{ "id": "ep5t216tnb", "slug": "fishtank-live", "title": "Fishtank Live", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries", "label": "Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2022-2026", "label": "Premiered 2022 to 2026", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2022-2026" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Fishtank Live (fishtank.live) is a 24/7 interactive livestreamed reality competition created by Sam Hyde and Jet Neptune, streaming since April 18, 2023, where viewers pay to prank housebound contestants.", "snippet": "Fishtank Live (fishtank.live) is a 24/7 interactive livestreamed reality competition created by Sam Hyde and Jet Neptune, streaming since April 18, 2023, where viewers pay to prank housebound contestants.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2022-2026", "markdown": "# Fishtank Live\n\n**Fishtank Live** (fishtank.live) is an American 24/7 livestreamed interactive reality competition show in which contestants, called \"fish\", live together in a camera-covered house while viewers watch, pay to interfere, and vote on challenges until one contestant remains. It was created by [Sam Hyde](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-hyde) and Jet Neptune and began streaming on April 18, 2023 on the website fishtank.live.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-fishtank-live-and-where-can-i-watch-it-sam-hydes-online-reality-show-explained) WIRED has described it as \"like Big Brother without any limits, or broadcast standards\".[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | 24/7 live, unedited stream of a \"fully monitored smart house\"; 6 to 10 contestants per season, elimination challenges, last one remaining wins[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/) |\n| First stream | April 18, 2023, on fishtank.live; Season 1 live run ran April 18 to May 30, 2023 (42 days)[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-fishtank-live-and-where-can-i-watch-it-sam-hydes-online-reality-show-explained) • [3](https://fishtanklive.fandom.com/wiki/Fishtank) |\n| Creators | Sam Hyde and Jet Neptune; the brand is owned by Fishnet Inc. (formerly Bigg Topp Productionz LLC)[4](https://next-episode.net/fishtank) • [3](https://fishtanklive.fandom.com/wiki/Fishtank) |\n| Audience interaction | Viewers pay for \"Fishtoys\" (such as changing the heat or removing a bed), send text-to-speech messages through house speakers, and vote on challenges[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-fishtank-live-and-where-can-i-watch-it-sam-hydes-online-reality-show-explained) • [2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/) |\n| Prizes | $10,000 for the Season 1 winner; Season 3 offered $50,000[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-fishtank-live-and-where-can-i-watch-it-sam-hydes-online-reality-show-explained) • [5](https://thetvdb.com/series/fishtank/allseasons/official) |\n| Scale | More than 500,000 people regularly watched the most recent seasons; producers claim the show is worth more than $30 million against a budget under $1 million[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/) |\n| Where watched | The fishtank.live website (Season Pass required for full access) and the streaming platform Kick; edited episodes also appear on YouTube[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/) • [3](https://fishtanklive.fandom.com/wiki/Fishtank) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Seasons\n\nThe Fishtank wiki records the following live runs, each followed weeks or months later by weekly edited episodes:[3](https://fishtanklive.fandom.com/wiki/Fishtank)\n\n| Season | Live run (24/7) | Edited episodes |\n|---|---|---|\n| Season 1 | April 18 – May 30, 2023 (42 days) | October 9 – December 18, 2023 |\n| Season 2 | December 18, 2023 – January 28, 2024 (42 days) | October 13 – 27, 2024; January 24 – May 30, 2025 |\n| Vampire Bloodgames (Season 2.5) | June 25 – July 9, 2024 (14 days) | TBA |\n| Season 3 | October 27 – December 7, 2024 (42 days) | From March 8, 2026 |\n| Season 4 | June 13 – June 30, 2025 (18 days) | None released |\n| Season 5 | March 15 – April 13, 2026 (30 days) | None planned |\n\nSeason 3, subtitled \"Famous House\", isolated 12 strangers in an 8,000 square foot mansion to compete for $50,000 and a place as Jeremy Gold's protégé.[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/fishtank/allseasons/official) Season 4 featured 10 contestants with [Bam Margera](https://www.edgepedia.org/bam-margera), of Jackass, making his debut as host, and was planned as a dark fantasy themed live action role-playing game with returning all-star contestants.