‘The Joe Schmo Show’: Cat Deeley, Jonathan Lipnicki & Ben Frisone Preview the Show’s Return

The Joe Schmo Show is making a TV comeback after more than 10 years as TBS welcomes a whole new cast of improv characters to help play out a fake reality competition scenario centered around an everyday guy.

Likened to The Truman Show and compared to the more recent Jury Duty, The Joe Schmo Show originally debuted back in 2003 and aired for three seasons with the last and most recent playing out on Spike (now known as Paramount Network) in 2013. This revival of the series sees Cat Deeley (So You Think You Can Dance) step into the hosting role for a fictional competition known as The Goat, and while she and the other players are in on the joke, Ben Frisone is the man at the center of it all.

The goal? Keep Frisone in the dark long enough for the 10-day competition to play out as he fights for a chance at $100,000. Among the cast of players pulling the prank is actor Jonathan Lipnicki, who you will remember from films like Jerry Maguire, Stuart Little, and much more. Below, Frison, Deeley, and Lipnicki offer a peek behind the curtain with three very unique perspectives regarding The Joe Schmo Show‘s major TV comeback. And get a fun sneak peek at the kind of humor ahead in the exclusive promo, above.

The Contestant

TBS

When it comes to The Joe Schmo Show, you need someone to fill that title role, and Ben Frison fits the bill, even if the Maryland-based electrician didn’t set out to originally be on a reality competition series. “I was pitched a house-based reality competition show where you and the other contestants are competing for $100,000 doing daily games and living in the same house,” Frisone tells TV Insider of the original offer. But he wasn’t actively applying or looking for casting calls.

“I’ve always watched reality television, and I’ve never thought that it was weird to be in a reality television show, but I came across it earnestly, I guess,” Frisone reveals. It all began when he met someone online. “She turned out to be a recruiting agent,” he says. Ultimately, it was that chance encounter and Frisone’s humble roots that led to the offer, which he says, “[seemed] fun to me. And that’s how the whole thing snowballed from there.”

So, what did Frisone originally have in mind prior to his arrival on The Goat? “They were like, ‘We can’t tell you what it is… We can just tell you that it’s a house-based reality competition show…’ So I was kind of thinking, Okay, maybe it’s Love Island or something? I had no idea.” So, no, it didn’t have much romance involved, but there were more than a few characters for Frisone to mingle with.

But when it came to questioning the hush-hush nature of the situation, Frisone admits, “I’m a low questions kind of guy. My mom always yells at me for that. I don’t ask enough questions. I was just there to go along with the flow.” And in Frisone’s defense of not picking up on the signs, Jury Duty released after The Joe Schmo Show‘s most recent season filmed, meaning this experience happened about two years ago for Frisone and co.

The Host

TBS

Meanwhile, Deeley’s experience was a bit different as she recalls having to sign a pretty serious NDA before learning what the job was. Once she signed it, the host revealed she was on board. There was only one real condition. “I said, ‘If you want someone to be mean to the person who doesn’t know he’s on… I’m not your girl. It can be funny. We can do silly stuff, but not mean,'” Deeley recalls.

Knowing there was a secret to keep with the main objective being to sell the lie to Frisone, Deeley notes, “[It was] slightly terrifying. You’ve got hundreds of people working on a multimillion-dollar budget show, and if I mess up [it could be over].” But in the end, it was the comedy element that pulled Deeley in. “I’ve done all these different shows with really great comedy people. So I was like, ‘Okay, this is definitely something I want to scratch.'”

And while some of the more comedic scenarios set to play out in the show may get the better of some of the improvisers, Deeley was more concerned about keeping everything believable. “The hardest thing wasn’t reacting, it wasn’t being funny, it was just like, ‘Is it believable?’ And it was finding a very delicate balance between being funny and being over the top and being ridiculous. But at the same time, Ben has to stay locked in.”  Whether Deeley and the team are successful in their endeavor is for fans to discover as the season plays out.

The Improviser

TBS

Viewers will best know Lipnicki as the bespectacled kid from some of the ’90s and ’00s hits mentioned above, but he’s flipping the script by portraying an exaggerated version of himself with a bit of an ego problem. Branded as The Joe Schmo Show‘s “Hollywood D-bag,” Lipnicki is meant to stir up some drama among Frisone and the other players.

But despite his Hollywood pedigree, Lipnicki recalls, “I had to audition, which I’m never against. I’ve auditioned for a lot. So my joke is I auditioned to play myself,” he adds with a laugh. As for what interested him in the project, Lipnicki credits the creative team: “You have these great writers involved with it. And just being able to work with some high-level people on something that seemed to be really fun piqued my interest.”

As mentioned, Lipnicki’s role is quite a departure from his true self. “I think that playing something that’s quite a bit different than myself is always fun, and I didn’t feel like the butt of a joke. I got to be part of something and it actually felt empowering in a lot of ways to just let it rip,” he adds regarding the “Hollywood D-bag” persona he’s portraying onscreen. “I think when you’re in the industry and you start young, there’s a people pleaser thing where you don’t want to ruffle feathers and naturally, I’m a kind guy, I can say that, and you don’t want to have a bad reputation. So it was actually really freeing to play someone who would have a terrible reputation.”

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'The Joe Schmo Show' Revived for New Season at TBS

Meanwhile, the inspiration behind his onscreen look stemmed from his grown-out hair and headband combo. “I didn’t shave… I just thought it would be a funny rougher version of myself and have the look go with that. But I just took a touchstone from people I’ve met in L.A.” For context, Lipnicki shares, “I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I don’t live there anymore, but you meet a lot of amazing lovely people, and you definitely meet some characters. And so it’s a great touchstone.”

See what Lipnicki, Deeley, and Frisone get up to when The Joe Schmo Show airs on TBS, and don’t miss the hilarious promo, above.

The Joe Schmo Show, Season Premiere, Tuesday, January 21, 9/8c, TBS