If you’ve found yourself hooked on Catfish: The TV Show, you are not alone.
The MTV series, which premiered on November 12 and became the network’s highest rated debut since 2007, looks at the complicated world on online relationships, focusing specifically on those who’ve never met, never mind consummated.
Without giving too much away, it’s fair to say that things on Facebook and other social networks, are not always what they seem -- the guy you fell in love with, could be a girl; Miss Teen USA Kari Ann Peniche? More like Miss Average from Anytown, USA.
PHOTOS: Overheard at TCA: Sound Bites From TV's Winter Press Tour
The brainchild of New York native Nev Schulman, who himself fell victim to a Facebook façade when he developed a crush on a sexy young blonde named Megan and later discovered that the person he had been messaging with was actually a dowdy and middle-aged woman named Angela (he made a movie out of it), and filmmaker Max Joseph, a friend since childhood, Catfish is a fascinating look at the psychology of love -- both perceived and real, the latter usually buried deep within a web of lies, exaggerations and distortions.
It’s enough to sour anyone’s appetite for schadenfreude, but at the same time, strangely heartwarming. Credit the soft-spoken Schulman, who patiently holds the desperados’ hands before, during and after the big reveal: the couple’s first real-life encounter.
STORY: MTV's 'Buckwild' Series Premiere Pulls 2.5 Million Viewers
The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Nev, who proudly boasts that he now has a girlfriend, and Max for a candid conversation on the pros and cons of online dating and what they've learned about themselves and about human nature from the Catfish experience.
Watch the videos above and below...
