'Catfish: The TV show' returns for season 9 - and fans are excited after spotting a familiar face in trailer

For more than a decade, reality TV show ‘Catfish’ has kept viewers at the age of their seats as wild internet relationships are exposed.

The show, which airs both in the US and the UK, started in 2012, inspired by the experience of host Nev Schulman. He had created a documentary of the same name after discovering that his online love interest was not who she said she was.

Since then, viewers have watched as Schulman sets out to uncover the truth behind other people’s online relationships with people they have never met in person. In that time, there have been some truly heart-warming scenes as people who are being genuine meet for the first time. More often than not, however, a catfish is forced to reveal their true identity - leading to some heartbreaking and dramatic confrontations.

In the US, ‘Catfish: The TV Show’ has aired for eight seasons - but the ninth season has just been announced with an suspensful trailer. But, what’s really got fans excited is the sight of one of the show’s original stars.

Long-term viewers will know that Schulman was once joined by co-host and cameraman Max Joseph. Midway through Season 7, however, Joseph left the show to pursue other projects and, after many celebrity guest hosts appeared, TV host and beauty queen Kamie Crawford eventually became the replacement co-host.

But, in the official trailer for ‘Catfish’ season 9, Joseph made a brief appearance, confirming his return in the season. You can watch the trailer for yourself below.

The series has been dubbed ‘the season you’ve been baiting for’. At first, it was unclear from the video whether this meant he was returning permanently or not. However, he later took his Instagram page a to clarify that he was back to co-host one episode only.

Nonetheless, viewers quickly took to Reddit to share their joy that he would be returning, and said they were looking forward to seeing Schulman and Jospeh reunited.

One fan wrote, “I can’t wait! Me and my sister quote some of Max’s old lines from past episodes. He wasn’t playing with those people and I loved it.” Another said: “Yay!!! Wish he would come back permanently, can’t wait.”

Season 9 premiered on MTV at 8pm on Tuesday (April 30) with one episode, and nee episodes will follow weekly. The ninth season, as well as the first eight seasons, are are available to stream on Hulu.

There are three seasons of ‘Catfish UK’, which are also avalable to watch on MTV now. It is thought that the show will not return after host Oobah Butler posted on X in January and said: “Catfish UK has come to an end. Had a genuinely amazing time making three series with great people, and it was a life changing job. Now focusing on new docs and interesting stuff. Cheers for watching!”