous fashion lines. M ...

. The likeness was so uncanny that he fooled superstar

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

at an awards show; when Houston discovered the error, she felt she was made a fool of and vowed never to appear on MTV again. The show was eventually cancelled due to litigation concerns at MTV. Because of ''Buzzkill'', more outrageous reality shows were developed for MTV, including ''

The Tom Green Show ''The Tom Green Show'' is a television show, created by and starring Canadian comedian Tom Green, that first aired in September 1994. The series aired on Rogers Television 22, a community channel in Ottawa, Ontario until 1996, when a single p ...

'', '' Jackass'', and ''

Punk'd ''Punk'd'' is an American hidden camera–practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003. It was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, with Kutcher serving as producer and host. It bears a resemblance to both ...

''. The show's theme song uses the same verse and chorus melody as the

GG Allin Kevin Michael "GG" Allin (born Jesus Christ Allin; August 29, 1956 – June 28, 1993) was an American punk rock musician who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. His live performances often featured transgressive acts, i ...

classic 'Multiple Forms of Self-Satisfaction'.

Episode guide

References

External links

*
An oral history of ''Buzzkill''
{{MTVNetwork Shows MTV reality television series 1990s American comedy television series 1996 American television series debuts 1996 American television series endings American hidden camera television series