Fans Stunned As MTV Axes Long-Running Series After 9 Seasons
After nearly a decade of online reveals, MTV is pulling the plug on Catfish: The TV Show, canceling the reality staple after nine seasons. No new episodes are planned, but the network will keep airing its deep library.
MTV is pulling the plug on Catfish: The TV Show after nine seasons. The episodes you already know will keep airing, but the hunt for new ones is over at MTV. That said, the producers have the green light to shop the series to other platforms, so this might not be a total goodbye.
What MTV decided
Per Variety, MTV has canceled the long-running reality series after nine seasons. The network will continue to run episodes from its library, but it is not ordering more. On the behind-the-scenes side, producers are allowed to take the show elsewhere. In TV-land, that permission is not automatic, so that door being open is notable.
How Catfish became Catfish
The TV show spun out of the 2010 documentary Catfish, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman and starring Nev Schulman. That doc tracked Nev as he untangled a fake online romance and basically turned the word 'catfishing' into common vocabulary. Off that momentum, Schulman, Joost, and Max Joseph launched Catfish: The TV Show in 2012.
The host shuffle
Nev Schulman and Max Joseph co-hosted the first seven seasons. After Joseph left, the show cycled through guest co-hosts like Elle King, Nick Young, and Machine Gun Kelly. In 2020, Kamie Crawford came on as Nev's permanent co-host, and the two teamed up for 96 episodes through the remaining seasons.
It went global (and beyond TV)
The Catfish format traveled well, spawning international editions in Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The franchise also branched into spinoffs and launched a two-season podcast with Wondery in 2020.
Where things got murky
After Season 9 wrapped in July 2024, the future of the show was already a question mark, especially with corporate restructuring tied to the Paramount merger swirling in the background. Today just made it official for MTV.
Nev's next move
Meanwhile, Nev Schulman has a new side quest: real estate. He earned his New York broker's license and says he's now helping clients buy and sell property. On Instagram, he summed it up as:
"real estate era"
So, to recap: MTV is out, reruns stay, the producers can shop the series, and the brand is already bigger than one network. If Catfish pops up somewhere else, do not act surprised.