Cheaters
Encyclopedia
Cheaters is a weekly syndicated hidden camera
reality television series that documents people who are suspected of committing adultery
, or cheating, on their partners. Investigations are headed by the "Cheaters Detective Agency". The show is hosted by Joey Greco
, the show airs on Saturday nights on The CW Plus
and also airs on G4TV
. The CW Plus airs two episodes: one one-hour long episode followed by one-thirty minute episode. A short 10-minute version of the show called Cheaters: Amazing Confrontations is available through on-demand services.
This has been rated TV-14 according to the TV guidances of the USA due to strong language, sexual, and potentially violent situations. However, all uncensored pay-per-view episodes of Cheaters are rated TV-MA.
around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
as well as, to a lesser extent, the Greater Houston
area. As of Late September 2011, Cheaters has started airing its twelfth season of first-run episodes. A typical 30-minute Cheaters episode depicts a single complainant's case. A weekend edition of the show is also available, which runs 60 minutes and includes two separate cases.
The show's complainants can be either married or long-term significant other
s, and have included both opposite-sex and same-sex couples. It begins with a brief interview of the complainant, detailing how the complainant met their partner and what has led them to believe that the partner is cheating. Next, narrator Robert Magruder describes the progress of the investigation of the partner (referred to as "the suspect" during the episode), including surveillance footage of the suspect's actions with their alleged paramour (dubbed "the companion") recorded by the show's private investigators.
When the investigation turns up enough evidence of the suspect's infidelity, the show enters its second segment, "the confrontation." The host meets with the complainant and shows them the evidence that has been collected; graphic footage from the investigators—for example, the suspect and their companion engaged in a sexual act—is shown uncensored to the complainant but is shown digitally blurred during the episode. This meeting takes place at a time when the suspect and their companion are being observed together elsewhere; the intent is to allow the complainant to catch the suspect in the act of infidelity. The host, the complainant, and a large group of camera and sound operators, drivers and bodyguards seek out and confront the alleged cheater. The confrontation often takes place in public, with the complainant and host both attempting to get an explanation out of the suspect for their behavior. Such encounters generally include verbal arguments and, occasionally, violence between the parties; the show's bodyguards are on-hand to protect any party to the confrontation.
The final segment, "the conclusion," presents parting thoughts from the complainant, the suspect and their companion as they depart the scene of the confrontation. Next, updates from previous cases, including interviews from suspects and their companions, are presented. Lastly, the narrator describes what became of the complainant, the suspect and the companion after the show.
, 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. Later, Habeeb settled the dispute out of court and now hosts pay-per-view
specials of raw Cheaters footage under a different name and often nudity plays a part.
2004 brought syndication reruns of previous seasons, edited into a half-hour Monday-through-Friday strip format with new intros by Joey Greco
as host. In 2006, G4
began showing the strip version with faster-paced editing and music due to complaints that the show seemed boring and contrived, as well as a different voiceover artist, for weekly airings on its Midnight Spank
block. Since December 9, 2009, G4 has now moved this show to the new "Junk Food TV" block.
tracked down several individuals who said they were paid $400 per show by one of the detectives of the agency to act on the show, and were paid $50 per referral to refer other actors. One performer was quoted saying, "What [the show's private detective] told me was that some of the episodes are real, but... they would do these ringer episodes to supplement the show." The show's private investigator denies that he staged anyone's scenario and further added that he does not need to do so based on the number of inquiries the agency receives. The producers of Cheaters currently have a legal disclaimer at the end of each episode, reiterating the reality of the show, though a Federal Communications Commission
representative confirmed to the Houston Press
that, "there's no law or regulation against presenting acted-out scenarios as reality on television."
On December 16, 2005, four employees of the show were indicted on charges of restraining a woman. The charges were against the host Joey Greco
, director Hunter Carson
and two security guard
s. On November 9, 2006, the four were acquitted. In another episode, Greco was detained at the scene of a bachelor party while helping a man confront his cheating fiancée. After Greco explained the situation about the couple to police, he was given a short talk about disturbing the peace and released with his copy of a written warning.
