'Stranger Things' Star Gaten Matarazzo Will Host and Executive Produce Netflix Hidden Camera Series (UPDATE)

The show has been "in the works for months"

Gaten Matarazzo teams up with Axe.
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Image via Getty/Daniel Boczarski

Gaten Matarazzo teams up with Axe.

UPDATED 6/18, 9:45 a.m. ET: Netflix and Gaten Matarazzo’s Prank Encounters announcement was met with a bit of criticism, with some observers critiquing the cruelty of tricking people into thinking they’d received jobs only to punk them. Netflix has released a statement in response.

“The pranks in Prank Encounters are spooky, supernatural, and over the top, and everyone had a great time," the streaming service said. "All participants came in with the expectation this was a one-day, hourly gig and everyone got paid for their time."

See original story below.

If in the near future you find yourself being pranked by someone who looks like one of the kids from Stranger Things, then the explanation may be as simple as: You're being pranked by one of the kids from Stranger Things. Or, in lieu of being pranked by him, maybe you'll just get to have a back-and-forth after finding out your boss is a Dracula or something...more on that in a second.

According to Deadline, Netflix has ordered eight episodes of a show that's set to be called Prank Encounters. The program is of the hidden-camera variety, and will be hosted/produced by Dustin from Stranger Things—aka Gaten Matarazzo.

Deadline adds that the show has been "in the works for months" and that it's set to launch at some point in 2019. They further detail that each episode will see a pair of strangers start what they think is their first day on a new job. As the day progresses, their paths will collide and their jobs will become "full-time nightmares." In short, it sounds like the premise can be boiled down to strangers + scary stuff.

Additionally, you can catch and binge Matarazzo when all of season 3 of the mega-popular show is uploaded to Netflix on July 4. people say.

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