[3](https://fishtanklive.fandom.com/wiki/Fishtank) On June 30, 2025, the show was forced to cease production just 18 days into Season 4, with criminal charges threatened in all three counties used in the show's production.[3](https://fishtanklive.fandom.com/wiki/Fishtank) Margera hosted the latest season as well, per WIRED's April 2026 visit to the Season 5 house in Sandy Springs, an Atlanta suburb.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/)\n\nDatabase listings treat the edited episodes as the series proper: TheTVDB lists the first aired episode as October 9, 2023 on YouTube, with an average runtime of 57 minutes and genres of comedy, game show, and reality.[7](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/fishtank)\n\n## Format\n\nFishtank takes place in what its producers call a \"fully monitored smart house\": a suburban home rigged with dozens of CCTV cameras, microphones, and speakers. Each season, between six and 10 contestants move in and face elimination challenges while trying to irritate each other into quitting. The rules are no phones, no weed, and extremely little privacy; only the bathrooms and a closet or two are off camera.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/)\n\nThe show is live and unedited and runs around the clock for weeks. The website is designed to mimic an array of CCTV feeds, with the house divided room by room into a grid covering most of the homepage; viewers enlarge any room and toggle between rooms, effectively editing the show themselves by choosing which feed to watch. Because viewers tune in at different times, no two viewers see the same experience.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/)\n\n**Audience control.** An ad for the show reads, \"You live in the walls. You control the action.\" Viewers vote on popularity-based challenges, send gifts or advantages to the cast, and type messages that blare through the house speakers in real time. In the first season these paid pranks were called \"Fishtoys\" and included turning the heat up or down, removing a contestant's bed, and turning all the lights off.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/) • [1](https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-fishtank-live-and-where-can-i-watch-it-sam-hydes-online-reality-show-explained) The site's terms describe an in-site currency called Tokens used for the streaming service's interactive features.[6](https://backyarddrunkard.com/daily-trends/fishtank-as-seen-on-nyc-clothing-store-reality-show/)\n\nThe casting differs from conventional reality television. According to WIRED, the cast is composed largely of very young, shy loners, many self-described NEETs (\"not in education, employment, or training\"), who found the show online and have usually never been on camera. About half of each season's cast quits before being eliminated, so the daily challenges serve more to break the contestants down mentally than to reorder the house.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/)\n\n## Creators and production\n\nA [Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/connecticut) native, Sam Hyde completed a filmmaking degree at the [Rhode Island School of Design](https://www.edgepedia.org/rhode-island-school-of-design) in 2007; before that, he had made sketches and prank videos under the [Million Dollar Extreme](https://www.edgepedia.org/million-dollar-extreme) name.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/) On the show he plays the host character, listed by TheTVDB as Jason Goldstriker,[7](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/fishtank) though Know Your Meme's guide gives the name as Jonathan Goldstriker.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-fishtank-live-and-where-can-i-watch-it-sam-hydes-online-reality-show-explained)\n\nJet Neptune, Hyde's co-producer, has said he was inspired by the growth of obsessive fandom, which he calls \"invasive, nosy, and gross … normalized stalking enabled by tech\", and wanted to test whether he could redirect that attention toward everyday people in a house where \"every inch is on camera\". He has described the show's appeal as chaos and the catharsis of watching attention-seekers get humiliated, saying \"Their chili is metaphorical. Ours is literal.\"[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/)\n\nThe production team includes Bill Ottman, the show's chief information officer, who founded the social network Minds, known for minimal moderation, and Ben Taylor, Neptune's right-hand man.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/) In January 2026, Fishtank News reported that Hyde had decided to depart as host to focus on The Sam Hyde Show, with the announcement made on a livestream reviewing audition tapes.