MTV cancels Catfish after nine seasons, hosts hint it may be paused

MTV has canceled Catfish The TV Show after nine seasons, hosts Nev Schulman and Max Joseph announced in a social media video on Sept. 22. The reality series, which began in 2012 and was inspired by a 2010 documentary that popularized the term catfishing, completed its ninth season in July 2024 after nearly 300 episodes and roughly 12 years on the air.

In the announcement, Schulman said, "Catfish has officially been cancelled." Joseph, who co-created the series with Schulman and Ariel Schulman, suggested the end might be temporary, saying, "Maybe it's just on pause." The pair thanked the production crew and fans for the show's run. MTV will continue to air episodes from the show's library, and reports indicate the network has granted producers permission to shop the series to other platforms.

Catfish started as a documentary that followed Schulman's own experience with a deceptive online romance and evolved into a televised series that paired hosts with people who suspected their online partners were not who they claimed to be. Each episode typically involved investigation, reverse image searches, phone calls and a culminating in-person meeting between the parties. The show is...