An independent web-based reality show called “Fishtank” is going viral this week, intriguing viewers with its novel “24/7” livestream format.
The show is the brainchild of counterculture comedian Sam Hyde, known for the highly-regarded but short-lived Adult Swim sketch show “Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace,” as well as his speech after a professional boxing KO victory calling out left-wing streamer Hasan Piker.
“Fishtank is a streamer house monitored 24/7 & broadcasted live to the world,” the project’s website states. “All bedrooms have cameras, common spaces are monitored via video and audio surveillance. When the lights go out, the IR comes on. The Fishtank house is always on.”
The show’s eight contestants are vying for a $10,000 prize, and are not allowed to use their phones or leave the building while competing. Text-to-speech donations from viewers are broadcast to the contestants from wall-mounted speakers.
Viewers can also pay to affect the show in various ways, such as turning off all the lights in the house, or sending food and snacks to a contestant of their choice.
The show has already attracted a large amount of attention less than 24 hours after going live.
site peaked at 57k active users 🙂#fishtanklive pic.twitter.com/g08QtUvKIg
— Jason Goldstriker (@wigger) April 19, 2023
Fishtank is the best show I’ve seen in a long time. Strongly recommend getting the Season Pass, only $40 and they’ll send you professionally edited episodes of the show. You can also spend the tokens to fuck with the contestants (turn off the lights, change the temperature, etc.) https://t.co/AXdinjmiiZ
— Mystery Grove Publishing Co. (@MysteryGrove) April 19, 2023
If you do not yet know what Fishtank is, you will soon. pic.twitter.com/TV5pdGpSoT
— EmpLemon⬇🌀👎🔁📉♻🆘 (@EmperorLemon) April 19, 2023
Is there anyone funnier than Sam Hyde in 2023? pic.twitter.com/5Qg2IlItGf
— A Very Serious Place (@SeriousPIace) April 13, 2023
Fishtank is one of several projects Hyde is currently working on. He is also producing an independent sequel to “World Peace,” which was cancelled by Adult Swim after left-wing blogs and liberal content creators complained about the show’s politically incorrect themes.
The original “World Peace” attracted over one million viewers per episode.
Despite being blacklisted from Hollywood, Hyde has found success uploading paywalled content to the site Gumroad, and more recently livestreaming on YouTube.
Fellow Million Dollar Extreme member Nick Rochefort’s “Scuffed Realtor” livestreams, in which he critically appraises real estate listings, have also found great success on YouTube, leading to Hyde’s channel receiving the second-most superchat donations on the platform.
Fishtank has been live since Tuesday April 18, and is scheduled to last 6 weeks.