[8](https://fishtank.news/)\n\n## Business model\n\nFishtank monetizes through a Season Pass, an in-site token economy, and, more recently, corporate sponsorship. The official website keeps all content accessible to Season Pass holders \"without censorship\".[3](https://fishtanklive.fandom.com/wiki/Fishtank) After Season 1's live run, the production company ran a crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder: the first round opened in October 2023 and raised $870,731 by its close the following February, and a second round opened in January 2025 alongside a roadmap promising edited Season 2, Vampire Bloodgames, and Season 3, closing after one month with $495,861 raised.[3](https://fishtanklive.fandom.com/wiki/Fishtank)\n\nFor its first few seasons the show did not seek corporate partners; sponsors now include Sticker Mule and Backyard Butchers, whose beef was used in a \"Smoke-Milk-Meat Challenge\" in which teams smoked three packs of cigarettes, chugged a gallon of milk, and ate several pounds of steak while doing sit-ups. Ottman told WIRED that more companies have been reaching out as Meta and X relax their moderation efforts.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/)\n\n## Reception and controversy\n\nWIRED reported that the show has been driven out of four neighborhoods in three states after neighbors complained about possible zoning law violations, and that contestants have stripped naked, thrown urine at each other, screamed slurs, fistfought, and used what viewers could not tell was crack or meth. Producers, who run the show from the basement, sometimes join the chaos and have been known to strap on boxing gloves and fight contestants.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/)\n\nAt the same time, the show has moved toward the mainstream: WIRED describes it as drawing nearer to the mainstream with each passing day, [Joe Rogan](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-rogan) discussed it on his podcast as differing from conventional reality TV \"only in degree, not in kind\", and tech writer Ryan Broderick places it in an emerging ecosystem he calls \"Chudtech\", interactive sites that monetize humiliation.[2](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/) A fan-run ecosystem has grown around the show, including the Fishtank wiki, the unaffiliated socials directory fishtank.social, and the community news site Fishtank News, which publishes weekly community-sourced updates.[9](https://fishtank.social/about/) • [8](https://fishtank.news/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [What Is 'Fishtank Live' And Where Can I Watch It? Sam Hyde's Online Reality Show Explained, Know Your Meme (Phillip Hamilton, April 20, 2023)](https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-fishtank-live-and-where-can-i-watch-it-sam-hydes-online-reality-show-explained)\n2. [Interactive. Violent. Gross. Inside Fishtank, the Unhinged Future of Reality TV, WIRED (Owen Long, June 17, 2026)](https://www.wired.com/story/interactive-violent-gross-inside-fishtank-the-unhinged-future-of-reality-tv/)\n3. [Fishtank, Fishtanklive Wiki (Fandom)](https://fishtanklive.fandom.com/wiki/Fishtank)\n4. [Fishtank, Next Episode](https://next-episode.net/fishtank)\n5. [Fishtank – Aired Order, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/series/fishtank/allseasons/official)\n6. [Fishtank Turns NYC Clothing Store Into 24/7 Reality Show, Backyard Drunkard](https://backyarddrunkard.com/daily-trends/fishtank-as-seen-on-nyc-clothing-store-reality-show/)\n7. [Fishtank, TheTVDB](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/fishtank)\n8. [Fishtank News, community-sourced updates](https://fishtank.news/)\n9. [What Is Fishtank.social?, Fishtank Social](https://fishtank.social/about/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series › Premiered 2022 to 2026*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/fishtank-live", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/fishtank-live.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Fishtank Live\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/fishtank-live. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Fishtank Live](https://www.edgepedia.org/fishtank-live)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/fishtank-live](https://www.edgepedia.org/fishtank-live). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Fishtank Live\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/fishtank-live. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Fishtank Live is a 24/7 interactive livestreamed reality competition created by Sam Hyde and Jet Neptune, streaming since April 18, 2023, where viewers pay to prank housebound contestants." }