MTV ‘Punk’d’ Again by Kutcher
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – Four months after ending his top-rated MTV series “Punk’d,” Ashton Kutcher has apparently changed his mind.
The music channel said Thursday that the celebrity prank showcase will return to its schedule next month for a third season, with eight episodes already in production. Kutcher, who serves as star and executive producer of “Punk’d,” had said in December he decided to “stick with the old adage of ‘leave ’em wanting more”‘ and discontinued the series.
A spokesman for Kutcher’s Katalyst production company declined comment.
MTV had no explanation for the about-face but expressed gratitude for the return of its highest-rated series. “We are always happy to have a show back that does as well as his has on the channel,” a network spokeswoman said.
Although most speculation within the TV industry interpreted Kutcher’s previous declaration as a ploy to renegotiate his contract with MTV, others suggested a more creative-oriented motive: Staging the demise of “Punk’d” could be an effective method for keeping celebrities unsuspecting of pranks in the works.
The return of “Punk’d” plugs a hole in MTV’s “Sunday Night Stew” programing block, which has been a magnet for young male viewers from 9-11 p.m. “Stew” returns April 26 with “Punk’d” back as the 9 p.m. anchor, along with “Viva la Bam,” “Wildboyz” and “Pimp My Ride,” which replaces “One Bad Trip.”
In other MTV news, the 10:30 p.m. special “Choose or Lose: 20 Million Questions for John Kerry” drew 3.4 million viewers Tuesday with an interview with the Democratic presidential candidate. It was the highest-rated “Choose or Lose” special since the campaign’s inception in 1992.
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