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Kutcher Kills "Punk'd"
Ashton Kutcher didn't exactly punk MTV, but he did catch the network off guard.
The antics-inclined actor unexpectedly pulled the plug Friday on his hipster prank show, Punk'd. The final episode, and second-season finale, will air Sunday.
"We have had an incredible time doing the show and have decided to stick with the old adage of 'leave 'em wanting more'," Kutcher said in a statement.
Kutcher's publicist, Matt Labov, insisted the announcement was "for real. It's not a Punk'd episode."
MTV spokeswoman Vanessa Reyes said as far as she knew the Kutcher statement was legit, if unexpected.
"This is a surprise to us," Reyes said.
Kutcher and partner Jason Goldberg, who cocreated and coproduced Punk'd with the That '70s Show star, informed MTV of their plans Friday morning. After, a new tag for Sunday's episode, reflecting the end of the series, was shot.
The news was so, well, new to MTV that on Friday afternoon its Website was still teasing the show's third season which was said to be launching in March 2004. (The line was later removed.)
The move is a blow to the network, which had, per Variety, planned to bring back Punk'd for a 10-episode third season as the anchor of its Sunday night so-called "Stew" lineup of boy-friendly stunt series.
Punk'd was the highest-rated original cable series among youngsters aged 12-34. Its second-season opener, airing in October, drew some 3.6 million viewers.
The series debuted last March. Justin Timberlake, one of Kutcher's original celebrity victims, probably is still recovering from being told his home was being repossessed by the tax man.
The show was an update on reality-TV staples such as Candid Camera and TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes with the midriff-baring likes of Britney Spears and Hilary Duff in place of the middle-aged-bulge-baring likes of Dick Clark and Ed McMahon.
Punk'd recast Kutcher, whose image prior was invested in his doofus characters from That '70s Show and Dude, Where's My Car?, as something of a rogue, if rogue means one who scams Wilmer Valderrama by pretending to trash the guy's new car. Slate.com went so far as to declare the 25-year-old Kutcher the new Dean Martin, "a blithe, vain, jaunty, jerky, prankster party boy." And that was before he started stepping out with his new squeeze: Demi Moore. According to this week's Hollywood Reporter, Kutcher may next make time as one half of a mismatched twentysomething couple in the big-screen flick, A Lot Like Love. Additionally, barring any Punk'd moves, he's signed with That '70s Show through the 2004-05 season.
As for That Soon-to-Be-Ending Show, Beyoncé Knowles is scheduled to be among Kutcher's final victims on Sunday.
In Kutcher's release, MTV executive Lois Curren is quoted as saying, "Today is a sad day for MTV, but probably a happy day for Hollywood. Celebrities can rest a little easier knowing that the 'punkings' have ceased."
Curren said the network has a "number" of other unspecified projects in development with Kutcher. "Ashton will always be a member of our family," she said, "and he won't be gone from MTV for long."
Apparently, good punks are hard to find.
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