On November 3, 2009, Inside Edition
ran a news story reiterating the claim that the show was staged, citing several additional actors that said they were paid to appear on the show. One of them appeared in the Greco stabbing episode and claimed that it was staged. Despite the episode depicting a male being placed under arrest for stabbing Greco, Inside Edition found that no actual arrest matching that description was made by the Rowlett, Texas police department, where the episode took place. Physician–patient privilege would prevent the hospital that treated Greco from releasing records to Inside Edition. Nothing prevents the producers of Cheaters from voluntarily displaying the records, yet they have not done so. Despite the lack of records, Goldstein denied in an interview that the episode was staged. A follow-up on the story, which aired on Inside Edition the following week (November 9, 2009), showed Joey Greco being interviewed by investigative reporter Matt Meagher about the accusations in the earlier report. Greco declined to respond to Meagher's questions, citing that he cannot legally comment further on the incidents.
On August 8, 2010 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission press release reports that Bobby Goldstein Productions, Inc., and Cheaters II, Ltd. (Civil Action No. 3:08-CV-1912-P) paid $50,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. The suit was brought on the behalf of two female office assistants who were the target of frequent sexual jokes and comments, unwanted physical advances, and propositions for sex. The alleged perpetrators included members of upper management. Says attorney Robert A. Canino, a regional attorney from the EEOC Dallas District Office, “[j]ust because the creator of Cheaters promotes a TV show business which thrives on featuring sexual transgressions, it is no justification for engaging in sexual improprieties which violate the employment rights of his female employees behind the scenes.”
served as a fill-in host briefly after the stabbing incident (and hosted the episode with the incident itself), and several episodes were recorded where Greco hosted, but other personnel led confrontations. The stabbing incident was later replayed when Greco appeared on The Maury Povich Show, and was ranked #2 by E! Entertainment's
101 Craziest TV Moments program. During other episodes Greco and his team have been attacked by angry suspects brandishing unusual weapons, including a semi-automatic paintball
gun, a replica katana
and even a weed whacker.
of Canada has released several best-of collections of Cheaters on DVD in Region 1
.
Hidden camera
A hidden camera is a still or video camera used to film people without their knowledge. The camera is "hidden" because it is either not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another object...
reality television series that documents people who are suspected of committing adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
, or cheating, on their partners. Investigations are headed by the "Cheaters Detective Agency". The show is hosted by Joey Greco
Joey Greco
Joel S.Greco or better known by his stage name Joey Greco in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American television personality, perhaps best known for hosting the reality TV show Cheaters. Greco was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in the Bronx, New York...
, the show airs on Saturday nights on The CW Plus
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
and also airs on G4TV
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
. The CW Plus airs two episodes: one one-hour long episode followed by one-thirty minute episode. A short 10-minute version of the show called Cheaters: Amazing Confrontations is available through on-demand services.
This has been rated TV-14 according to the TV guidances of the USA due to strong language, sexual, and potentially violent situations. However, all uncensored pay-per-view episodes of Cheaters are rated TV-MA.
Episode structure
The show is taped mostly in North TexasNorth Texas
North Texas is a distinct cultural and geographic area forming the central-northeastern section of the U.S. state of Texas. North Texas is generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, and north of Waco...
around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...
as well as, to a lesser extent, the Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
area. As of Late September 2011, Cheaters has started airing its twelfth season of first-run episodes. A typical 30-minute Cheaters episode depicts a single complainant's case. A weekend edition of the show is also available, which runs 60 minutes and includes two separate cases.
