MTV Kutcher to turn hidden camera on the masses

'You've Got a Friend' is based on a similar British show.
ZAP2IT.COM
Having mastered the art of playing pranks on famous people, "Punk'd" mastermind Ashton Kutcher is now setting his sights on the masses.
Kutcher and producing partner Jason Goldberg will unleash a new hidden-camera show called "You've Got a Friend" on MTV on Oct. 24. It will join the "Sunday Stew" lineup that also features new episodes of "Pimp My Ride" and "Viva La Bam."
In announcing the show, MTV is playing coy with what actually happens on "You've Got a Friend." Part of the network's press release reads thusly: "(W)hen asked, the elusive Kutcher simply stated, 'For $15,000, would you give the creators of "Punk'd" 48 hours of your time to mess with your life?"'
Lois Curren, head of MTV Series Entertainment, extends the ruse by saying that "Ashton assures me that 'You've Got A Friend' will take messing with people's heads to a new level."
Inspiration
"You've Got a Friend" is based on a British show called "My New Best Friend," which originally aired on Channel 4 in the U.K. Having no need for fake secrecy, Channel 4 describes its show this way:
"Could you pass off a complete stranger as your new best friend for one weekend? Six competitors tried to do just that. ... But it wasn't easy. Their so-called 'friend' was really an undercover actor hell-bent on causing as much mayhem as possible. His sole aim was to irritate, infuriate and exasperate them into giving the game away."
MTV described its own show similarly when it ordered the "Friend" pilot in January.
The announcement of "You've Got a Friend" follows news reports that MTV has also ordered three more seasons of "Punk'd."