In the spirit of April Fool’s Day, we thought we’d take a look at some of the best pranks on TV.
Some of these took a lot of time and planning, but the payoff in the end was well worth the effort!
These pranks are funny and creative, and they just might give you a few ideas for your next target.
So check out our list of 15 TV pranks and remember to watch your back this April Fool’s Day!
The Office
It’s impressive Jim managed to actually sell any paper at Dunder Mifflin considering how much time and effort he put into pranking Dwight! It’s impossible to pick a favorite, but some of the standouts include the wrapping paper desk, the stapler in jello, and the personal items in the vending machine. There was no telling what Jim would come up with next!
The Simpsons
Bart has made countless hilarious prank calls to Moe over the years, and poor Moe falls for it every time! Some of the best fake names Bart has made him say include “Al Coholic,” “Hugh Jass,” and “Anita Bath.”
The Big Bang Theory
Howard has taken all kinds of abuse from Sheldon, but he got his revenge in the best way possible with his hilarious fake heart attack. Sheldon thought he was the one doing the pranking, planning to shock him with a handshake. But, Howard then falls to the ground and Bernadette exclaims he has a heart condition. She makes Sheldon stab him with a fake adrenaline needle. This time, the “bazinga” was on Sheldon!
Castle
Kate and the boys pulled off a fantastic, “Rear Window” esque prank on Castle when he’s laid up with a broken leg. They manage to convince him there is a murderer across the street, to the point where Kate goes over there to check it out. Castle sees her get attacked from the window, and that’s when it is revealed to be a suprise birthday party! Castle seems upset for a second at thinking Kate was going to die, but then proclaims the prank to be the best birthday present ever.
Parks and Recreation
When Ben starts his job as city manager, he’s a little uptight, even for him. Donna, April, and Andy decide he needs to loosen up a bit, and the best way to do that is to prank him! They get him fake arrested, and then Andy agrees to help Ben prank them back. The problem is, Ben is a terrible prankster, and he just winds up getting fake blood on everyone.
Teen Wolf
It’s tradition to prank Coach Finstock the day before Halloween, which also happens to be his birthday. When he finds a box on the desk in his office, he pokes at it with a lacrosse stick, suspicious of a prank. When nothing happens, he opens the box, finding screws. When he lifts it, all of his pictures come crashing down because the screws have been removed. He’s angry and runs into his classroom, finding another box on his desk. Thinking it’s another prank, he throws it down and stomps on it, only to discover that it was a coffee mug for his birthday.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The gang managed to come up with quite an elaborate scheme to prank Dee, and they got her good! They tricked her into thinking she was becoming a famous stand-up comedian, even going so far as to fly her around Philadelphia for six hours when she thought she was going to L.A.
Supernatural
The prank war is on between the brothers! Sam rigs Dean’s car to play salsa music, Dean puts itching powder in Sam’s underwear, and Sam puts superglue on Dean’s beer bottle. These guys really know how to mess with each other.
The West Wing
Even the White House staffers know how to have a little fun with each other. CJ and Charlie engage in an all out prank war. CJ hides Charlie’s copy of the President’s schedule and Charlie superglues her phone and sawed off the legs of her desk. Who knows how long it would have gone on if Toby hadn’t made them stop.
Friends
When Ross annoys him, Chandler decides to write “Ross has sex with dinosaurs” on his newly created page for their alumni site. Ross then creates a page for Chandler claiming that he’s gay. Chandler ups the ante by posting that Ross is dead after being hit by a blimp. The whole thing leads to a fake memorial service and only two people show up. It would be sad, except that one of them is a hot girl that had a crush on Ross.
New Girl
Winston’s pranks may not actually be perfectly executed, but he gets credit for trying. He either pranks way too big, like registering Nick as a sex offender, or way too small, like putting a single blueberry in Schmidt’s cereal. If the guy really wants to be known as “Prank Sinatra,” he should work on finding the middle ground.
Black-ish
Dre loves Halloween, especially the family tradition of pranking each other. The twins wet their parents’ bed and Dre pretends to be a chair and grabs Junior, but those were small time compared to the family’s prank on Dre. They try to scare him with a black out and gun shots, but Dre gets the last laugh when he reveals he knew the whole time thanks to a camera in the refridgerator.
Veronica Mars
Logan and Weevil plot revenge against a teacher who gave them detention and made them wash his car. Mr. Daniels notices his car is gone, and is forced to get a ride to the school the next day. He was in for quite the surprise when he got there and found his car impaled on the flagpole!
ER
ER may be categorized as a medical drama, but the show embraced the humorous side of life from the start. In season one, residents Mark and Susan had a little fun at medical student Carter’s expense during a blizzard, encasing his leg in a cast! There were plenty of off screen hijinx too — George Clooney is a well known prankster!
Chicago Fire
Wow, Platt really got her fiance good! She made him choose her nerdy brother as his best man instead of his best friend Herrmann, and that meant he was going to end up with the lamest bachelor party ever. But, when the guys actually arrived, Mouch was surprised with an awesome party! By the end of it, they were all looking pretty rough.
