Chance The Rapper To Host Punk'd Reboot
As announced via his social media, Grammy-winning rapper Chance The Rapper will host the forthcoming reboot of MTV’s widely popular television series Punk’d.
The celebrity prank show, which originally launched in 2003, was made famous by actor Ashton Kutcher (who co-created the franchise) and quickly became a staple of the early 2000s. It ran over the course of five years with one-off reboots in 2012 and 2015, according to Deadline. In June of 2019, Deadline reported that MTV Studios had partnered with the emerging phone-based video platform Quibi to revive Punk’d in addition to MTV’s dating game show, Singled Out.
On Friday (Jan. 24), MTV Studios and Quibi jointly revealed that they had enlisted Chance for the titular role ahead of the revival’s premiere this coming April. Deadline further reported that the Coloring Book rap artist will also serve as an executive producer on the series. Chance's appointment comes on the heels of the 26-year-old's recent stint as host and performer on The Late Late Show in comedian's James Corden stead, who was on break.
“Punk’d is one of MTV’s most iconic franchises,” the Chicago-bred rapper said in a press release obtained by Deadline. “I grew up watching this show, and it’s surreal to be in the driver’s seat this time around on Quibi.”
The new short-form series will launch via Quibi on April 6, and each episode will reportedly run for 10 minutes or less. The full list of celebrities slated to appear on the show hasn’t been announced as of yet.
But, in anticipation of the show’s return, a brand new trailer simultaneously dropped on Friday as well. Excitingly, it came with a clue as to who the first, unsuspecting celebrity mark might be: Houston rap sensation Megan Thee Stallion. Megan briefly appears in the 24-second-long teaser where viewers see what appears to be a loose gorilla running up on her car.
Watch the teaser for yourself below.