The Gong Show Revival to Be Hosted by Mike Myers—But They'll Never Tell You That

Yes, we're all being punk'd.

If you've never heard of Tommy Maitland, the legendary British comic who'll be hosting ABC's revival of the iconic Gong Show, that's probably because he doesn't seem to exist.

In a move that might be a TV first, the network has announced that the Will Arnett-produced game show revival will be emceed by what appears to be a wholly fictional character brought to life by who many believe to be Austin Powers star Mike Myers—though they'll probably never confirm those suspicions.

So elaborate is this rouse that ABC has created a lengthy biography for this supposed legendary comedian who turns up no results in a Google search, as well as a Twitter account that only began tweeting today.

Some choice excepts from Maitland's provided bio:
-"Two of the four were Spaghetti Westerns, where he played the fastidious banker, and the other two were James Bond knockoffs – You Only Live Once, To Be Honest and From Russia, Luv."
-"In the ‘80s, Tommy hosted the British game show Tell You What, a charades-based adventure game. He later hosted an Australian game show called Dingo's Got the Baby, in which one contestant would be the dingo and another the baby, and a chase would ensue."

"When Will Arnett came to me and asked me to host The Gong Show, I said, ‘I'm honoured at the request, but I'm retired,'" Maitland said in a statement to ABC. "Then he told me how much I was being paid, in U.S. dollars, and I said, ‘I'm still honoured, but no longer retired.'"

"I've been a huge fan of Tommy since I first saw his stand-up in the U.K. while traveling as a teenager. He was so funny and original. I had the good fortune to cross paths with Tommy a few years ago and ever since we've talked about working together," Arnett said. "I tried for years to come up with a vehicle that was suitable to expose his immense talent on a bigger stage, and The Gong Show is the perfect fit."

What do you think? Is Maitland really Myers? Share your theories in the comments below!

The Gong Show premieres Thursday, June 22 at 10 p.m. on ABC.