In 2010 Nev Schulman was way ahead of his time with his documentary Catfish. It chronicled an extremely drawn out internet relationship with serious repercussions. Schulman became the subject of the documentary which was filmed by his brother Ariel and business partner Henry Joost, in which Schulman met and fell in love with a girl he met online. The premise followed Schulman on the journey of falling in love with a girl he meets on the Internet, but later finds out that she may not be exactly who she claimed to be. In fact she wound up being something and someone completely different.
The documentary was a huge success which led to the year 2012 in which Schulman became the host and executive producer of the follow up show Catfish: The TV Show for MTV, with his filmmaking partner Max Joseph, where he introduces couples in real life who have fallen for each other online but have yet to meet.
Catfish was way ahead of its time in 2010. While “faux” internet relationships existed back then, it was mostly through Facebook. Also, the prevalence of internet predators wasn’t nearly as widespread as it is today. Now, with the season 6 premiere coming tonight on TV the show is more relevant than ever. With social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat the world of fake identities is a pervading safety issue in the youth culture of today.
While the show doesn’t necessarily focus on the dangerous side of all the time (they tried to focus on love), the internet world of relationships continues to expand leaving the door open for Catfish to continue to evolve and stay on television. In the Season 6 premiere, a newly single woman needs help uncovering the shadowy identity of a potential new love. But things get interesting when it’s discovered that she may have secrets of her own.
Check out the trailer below:
Follow Us
