Max Joseph made a cameo on last month’s 200th episode of “Catfish.”
And, as he teases in an exclusive new interview with Page Six, an official return may be on the table following his four-year hiatus from the MTV reality show.
“I do miss the crew on ‘Catfish’ and I really like Kamie [Crawford],” Joseph, 40, says of the host who eventually took over as Nev Schulman’s consort.
“I love Kamie. She’s great. I’ve met her a number of times and I think she’s a wonderful successor. I think she’s better than me in almost all [ways]. I think she’s pretty damn good.”
He continues, “I think they’re holding it down pretty great just the two of them, but it would be nice and I hope to potentially do a trio at some point. But I can’t really speak to it [now] … It probably would be fun if it did happen.”
Joseph produced 2010’s original “Catfish” documentary alongside Schulman, now 37, before it expanded into a television series in 2012. The filmmaker tells us that their friendship has only grown stronger in the decade that has passed.
“[Our friendship is] exactly the same. Nev is Nev is Nev. We see each other once in a while when he’s in LA or I’m in New York,” the Southern California resident says of their bicoastal bromance. “We just kind of pick up exactly where we left off. So it never feels like that much time has gone by.”
It also felt like no time had passed when Joseph stepped back in front of MTV’s cameras. “Catfish’s” landmark episode saw yet another “catfish” exposed for coercing its victim into a deceptive online relationship.
“It was really nice seeing everyone. Beyond just even Kamie, who I see more frequently, it was nice to see our crew,” he recounts.
“There are a number of people who have been there from the beginning. You know how they say with good friends, it feels like no time passes at all when you see each other? That’s what it felt like being back there. It could have been 2017 all over again.”
Joseph departed the show in 2018 halfway through Season 7 to pursue other opportunities; he notably directed HBO Max’s “15 Minutes of Shame,” a 2021 collaboration with Monica Lewinsky that explored the societal impacts of cancel culture.
After taking an extended breather from the grind of traveling cross-country to help people uncover their mysterious internet romances, Joseph finally seems ready to entertain fans’ pleas for him to resume a role on “Catfish.”
“They occasionally make it known [they want me back]. But what I really love is that on Twitter, any time I’ve seen people posting about me, they’re always very quick to say that they love Kamie too,” he says. “They’re a very kind fan group and they’re very sensitive to both my feelings and Kamie’s feelings.”
Adds Joseph, “They’re very vocal about missing me but they’re also very vocal about how much they love Kamie also.”
“Catfish” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.