“Impractical Jokers” remains one of the funniest reality shows of all time offering endless entertainment for fans of hidden-camera pranks and cringe comedy. It focuses on lifelong friends James “Murr” Murray, Brian “Q” Quinn, Sal Vulcano, and formerly Joe Gatto competing in absurd challenges designed to make each other crack a smile. Losers face hilarious punishments that often involve embarrassing public displays or bizarre scenarios.
With 160 episodes in a series that has remained outstanding since it premiered in 2011, how do you even sort out the best? Worry not, as we have carefully selected the best 10 episodes that will leave you gasping for air between uncontrollable laughter. This selection is based on the favorites of fellow prank enthusiasts and high ratings.
1. “The Permanent Punishment” (Season 3, Episode 27)
- First Aired: 2014
- Rating: 9.4
With a rating of 9.4, this episode only deserves to be the first on this list. The episode starts with the four jokers Joe, Murr, Sal, and Q, pretending to be security guards at a pharmacy. They would later settle for a game that involved who could clip the most balloons on the shoppers without their knowledge. With Joe emerging as the winner, the others are forced to suffer a three-way punishment that involves getting any tattoo of Joe’s choice on them.
It gets more hilarious with Joe selecting some of the most embarrassing and absurd tattoos to be printed on them. Sal’s thigh get covered with a tattoo of Jaden Smith on the side, Q gets a cast and the words ’38, Live Alone, Has 3 Cats” and Murr gets a skydiving Ferret.
2. “Whose Phone is Ringing” (Season 5, Episode 11)
- First Aired: 2016
- Rating: 9.3
Here’s another episode that sends shivers down. This time, the jokers participate in the Wheel of Faces and Sabotage the Seller challenges. Sadly, Sal loses and gets punished. He is forced to sit in a book reading session with a straight face but constantly gets distracted by his phone ringing. He gets the audience annoyed and has to start all over. The fun part is, he cannot switch off the phone.
3. “Brother-in-Loss” (Season 3, Episode 32)
- First Aired: 2014
- Rating: 9.1
This is another episode that would get you laughing. The jokers again settle for two challenges here. The first challenge is to secure employment at a mobile phone store using a resume created by the other guys and if the job is not secured, the joker loses. For the second challenge, the guys take a trip to the Staten Island Fairy and try to memorize a series of gestures while conversing with strangers.
Unfortunately, Sal loses again and faces a punishment planned for six months. He watches his sister Jenna get married to his best friend Murr against his wish. It gets even more hilarious as his mouth is duck-taped making it impossible to stop the marriage.
4. “Look Out Below” (Season 3, Episode 1)
- First Aired: 2014
- Rating: 9.0
In this episode, the jokers pose as hotel attendants at Borgata with plans to get tips from customers by doing what others tell them to do. If the customer refuses to give a tip, then the joker loses. In the same episode, they also move to the streets of New York to work as a hot dog vendor and must engage in ridiculous actions suggested by the other jokers.
The final game for the episode was to convince people which products are better. While Sal manages to escape, Murr becomes the loser here; his punishment is driving off of a plane. He spends several hours sending goodbye messages to his family and finally gets punished. This would have to be the best punishment in this series with Murr screaming at the top of his voice and making funny faces
5. “B-I-N-G-NO” (Season 3, Episode 30)
- First Aired: 2014
- Rating: 9.0
In this episode, the jokers take up the first challenge of selling popsicles at Union Square. With no loser here, they opt for the second challenge, Ice Ice Baby, and unfortunately, Sal becomes the loser.
His punishment was to participate in a Bingo tournament and regularly shout ‘Bingo!’. With Zero understanding of the game, Sal would have almost caused a riot among angry players with his screams. Luckily, he gets charred by the crown and is escorted out by security guards.
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6. “Fraudway” (Season 8, Episode 11)
- First Aired: 2019
- Rating: 8.9
This is another hilarious episode to check out on the ‘Impractical Jokers” series. The Jokers Q, Murr, Sal, and Joe participate in a “Try Not to Laugh” challenge. Here they all try to make each other laugh while sitting in a waiting room. You already know it’s impossible not to laugh with the Jokers in place and this time, Sal and Murr are losers.
They later participated in the Partners in Poultry challenge and must do as told. Unfortunately, Murr and Q lost in this challenge, and the former emerged as the ultimate loser of the challenges. As his punishment, he is forced to be ca American for his favorite musician Yanni, and disappoints the musical artist with his poor photography skills. He is later asked to play One Man’s Dream on the piano, and this captures another hilarious moment.
7. “Sweat the Small Things” (Season 2, Episode 18)
- First Aired: 2013
- Rating: 8.9
Here’s another episode that made it to this list and it’s not less hilarious than the others. Here the Joker Murr, Sal, Q, and Joe take turns acting as art instructors in another “Do and Say” challenge. Following this, they play the Dartboard of Destiny challenge, where they’ll have to shoot darts at the bar and accept the ridiculous task on the board
Again, Sal loses and faces the punishment for giving a seminar about stress. But this isn’t as simple as it sounds as he would also need to watch a prerecorded video of the jokers invading and getting germs all over his house.
8. “Everything’s Just Rosie” (Season 2, Episode 22)
- First Aired: 2013
- Rating: 8.9
This episode is another dose of laughter and covers three challenges. First off, the guys split into teams at a bowling alley and would have to do and say everything they were told. The loser this time is Q but has to go down with Sal who is his teammate. The joker then moved to the second challenge which involved putting many scoops of mashed potatoes on guests’ plates. Joe earns victory and the others suffer. The last challenge for this episode was to make someone see what they see in a cloud.
9. “Rubbed the Wrong Way” (Season 6, E18)
- First Aired: 2017
- Rating: 8.9
In this episode, the Jokers take their game to the mall where they act as partitioners and offer $100 gift cards for people to sign up. They then compete to get the most responses for their text messages from strangers at a food court. Here, the Joker with the least number of text loses.
For the next challenge, the guys play catch with unsuspecting groceries from their carts at a supermarket without being caught. Joe steps into the loser spot for the episode and has to portray a genie in a stage play. The hilarious part of his punishment is getting flung and slammed into the props and set pieces during the play.
10. “Smashing Success” (Season 9, Episode 6)
- First Aired: 2006
- Rating: 8.8
In this episode, the Jokers act as office managers and try to hire a security guard for a company. In this challenge, it is expected that every Joker goes all out to trick the candidate into accepting the job. This time they all manage to make it through without a loser.
For the second challenge, the Jokers pretend to be artist-in-residences, doing as they are told in front of people volunteering to assemble and paint their furniture. Sal again loses the artist challenge and is forced to smash the furniture the volunteers have been working on right in front of them. This punishment though cruel and uncomfortable must be carried out regardless.
