Television series
Facejacker
- Comedy
- Light-hearted
Kayvan Novak transforms himself into absurd characters to prank real people on the street—a master of improvisation hiding behind prosthetics, accents and sheer audacity. It's cringe comedy at its most committed, where the humour comes from watching ordinary folk process something genuinely baffling. Hilarious if you love awkwardness; exhausting if you don't.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy cringe comedy built on social awkwardness, where a single bad lie spirals while the people around it stay painfully believable and the laughs come from discomfort.
Skip it if you want a brisk, plot-driven sitcom; its discomfort-based humour can feel thin, and the awkward silences may outstay their welcome across the run.
What it asks of you: Eleven short episodes of around half an hour each, with a slow build and long beats of squirming; it rewards patience more than quick laughs.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan2006
Sacha Baron Cohen's feature-length prank odyssey across America. Like Facejacker but with a feature film's resources and stakes, building to moments of genuine social commentary wrapped in absurdity.
But The pranks sometimes feel mean-spirited, and the shock-value humour has aged unevenly. Long stretches rely on discomfort rather than actual jokes.
Trigger Happy TV2000
Dom Joly's sketch-prank show where he ambushes the public with bizarre setups. The spiritual ancestor of Facejacker—looser, more anarchic, pure chaos masquerading as comedy.
But Very much of its era. The camera work is shaky, the editing is chaotic, and some pranks just land with a thud rather than a laugh.
Nathan for You2013
Nathan Fielding poses as a business consultant to help struggling shops with deliberately terrible advice, all deadpan. Shares Facejacker's commitment to character and ability to milk awkwardness into something brilliant.
But Slower-paced and relies on your patience with extended scenes of quiet discomfort. Not as immediately punchy as Facejacker.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Facejacker
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Singing Detective1986
Both explore identity as a disguise: Facejacker uses it for pranks, The Singing Detective uses it as survival.
Dennis Potter's miniseries where a bedridden detective imagines himself into noir fantasies. Like Facejacker, it's about performance and transformation, but here it's interior: a man disappearing into invented selves to escape unbearable reality.
But Dense, slow, emotionally heavy. Very 1980s BBC with no laughs—Facejacker's anarchic energy is the opposite of this's measured psychological weight.
More like this (7)
Jackass Forever2022
Physical stunts and pranks by a crew that genuinely doesn't care who gets hurt (mostly themselves). Raw energy and commitment to the bit that echoes through all prank comedy that came after.
But Juvenile, repetitive, and the humour is often just someone getting kicked in the groin. Harder to watch as actual entertainment rather than spectacle.
The IT Crowd2006
British cringe comedy about three misfits in a basement office. Different beast from Facejacker but same era of UK comedy that embraced discomfort as the primary fuel.
But Relies heavily on the same jokes repeating (the laugh track doesn't help). The characters' awfulness can wear thin.
Brass Eye1997
Chris Morris's mockumentary current affairs show that pranks the media rather than the public. Sharper, more satirical than Facejacker, with real targets in power rather than ordinary confused people.
But Dense, dark, and the satire doesn't always land cleanly. Some pranks are genuinely unpleasant and the point isn't always clear.
Curb Your Enthusiasm2000
Larry David improvising his way through social awkwardness without a script. Similar commitment to uncomfortable moments played for comedy, though here the protagonist is the problem.
But Larry is aggressively unlikeable and the show's humour depends on that. Not everyone finds that funny rather than just exhausting.
Fonejacker2007
Kayvan Novak's earlier show doing prank calls with characters instead of street pranks. Direct precursor to Facejacker, same performer, different medium—rougher but fresher.
But Audio-only pranks lack the visual payoff of watching real reactions. Some calls drag without going anywhere.
Little Britain2003
David Walliams and Matt Lucas doing character sketch comedy with a focus on the awkward. British comedy of the same era and sensibility as Facejacker.
But Heavily reliant on catchphrases and repetition. Humour hasn't dated well and some sketches feel mean-spirited in retrospect.
To Be and to Have2002
Both are fascinated by how people behave when they're being watched, but one uses deception and the other complete honesty.
A documentary set in a one-room rural French schoolhouse following a year of teaching. Real people being themselves without knowing what's being captured—the inverse of Facejacker's fabrication.
But Extremely slow, observational documentary with no narrative arc. If you need things to happen quickly or jokes to land, this will feel like watching paint dry.
