O.J. Simpson’s Forgotten Prank Show Wanted To Be the Next ‘Punk’d’ — Until It Took a Dark, Unforgivable Turn

What if the punchline to your worst nightmare was O.J. Simpson leaping out from behind a bush, cackling that you’d been pranked? That was the twisted premise behind Juiced, the long-forgotten hidden camera show that attempted to launch Simpson into the Ashton Kutcher-style prankster hall of fame. Instead, it became one of the most baffling and deeply disturbing misfires in reality TV history.

Airing in the early aughts, Juiced wanted to ride the coattails of Punk’d, mixing hidden cameras, outlandish scenarios, and celebrity shock value. But this was no innocent gag reel. With O.J. at the helm, the series veered from offbeat to outright chilling, featuring uncomfortable references to the murders he was acquitted of and pranks that felt more like psychological warfare than comedy. Juiced wasn’t just unfunny, it was unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.

Seriously — How Did ‘Juiced’ Get Made?

O.J., who famously starred in slapstick films like The Naked Gun series, wanted to return to his comedic roots with Juiced, but clearly that ship had sailed. The premise was simple, as most prank shows are: they find unsuspecting people, play a prank on them, and the host jumps out of nowhere along with a camera crew filming the entire crash-out. It worked wonders for Kutcher, whose Punk’d became a breakout hit in 2003, turning him from a lovable sitcom guy into a major force in Young Hollywood.

A year later, Juiced quietly debuted with almost no fanfare. O.J. teamed up with the creators of Bum Fights and Backyard Wrestling, which should tell you everything about the tone he was going for. The show followed the typical prank format, but O.J. added his own disturbing twist: frequent jokes about his murder trial. In several bits, he pretended to stab people—despite famously denying any involvement in the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. While O.J. seemed to think it was comedy gold, audiences mostly found it tone-deaf and unsettling. One skit even had him trying to sell his infamous white Bronco. Shockingly, that didn’t land either.

Maybe There Is Such a Thing as Bad PR…

For obvious reasons, the show never took off, but his sidekick Harmon Leon from the show eventually spoke out in an essay 10 years after it aired. Harmon saw a listing on Craigslist looking for a sidekick on a prank show, but he had no idea the show would be starring O.J. himself. Harmon was briefed by producers that he wasn’t allowed to mention the murders, meanwhile, O.J. could not stop mentioning the stabbing. O.J. buddied up to him rather quickly, nicknaming him “Crazy Boy” for reasons unknown. However, tensions rose when O.J. noticed his then-girlfriend lightly flirting with Harmon, an interaction that reportedly didn’t sit well with him, given his well-known history with jealousy.

Harmon also said that O.J. would sit in his trailer, binge-watching Court TV, screaming at the television about the ongoing Scott Peterson trial. He alienated the producers and the crew by making endless jokes about his trial, all while having zero charisma on camera as a prankster due to his complete lack of humor and anger issues. According to Harmon, producers plied him with alcohol to make him more amenable, and that actually did the trick.

Shockingly, many targets of the show’s pranks were excited to meet O.J. Children were excited to encounter a celebrity, a bunch of female dancers cozied up to him for a photo, and tourists swarmed filming so that they could rub elbows with America’s most famous acquitted murderer. Harmon recalled one little boy getting the opportunity to rap for O.J., exclaiming to his friends, “Oh, my God! This is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me!…I just rapped for OJ! That’s as big as it gets!” Bone chilling.

The early 2000’s is truly one of the most grotesque eras for reality television, to the point where Juiced hardly seems that offensive compared to shows from that era like The CW’s High Society or Dance Moms. Thankfully, Juiced never got a second season. There are DVDs of the show floating around online, and some thrift stores probably still have the free “Juiced” t-shirts that producers would gift people after O.J. had pranked them.