The show's complainants can be either married or long-term significant other
Significant other
Significant other is colloquially used as a gender-blind term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming anything about marital status, relationship status, or sexual orientation, as it is vague enough to avoid offense by using a term that an individual...
s, and have included both opposite-sex and same-sex couples. It begins with a brief interview of the complainant, detailing how the complainant met their partner and what has led them to believe that the partner is cheating. Next, narrator Robert Magruder describes the progress of the investigation of the partner (referred to as "the suspect" during the episode), including surveillance footage of the suspect's actions with their alleged paramour (dubbed "the companion") recorded by the show's private investigators.
When the investigation turns up enough evidence of the suspect's infidelity, the show enters its second segment, "the confrontation." The host meets with the complainant and shows them the evidence that has been collected; graphic footage from the investigators—for example, the suspect and their companion engaged in a sexual act—is shown uncensored to the complainant but is shown digitally blurred during the episode. This meeting takes place at a time when the suspect and their companion are being observed together elsewhere; the intent is to allow the complainant to catch the suspect in the act of infidelity. The host, the complainant, and a large group of camera and sound operators, drivers and bodyguards seek out and confront the alleged cheater. The confrontation often takes place in public, with the complainant and host both attempting to get an explanation out of the suspect for their behavior. Such encounters generally include verbal arguments and, occasionally, violence between the parties; the show's bodyguards are on-hand to protect any party to the confrontation.
The final segment, "the conclusion," presents parting thoughts from the complainant, the suspect and their companion as they depart the scene of the confrontation. Next, updates from previous cases, including interviews from suspects and their companions, are presented. Lastly, the narrator describes what became of the complainant, the suspect and the companion after the show.
History
The show, created by Bobby Goldstein, an attorney in Dallas, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, made its debut in 2000. Until early 2003, the show was hosted by one of its co-producers, Tommy Habeeb
Tommy Habeeb
Thomas L. Habeeb is an American television host best known for hosting the reality TV show Cheaters, billing himself as "Tommy Grand". He hosts uncensored pay-per-view specials of Cheaters on Events iN Demand. He is host and executive producer of reality show STAG, which airs on Events iN...
, who used the screen name Tommy Grand. Habeeb left the show due to a dispute with the production company. Later, Habeeb settled the dispute out of court and now hosts pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
specials of raw Cheaters footage under a different name and often nudity plays a part.
2004 brought syndication reruns of previous seasons, edited into a half-hour Monday-through-Friday strip format with new intros by Joey Greco
Joey Greco
Joel S.Greco or better known by his stage name Joey Greco in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American television personality, perhaps best known for hosting the reality TV show Cheaters. Greco was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in the Bronx, New York...
as host. In 2006, G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
began showing the strip version with faster-paced editing and music due to complaints that the show seemed boring and contrived, as well as a different voiceover artist, for weekly airings on its Midnight Spank
Midnight Spank
Midnight Spank was the former name of a late-night block shown on G4. This block was originally based on G4's recent venture to Williams Street Studios, pioneers of the Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network. G4 Late Nights was made originally to offer the similar content like that of Adult Swim...
block. Since December 9, 2009, G4 has now moved this show to the new "Junk Food TV" block.
Controversy
In 2002, the Houston PressHouston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
tracked down several individuals who said they were paid $400 per show by one of the detectives of the agency to act on the show, and were paid $50 per referral to refer other actors. One performer was quoted saying, "What [the show's private detective] told me was that some of the episodes are real, but... they would do these ringer episodes to supplement the show." The show's private investigator denies that he staged anyone's scenario and further added that he does not need to do so based on the number of inquiries the agency receives. The producers of Cheaters currently have a legal disclaimer at the end of each episode, reiterating the reality of the show, though a Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
representative confirmed to the Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
that, "there's no law or regulation against presenting acted-out scenarios as reality on television."
On December 16, 2005, four employees of the show were indicted on charges of restraining a woman. The charges were against the host Joey Greco
Joey Greco
Joel S.Greco or better known by his stage name Joey Greco in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American television personality, perhaps best known for hosting the reality TV show Cheaters. Greco was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in the Bronx, New York...
