Cheaters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cheaters is a weekly syndicated reality TV show, where licensed private investigators spy on someone's mate who is suspected of cheating with another person.
The show begins with a brief interview with the 'complainant' and a description of the suspect. Then the investigation tape rolls and as they show the video footage of their investigation, a narrator, Robert Magruder, explains happenings to the viewing audience. After the investigation, the host shows the footage to the person who suspects their mate is cheating. After they view the often graphic video evidence of their mate cheating, they then go confront the alleged cheater as they are out with the person they are cheating with. Often during the confrontation, either a nasty verbal argument occurs, or physical violence. The show often shows updates from past guests to see if they are still with the person who cheated. At the end of the show, the producers often show an epilogue of the complainant, suspect and the mate of the suspect.
The show, created by Bobby Goldstein, made its debut in 2000. Until early 2003, the show was hosted by one of its co-producers, Tommy Habeeb, who used the screen name "Tommy Grand". Habeeb left the show due to a dispute with the production company. Recently settling the dispute, Habeeb now hosts PPV specials of raw Cheaters footage. 2004 brought reruns of previous seasons, edited into a half-hour Monday-through-Friday "strip" format with new intros with Joey Greco as host, into syndication. In 2006, G4 began showing the strip version with faster-paced editing and music, as well as a different voiceover artist, for weekly airings on its Midnight Spank block. The show is filmed mostly in North Texas around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
The sexual encounters captured by the Cheaters hidden cameras are usually displayed heavily edited and censored in the broadcast version. Home video releases of several episodes, however, include uncensored footage. Several volumes of episodes from the Habeeb era were released in the early 2000s, with an additional set of DVDs released in 2006 featuring Habeeb and Greco.
On December 16, 2005, four employees of the show were indicted on charges including assault. The charges were against the host Joey Greco, director Hunter Carson and two security guards. This stems from a confrontation between a woman and her husband in Arlington, Texas. On November 9, 2006, the four were acquitted of unlawful restraint. Other charges against the four were dismissed for lack of evidence.[1]
Host Joey Greco was once stabbed during filming of an episode. He recovered and came back to the show shortly afterwards. Jack E. Jett, served as a fill-in host briefly after the Greco stabbing incident, and several episodes were filmed where Greco hosted, but other personnel led confrontations. The stabbing incident was ranked number two by the E network's "101 Craziest TV Moments" program.
In another incident (shown in the DVD release The Best of Cheaters 4), Greco and his team are attacked by a man firing a "semi-automatic" paint ball gun.
On one episode of Cheaters, Joey Greco was arrested at the scene of a bachelorette party while helping a man confront his cheating fiance. After Joey Greco explained the situation to the police, he was given a long talk about disturbing the peace, and released with no charges.
Cheaters has been parodied by Finnish rock band Happoradio in their music video "Tavikset".
As of October 2006, Cheaters has started airing its seventh season of first-run episodes.
