Republished from November 12, 2017
After nine seasons on the air, MTV’s Catfish: The TV Show has officially been cancelled. The hit series, which premiered in November 2012, built a massive following over its near-decade run by uncovering online romances gone awry and exposing people who hid their true identities behind screens. In revisiting the show’s earlier days, BGN republishes a November 2017 article that captures the top five episodes during the fifth year anniversary of its broadcast.
On November 12, 2012, two men embarked on a journey to connect people who desired to meet the people they had been interacting with online. One of the men was clearly skeptical about these online relationships. The other, while being discouraged due to his own fake online relationship, was hopeful love could be found. And so Catfish: The TV Show began. For six seasons and five years, the word “catfish” infiltrated our homes and vocabulary, the show itself becoming a hit for MTV in its earlier seasons. Nev and Max acted as modern-day Hardy Boys, but instead of mystery and intrigue they tackled fake profiles and broken webcams. The dynamic duo has heard and seen wild stories throughout the years. And to celebrate the show’s five-year success, lets take a look back at the top 5 episodes of Catfish.
5. Jasmine & Mike (Season 1, Episode 4)
Jasmine, a mother of a 9-month-old, had been chatting online with “Mike” for two years. They had only spoken on the phone twice, and Mike’s supposed “occupation” kept him constantly on the move. But “on the move” turned out to mean “non-existent” — Mike was actually Mhissy, an acquaintance of Jasmine.
In the grand scheme of Catfish reveals, this one was fairly straightforward. But what made the episode unforgettable was Mhissy’s dramatic entrance in a red sweater dress, tossing a rose at Jasmine. It was the first time the tension felt like it might erupt into an actual fistfight between the catfisher and the catfishee. The highlight, though, was watching Nev struggle to break up the confrontation — clearly overwhelmed — much to the amusement of viewers.
4. Colleen & Tony (Season 6, Episode 11)
Colleen is a 20-year-old who met “Tony” on Plenty of Fish, which should already give you a clue about how this story ends. After three months of chatting, and an engagement just one month in, Colleen thought she’d found her rugged, Ryan Gosling–lookalike fiancé. In reality, “Tony” was Jeremy, an awkward Black man with a very different story.
This episode delivers twists right from the start, since Colleen herself isn’t exactly truthful either. What makes it memorable, though, is Jeremy’s insistence on playing the role of the misunderstood outsider: the “Black women don’t like me because I’m different” trope. He claims that because he enjoys golf and sci-fi, he feels rejected by Black women, so he poses online as a white man to attract white women. Of course, the more likely reason women might not be lining up is less about hobbies and more about his entitlement and dishonesty.
3. Lucille & Kidd Cole (Season 3, Episode 4)
Lucille thought she had a big brother–little sister bond with Kidd Cole, a supposed music producer who claimed to be the youngest artist signed to GOOD Music. With help from Cole’s manager Miguel, she went as far as booking hotels, venues, and security for him. But, in true Catfish fashion, it was all a scam. Kidd Cole wasn’t signed to GOOD Music — he was just conning people across the D.C. area.
The standout moment of the episode came when Nev completely lost his patience and hurled Cole’s phone off a bridge. Once the eternal optimist who believed in online love, Nev by this point in the series had grown far more jaded, and this outburst was the first real glimpse of his frustration. Still, nothing beats watching a scammer so committed to the con that they refuse to break character, even when caught red-handed.
2. Keyonnah & Lil Bow Wow (Season 2, Episode 14)
Keyonnah, a self-described “part-time model,” was convinced she was in an online relationship with none other than Bow Wow. Yes, that Bow Wow — Like Mike, Roll Bounce, former So So Def rapper Bow Wow. She even claimed he had sent her $10,000. Naturally, none of it was true. Instead of the rapper, Keyonnah came face-to-face with Dee Pimpin, an aspiring artist who was most definitely not Bow Wow.
What makes this episode so unforgettable is the sheer audacity of Bow Wow being dragged into the storyline without ever knowing it. Dee Pimpin, meanwhile, stands out as one of the more memorable catfishers, especially in her candid explanation of how she “tricks” straight women into believing she’s a man (spoiler: sex toys are involved). The absurdity of this faux-celebrity romance elevated the episode into one of the series’ most entertaining entries.
1. Antwane & Tony (Season 3, episode 2)
Antwane carried on a phone-only relationship with “Tony” for three years. Because he was slow to embrace new technology, he never saw a photo of Tony—just trusted the voice on the other end of the line. His cousin Carmen tagged along to help him get answers… only to flip the script and reveal that she had been Tony all along.
This episode is peak Catfish. Antwane’s larger-than-life personality kept things entertaining, but the real shock came when Carmen dropped her voice into an unrecognizable baritone to confess. And, of course, there’s the now-legendary motive for her deception: Antwane once called her a “Fat Ass Kelly Price.” That single insult sparked years of elaborate revenge and gave us one of the wildest, most quoted episodes in the show’s history. For many fans, this isn’t just a standout — it’s the best Catfish episode of all time.
