The following contains spoilers for Impractical Jokers Season 9, Episode 20, "Colin Jost," which aired Thursday, June 23, on TruTV.

TruTV's Impractical Jokers filled the void left by the surprise exit of Joe Gatto with celebrity guest stars alongside James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn and Sal Vulcano. Comedian and talk show host Eric André joined the crew in a special episode and the hidden-camera impresario should have been a perfect fit within the long-established structure. Instead, André was limited to appearing in the end-of-show punishment while the rest of the episode focused on the three remaining cast members.

Although a more gimmicky direction than absolutely necessary for the series, André's showing -- and those of subsequent guests Jillian Bell and Colin Jost -- were solid representations of Impractical Jokers adapting to its circumstances. Once it became clear that the celebrity guest stars would feature solely in the punishment, it seemed that the show would eschew challenges requiring four participants. But that was proven wrong in Jost's episode.

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Sal Vulcano and Jillian Bell on Impractical Jokers

Bringing back the popular presentation challenge, the Jokers roped in Chris Henchy -- the co-writer and director of Impractical Jokers: The Movie -- to be Quinn's partner. Henchy's camaraderie and shorthand with the trio was clear from the outset, despite it being his first appearance on the series. His participation and an earlier challenge provided an obvious solution to the problem Impractical Jokers has faced since Gatto's departure.

The series has long made use of its large and versatile crew as incidental players, whether on the main show or bringing them into spinoff Impractical Jokers: Inside Jokes for behind-the-scenes information. Two "Joker For a Day" episodes featured various crew slotted into the challenges instead of the stars. The "Colin Jost" episode included writer and comedy producer Joe Imburgio roped into a challenge as an ice cream parlor employee. Imburgio is one of several longtime cast members to have appeared regularly on the series who could fill the vacant fourth spot in a pinch.

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Impractical Jokers James Murray Brian Quinn Sal Vulcano Colin Jost

Besides Imburgio and fellow crew members Dan Cast, Chá DeBerry, John Szeluga and Terry Thomas, writer, producer and now director Casey Jost -- Colin's brother -- is a supremely obvious candidate to appear. Casey has appeared on Impractical Jokers frequently over the years. He's the host of the "Impractical Insider" segment and Impractical Jokers: Inside Jokes spinoff, made a notable appearance in the movie as Paula Abdul's assistant, and contributed much of the original music featured on the show -- including the infamous "Whose phone is ringing?" ringtone. Less prolific but no less memorable, production assistant-turned-supporting player Rob Emmer's recurring appearances should all but guarantee him a place as needed... if for no other reason than the ease with which he draws Vulcano's ire.

With much of Impractical Jokers reliant on the dependability of its leads, bringing in celebrities seemed an adequate if uneasy solution to Gatto's exit. Unfortunately, relegating these guests to a single segment of the program left a gap that clearly showed the need for familiarity and keeping outside factors from getting in the way of the comedy. While less flashy than a star dropping by or another TruTV crossover, any one of the talented people working just off-screen would be a great fit for future Impractical Jokers episodes.

New episodes of Impractical Jokers air Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on TruTV.