The TV series Impractical Jokers has been pleasing and entertaining fans for the last ten years. Their ability to make crowds erupt with laughter and their natural sense of humor has increasingly made the show a major success. The team consists of four “jokers”: James Murray, Joe Gatto, Sal Vulcano, and Brian Quinn.
Gatto has been an impractical joker along with his three friends for ten years. The show first aired on December 15, 2011. Gatto was a co-creator of the franchise, sparking this show solely from his friendship with Murray, Vulcano, and Quinn. The jokers had been friends for 30 years prior to launching the show, and they simply turned their friendship and camaraderie into comedy. This comedy luckily turned into a big hit quickly.
They participate in pranks and challenges, testing each other’s limits. For nine seasons, the jokers have participated in “scenes of graphic stupidity, competing to embarrass each other”, as the intro to their show describes.
However, the jokers will take on this upcoming season without one of their members, Joe Gatto. On Saturday, January 1, 2022, Joe Gatto announced that he will be leaving the impractical jokers crew and series via an Instagram post.
Fans are shocked and saddened with the recent news as he was a major element to the show. However, fans and friends are still supportive of Gatto’s decision. Regarding his instagram post, the comment section is flooded with heartfelt messages and “thank-yous” for all of the work he has done and all the joy he has spread.
In his caption, he claimed that “Due to some issues in my personal life, I have to step away”. He announced that him and his wife, Bessy, have decided to split after eight years together. They have two children together, so he shares that “so now I need to focus on being the best father and co-parent to our two incredible kids”.
Gatto reveals that his retirement from the show is solely due to prioritizing his family, and more importantly raising his children. He will be spending some of his time touring for solo comedy shows, starting on January 21 in Appleton, Wisconsin. However, the majority of his time will be spent focusing his time and energy into adjusting his family through this change.
In response to Gatto’s retirement, his fellow jokers share that “while we are saddened to see him go, we want to keep making people laugh, keep our relationship with Impractical Jokers fans going, and keep working with the members of our team that we consider family”.
While saddened by Gatto’s leave, the jokers will continue the series without him. The series was renewed for their tenth season this fall, and it is scheduled to premiere on February 4, 2022. As Murray recently confirmed, “the next season is in the works”. The filming and production began in September 2021 and carried through December 2021. In sharing this exciting news, Murray also revealed that “there would be changes to the show’s format because of the coronavirus pandemic”.
While staying safe and cautious of the virus, the jokers still worked hard to produce a new season that fans are itching to watch, and will be able to very soon.
