In 1999, four high school friends, from Staten Island, NY, formed the live improv comedy troupe, The Tenderloins. After a long and successful history, including winning the $100,000 grand prize in the NBC's Its Your Show competition, the group went into television. In 2008, they filmed a pilot episode for a scripted sitcom for Spike TV, but the show did not go to series. TruTV announced the series Impractical Jokers on April 12, 2011, 8 months before the show's debut. One of the show's stars, James Murray, explained how the hidden camera format made sense based on their skills. "We needed to find the right format...thing is, we've been doing this for years, but when it's on camera, the embarrassment is amplified.