Explosive Doc Exposes Truth About OJ Simpson’s Forgotten Prank Show, ‘Juiced’
A new ID docuseries is revisiting a nearly forgotten reality TV project involving O.J .Simpson.
O.J. Unseen: Exploitation of Evil examines the making of Juiced, a controversial hidden camera prank show featuring the NFL star turned accused murderer.
ID docuseries examines the making of O.J. Simpson’s reality TV prank show
The spectacularly ill-conceived Juiced is an artifact from a time when reality TV “fused shock value and celebrity culture at any cost.” Airing as a one-time pay-per-view special in 2006, it was part of the same era that brought us the plastic surgery makeover show The Swan, the Playboy Mansion-set The Girls Next Door, and Playing It Straight, a dating show where a woman had to eliminate the male contestants she suspected were gay. But even in a world with those low standards, it’s hard to understand why anyone gave a green light to Juiced.
“There’s no way anybody with half a brain cell thought a show about O.J. Simpson pranking people would be a good idea,” former ESPN anchor Jemele Hill says in the trailer for the ID series, which premieres September 7.
The teaser offers a glimpse of the tasteless antics OJ got up to in the show. At one point, he tried to sell a white Ford Bronco – the same car that was featured in his infamous 1994 slow speed police chase, when he was wanted for questioning in the muder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman.
“It’s kind of a famous car here,” OJ tells a woman. “It’s a Bronco!” he adds with a laugh.
“I made this car famous,” he says to another person. He then signs the vehicle and makes a quip about how it offers “escapability.”
The show was envisaged as a version of Punk’d, the MTV hidden camera series with Ashton Kutcher. The trailer features OJ telling people they’ve been “juiced” – a reference to his nicknamed, “The Juice” – and dressing up as an old man and as Elvis.
“It’s so f*cked up,” a man says in an interview, shaking his head.
‘O.J.: Exploitation of Evil’ explores ethics of bizarre reality TV project
ID’s four-part documentary will look at the “behind-the-scenes ethical and production challenges that derailed [Juiced[ before it ever reached audiences, as well as looking at the “mystery saboteur brought the whole thing crashing down from within.”
O.J. Unseen: Exploitation of Evil features “rare footage, including archival footage of Simpson captured during production, alongside firsthand accounts from those on the front lines of production as they reflect on the boundaries pushed two decades later.”
The series will also feature “revealing interviews with Simpson himself, providing context for how the project was shaped at the time and his endless pursuit of notoriety through entertainment – a fixation that remained with him until his death,” according to ID.
The teaser even hints that OJ might have incriminated himself while filming Juiced.
“The prank show was a front to get OJ’s confession,” someone says.
“You get a few cocktails in this guy and he becomes a chatty Cathy,” another person explains.
“We shouldn’t be talking about this on camera,” Simpson says in behind-the-scenes footage. “You motherf*ckers, be prepared. I know exactly who did it.”
O.J. Unseen: Exploitation Of Evil airs Monday, September 7 and Tuesday, September 8 at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT) on ID, with episodes available to stream on HBO Max.
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