TruTV's Impractical Jokers has been making viewers laugh for over a decade now. The four Tenderloins -- Joe Gatto, James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn and Sal "Prince Herb" Vulcano -- released Season 1 of the hidden-camera show in 2011. Ever since, the show has been a staple of comedy television and a big part of HBO Max's success in the ever-relevant streaming war. However, in late 2021, a shocking piece of news rocked Jokers' fanbase to the core. Joe Gatto announced that he was leaving the show to focus on his family.

While no one can fault Joe for prioritizing his family, fans immediately started hypothesizing how (or if) Impractical Jokers could continue without a founding member of the Tenderloins. It was quickly announced that the series wasn't going anywhere, but the question remained: what would the show look like without Joe? A new trailer released just ahead of the show's April 2 return finally gave fans an answer, but it may also signal the downfall of Impractical Jokers.

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For starters, here's the press release for the new episodes: "Joining the spectacle and upping the antics will be a variety of heavy weight star-power including Staten Islanders Method Man (Wu-Tang Clan) and Colin Jost (Saturday Night Live), Chris Jericho (All Elite Wrestling), film star Brooke Shields (The Blue Lagoon), as well as hilarious comedians Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street), Adam Pally (Sonic, Happy Endings), Jon Gabrus (Game Over, Man!) and David Cross (Arrested Development), along with Rob Riggle (Holey Moley) and others."

The trailer confirmed that the new episodes would include the whole gaggle of celebrities. However, it also shifted the show's tone. It felt like TruTV was promoting the list of celebrities as a new point of interest for the show, rather than the remaining three Jokers. To Impractical Jokers purists, the regular inclusion of a guest may be nothing short of blasphemy, but the decision does make sense. No offense to the other three Tenderloins, but Joe was the glue that held Impractical Jokers together. And with him leaving, TruTV probably thought the show needed a selling point to retain fans. However, the decision to rely on guests (instead of the Jokers or in-house fill-ins like Dan Cast or Casey Jost) may signal that the network believes the show wouldn't survive Joe's exit without a new gimmick.

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Impractical Jokers with Eric Andre

To market the show's new vibe, TruTV aired a single new episode on April 2, directly following the North Carolina vs. Duke basketball game. The important episode guest starred Eric Andre (of The Eric Andre Show and who recently appeared in Jackass Forever) and clarified that the celebrities will only be helping with the losing Joker's punishment and potentially appearing in some brief scripted material. That format will leave Q, Sal and Murr to complete challenges as a threesome. Unfortunately, though, TruTV's powers that be were correct because the episode was a letdown without Joe.

Keeping the celebrities to a confined role was probably a smart move, but the episode still didn't jive. The installment tried to kick off a new era by introducing a new title sequence, a new color scheme and new way of explaining challenges. However, it all felt like widow dressing -- like the show was using some flashy new features to cover up the fact that one of its most integral parts had moved on. It felt forced, as does the whole inclusion of celebrity guests as a marketing tool. If Impractical Jokers needs celebrities (even in a limited fashion) to survive, it probably doesn't have long left.

New episodes of Impractical Jokers return June 16 on TruTV.

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