For a show that's been going for over 200 episodes, Impractical Jokers has remained remarkably consistent — but with Impractical Jokers every season is different. Of course, as is often the case with shows like this, the quality can vary wildly. Some segments and episodes are better than others. The reality show follows four pranksters who have been friends since attending high school in Staten Island, New York: Joe Gatto, James Murray (Murr), Brian Quinn (Q), and Sal Vulcano. They've turned their hysterical pranks into a competition, in which each joker has to succeed in following the rules.
Whoever messes up most receives a punishment at the end of the episode. Pranks are always public, garnering hilarious reactions from the civilians involved, and range from seeing how many items one can steal from someone's grocery store cart without them noticing or presenting a presentation to a focus group created by the other joker that the presenters have no knowledge about. Impractical Jokers and its many episodes have remained unbelievably consistent throughout its so-far 10-season run, though there are important differences in terms of quality.
9 Season 7
In terms of Impractical Jokers every season ranked, season seven had some struggles. The seventh season ran throughout 2018 and contained many episodes far below the show's average rating. Two of the worst-received episodes are "Dropping Knowledge" and "Staten Island Holiday Spectacular." The latter is obviously a Christmas special, with the punishment seeing Sal feeding chicken to grizzly bears.
The former is a middling episode with a punishment that sees Murr playing Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and losing various items from his apartment. It's unfortunate, but it seemed like the fun wore off early in season 7, with the Impractical Jokers' ideas for pranks running thin and a fair few bland installments.
8 Season 9
When it comes to Impractical Jokers, every season features the four titular jokers. That changed when Joe Gatto announced mid-season 9 that he was leaving the series to focus on his family and personal life. To make up for his absence, Impractical Jokers saw a slew of celebrity guests from episode 18 onward, such as Eric Andre, David Cross, and Rob Riggle. While it was entertaining to see the celebrity comedians bust out their improvisational chops, it was painfully clear that the group was missing something without Gatto.
Punishments, in particular, took a dive in terms of quality. What started out as a deeply entertaining gimmick in which a member of the group would have to face up to a major fear or encounter public humiliation took on a more physical direction, which cheapened the segment. Soon the boys were facing Jackass-style punishments like Sal having to give a tour with shock collars on his arms and legs. Impractical Jokers season 9 proved that it's really only funny when Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the boys physically abuse each other, and the entire installment felt forced after Gatto's departure.
7 Season 5
Impractical Jokers was going strong throughout season 5, but in terms of Impractical Jokers every season ranked, it didn't quite beat out the rest of the competition. There's some disappointing stuff here, including the lackluster "Nitro Circus Spectacular." This was yet another disappointing season finale that was themed around Nitro Circus and the X-Games.
It's not really in the Jokers' wheelhouse, and watching them do things like swing around on a harness isn't really why audiences tune in. On the other hand, this season contains the iconic "Whose Phone is Ringing?" punishment, which is easily one of the best in the series' history. However, containing one of the most iconic punishments of the series doesn't make up for a slew of other episodes that fell flat.
6 Season 6
In terms of Impractical Jokers, every season is different, but season 6 ranks somewhat in the middle of the road for the show. Season 6 aired throughout 2017 and contains a few classic punishments. These include Q presenting his mural to the town of Dover, Joe, in one of his top Impractical Jokers moments, stealing autographed baseballs from children, and Sal shushing people in a mall for no reason whatsoever.
However, it also contains the lowly-rated "G.I. Jokers," the hour-long season finale meant to honor the troops. It's a weird mixture of pre-recorded challenges and a strange punishment involving Q getting his Jeep "destroyed by a tank." To be fair, none of the Impractical Jokers specials are all that great. However, "G.I. Jokers" kind of dragged down the rest of the season, as closing out an installment with one of the worst episodes is never a good idea.
5 Season 1
While it's not strictly a rule followed by all series, first seasons of TV shows are almost always bad, and a lot of shows contain somewhat shoddy first go-rounds. Shows are still trying to find their "identity" during these earlier incarnations, and the characters/performers need time to settle into their roles. However, in terms of Impractical Jokers every season ranked, season 1 sits surprisingly high.
Impractical Jokers came out the gate running. It's a little "tame" compared to what the jokers are willing to do in later seasons, especially in the punishment department. However, season 1 sees the Jokers at the peak of their talents and was a proper introduction to the hysterical world of Impractical Jokers. It's funny, it's shocking, and, at the time, it was incredibly unique. Unlike many other programs, there's simply no going wrong with season 1.
4 Season 2
Out of Impractical Jokers every season ranked, season 2 seemed to be peak Impractical Jokers. It may seem disconcerting to see the show peak so early, but, really, it's so consistent that even "bad" Impractical Jokers is still great TV. There was a noticeable improvement between seasons 1 and 2, with the jokers willing to take their pranks (and punishments) to greater heights.
The show's second season is historic, complete with many great challenges and punishments. These include Murr explaining off-color art pieces to a disgusted crowd, Sal loudly "watching" porn in a coffee shop, Sal running the No Apology Gauntlet, and both Sal and Joe playing in a terrible band and opening for Imagine Dragons in front of 15,000 people. This season was peak prank creativity.
3 Season 4
Every season has its highs, but season 4 has the most consistent run of hysterical episodes back to back. It's possible that the reality prank show was riding the wave of the incredible third season, but Impractical Jokers season 4 was hard to beat. For starters, the season contains some of the best punishments in the series like Sal judging a kids' talent show, and Joe as Captain Fatbelly.
However, Impractical Jokers season 4's most memorable moment comes in episode 6, "The Blunder Years," which is one of Impractical Jokers' best punishments. The installment sees the gang convince Murr that he is performing at an amateur body-building contest, and manage to get him oiled up and into a speedo. Turns out, there is no competition, and he's forced to interview his childhood crush Danica McKellar from The Wonder Years in the get-up, even forced to "show off his muscles" at one point.
2 Season 3
Coming in second place on Impractical Jokers every season ranked is the show's third season, which again sees the Jokers at the absolute top of their games. Season 3 contains the oft-maligned Father's Day special, which is fans' least favorite episode of the season. But, aside from that, every episode of season 3 is an absolute winner.
Especially "The Permanent Punishment," an iconic episode that sees three of the Jokers receiving embarrassing tattoos. Q gets one saying "38. Lives alone. Has 3 cats," Murr gets a skydiving ferret in honor of his memorable punishment, and Sal gets movie actor Jaden Smith's face tattooed on him for seemingly no reason whatsoever. The Jaden Smith tattoo is frequently brought up throughout the rest of the show, with Sal being forced to get a second Jaden Smith tattoo in the Impractical Jokers movie, proving season 3's longevity.
1 Season 8
After season 7 made some mistakes, Impractical Jokers had the comeback of all comebacks, surprising audiences with the quality and laughs that season 8 brought. In terms of Impractical Jokers every season ranked, season 8 turned out to be the best. It's clear that the jokers got their groove back going into season 8, seeing incredibly inventive and original pranks, hysterical punishments, and tons of laughs.
The season definitively features some of the best punishments, but Murr in particular faces the most abuse. In "The Closer," he is forced to close random café patrons' laptops until they tell him to stop. In "Sucks For You," he poses as scientist Dr. Dexter Scott and must give a speech at a tech conference, where he alternately inhales helium or sulfur hexafluoride at the other joker's whims to either deepen or make his voice higher at any given time. All in all, season 8 proved that Impractical Jokers is on television for the long haul if they can get Joe Gatto back.