, director Hunter Carson
Hunter Carson
Hunter Carson is an American actor, screenwriter, producer and director.Carson was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Karen Black and actor, producer, screenwriter and director L. M. Kit Carson. He is stepson of Stephen Eckelberry and stepbrother of Celine Eckelberry, Stephen's...
and two security guard
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
s. On November 9, 2006, the four were acquitted. In another episode, Greco was detained at the scene of a bachelor party while helping a man confront his cheating fiancée. After Greco explained the situation about the couple to police, he was given a short talk about disturbing the peace and released with his copy of a written warning.
On November 3, 2009, Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
ran a news story reiterating the claim that the show was staged, citing several additional actors that said they were paid to appear on the show. One of them appeared in the Greco stabbing episode and claimed that it was staged. Despite the episode depicting a male being placed under arrest for stabbing Greco, Inside Edition found that no actual arrest matching that description was made by the Rowlett, Texas police department, where the episode took place. Physician–patient privilege would prevent the hospital that treated Greco from releasing records to Inside Edition. Nothing prevents the producers of Cheaters from voluntarily displaying the records, yet they have not done so. Despite the lack of records, Goldstein denied in an interview that the episode was staged. A follow-up on the story, which aired on Inside Edition the following week (November 9, 2009), showed Joey Greco being interviewed by investigative reporter Matt Meagher about the accusations in the earlier report. Greco declined to respond to Meagher's questions, citing that he cannot legally comment further on the incidents.
On August 8, 2010 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission press release reports that Bobby Goldstein Productions, Inc., and Cheaters II, Ltd. (Civil Action No. 3:08-CV-1912-P) paid $50,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. The suit was brought on the behalf of two female office assistants who were the target of frequent sexual jokes and comments, unwanted physical advances, and propositions for sex. The alleged perpetrators included members of upper management. Says attorney Robert A. Canino, a regional attorney from the EEOC Dallas District Office, “[j]ust because the creator of Cheaters promotes a TV show business which thrives on featuring sexual transgressions, it is no justification for engaging in sexual improprieties which violate the employment rights of his female employees behind the scenes.”
Bizarre moments
The show's cameras have captured a number of unusual incidents. In one of the most cited examples, host Joey Greco was stabbed by an angry suspect who was confronted on a boat. Greco recovered and came back to the show shortly afterwards. Jack E. JettJack E. Jett
Jack E. Jett is the first openly gay American talk show host.- Early life and career :Jack E. Jett grew up in Dallas, Texas and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 21. He held various jobs in the entertainment industry while in Los Angeles; among them, he was the Talent Agency Representative for...
served as a fill-in host briefly after the stabbing incident (and hosted the episode with the incident itself), and several episodes were recorded where Greco hosted, but other personnel led confrontations. The stabbing incident was later replayed when Greco appeared on The Maury Povich Show, and was ranked #2 by E! Entertainment's
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
101 Craziest TV Moments program. During other episodes Greco and his team have been attacked by angry suspects brandishing unusual weapons, including a semi-automatic paintball
Paintball
Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...
gun, a replica katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
and even a weed whacker.
DVD releases
Visual EntertainmentVisual Entertainment
Visual Entertainment Inc. is a home video/television distribution company that is based in Toronto, Ontario Canada. It is an independent label but has managed to release quite a few well-known TV series on DVD.-Children:* The Big Adventure Series...
of Canada has released several best-of collections of Cheaters on DVD in Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
.
Cheaters Spy Shop
In late September 2011, Cheaters Spy Shop was launched and promoted in the new episodes beginning with Season 12. The online store sells many items private investigators use, like hidden cameras and GPS trackers.In other media
- Some people have unexpectedly captured Cheaters confrontations in public places through their video cameras and uploaded them to a video sharingVideo hosting serviceA video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video...
websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
such as YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.