You may not know his name, but if you’re familiar with Netflix’s horror-comedy reality show Prank Encounters, or maybe even other crazy and hilarious prank shows on TV from the past, you definitely know his face. David Storrs (“Scare Pewdiepie“) appears in every single episode of Encounters‘ inaugural season, and you’ll see him a lot in Season 2 as well.
Not only does he appear in every episode, he also works behind the scenes as one of the writers and producers of the show. In an exclusive interview with PopWire, the man of many hats — and even many more disguises — takes us behind the scenes and reveals why Prank Encounters really is the most elaborate hidden camera prank show ever devised.
One of the reasons why we love this series so much is the build up. Unlike scare pranks that go straight to the scares, Encounters is a slow burn — taking its time before the big payoff at the end. Each episode has a different story, and the targets, or “marks” (the ones getting pranked), as they call them, are introduced into the scenarios that start off very innocent.
Very slowly, with convincing storytelling from all of the actors, the “marks” start to feel a little uneasy. Finally at the end, everything gets out of control and the “marks” get absolutely terrified, which is so much fun to watch!
Coming up with the stories for each episode is a very collaborative process for the writing team. “When a bit is written, it starts with a pitch by one of the writers, usually with a broad story in one of the sci/fi themes,” Storrs tells us. “For me when I pitch, I think about the end prank and then work backwards. Because PE is a brand new idea and longer form – we spend a lot of time talking about the smaller “scares” building up to the ending.”
He explains the reasoning for the slow build up is twofold: One for the audience’s entertainment (Editors Note: The show’s establishing shots are shot BEAUTIFULLY) and the other is so that their “marks” won’t bolt away too soon, causing production to halt, reset, and start all over with a new “mark.”
Within each story — which Storrs says typically involves aliens, creatures, or psycho and supernatural elements — there are very interesting characters at play. It’s very fun to see the same group of actors playing different characters each episode. Out of all the many characters in the many different scenarios, however, David likes playing the normal ones, and calls the experience enjoyable.
“I get to befriend these “marks” and sort of be like a tour guide for them – guiding them through the story, making sure they are seeing and understanding the things we need them to – to get to the final prank,” he says. “Being one of the writer/producers helps because I know the prank so well – if a “mark” doesn’t understand something we need them to, I won’t leave that moment until they do.”
As for the terrifying characters, he’ll leave those for his co-stars, Henry Dittman and Sven Holmberg. “Henry and Sven are so, so good at what they do. They are the true rock stars of Prank Encounters. They really walk the line of believable and heightened crazy characters – getting the “marks” to have those great reactions.”
The reactions are doubled on the Netflix series due to each episode/scenario having not one, but two “marks.” It’s one of the elements that make the show unique — and it’s all thanks to series creator Kevin Healey. “[Kevin’s] always innovating and pushing the envelope,” says Storrs.
Having two unsuspecting strangers in one episode, however, can be a bit difficult for the team during the planning stages. “It’s challenging because you have to think about the story for each “mark” and try and give them each a piece of the story, but not enough, so when they finally encounter, they can collaborate and piece together the entire story.”
The two start off separated, but when they finally encounter each other — the show very awesomely uses the term “collide” — that’s when the real magic happens. “They start to engage – [and] for some reason – cements the reality so much more,” Storrs explains.
“It adds an element of unpredictability,” he adds. “What they say and how they react – allows us to take the prank in an entirely new direction.” In fact, in one of the episodes, one of the “marks” does say that he believed the whole situation because he could tell the other was genuinely freaking out!
Sometimes the scenarios get too scary for some, and because the reality nature of PE and its unpredictability, there are some instances where things do not go as planned. “We’ve also had “marks” run out of the house, where we almost lost the bit,” Storrs says, referencing an episode from Season 1, “but were able to convince them to come back in. But that’s hidden camera – and dealing with the unknown. You have to have a back up to a back up plan – and our segment producers are the best in the business at supporting us when things go wrong.”
There is so much in store for Season 2 — so if you loved the first season, or even just prank shows in general, you’re definitely going to want to tune in. “We’ve got some amazing cool, new pranks with explosions, monsters, spiders, car crashes and ghosts…” Storrs reveals. “We even have a continuation story from the first season. Don’t tell Gaten this, but I think he had even more fun than he did on Season 1.”
*Stay tuned for more from our interview with David Storrs.
Prank Encounters Season 2 is now available to stream on Netflix.