MTV's new docu-series/reality TV hybrid courts controversy only to come out with a subpar product that fails to distinguish itself from predecessor Catfish. By September 19, 2019 at 07:17 PM EDT Over the years, MTV — formerly the television home of all things music — has become a major hub for reality television, especially as it pertains to shows focusing on relationships. The network's history with the genre dates (pun intended? ) back to the debut of The Real World in 1992. The series was groundbreaking partially because no other TV channel had come up with something quite like it, but mainly because the show went out of its way to discuss things that were still taboo not only on television and in pop culture, but for America at-large. The show famously tackled heavier subjects including homophobia; the AIDS/HIV crisis through the eyes of cast member Pedro Zamora, who died hours after the finale of The Real World: San Francisco aired in November 1994; and drunk driving. It was a show committed to exploring "real-life" realities with regular people.
At the end of episode 1, Julia and Del opt to reconnect; in episode 2, Ross and Jordan opt to stay as ghostee and ghoster, respectively. If the episodes sound dramatic, thrilling, exciting even — they're not. And it all stems from a failure in execution. Ghosted takes much of its formatting from its predecessor Catfish but doesn't have half the charisma and the know-how to follow through. Part of Catfish's appeal is Nev Schulman 's ability to empathize with the catfishee as a result of his own experience. This empathy is accompanied by both Nev and former cohost Max Joseph being wisely protective of the catfishee and making certain they are not carelessly or accidentally putting this person in physically or emotionally dangerous situations, regardless of how entertaining that would be to the audience. Of course, the occasional bonkers and hilarious catfisher still does make an appearance (re: " A Fat Kelly Price ") and Nev and Max always make the "research" process of tracking them down (i. e. finding out that the person who did the catfishing actually lives in the same exact city as the person who was catfished) equally interesting.