Understandably, the loneliness of the COVID-19 lockdowns led people to cultivating relationships online. The promo for the latest batch of episodes even said as much. "The anxiety of the pandemic has made people more vulnerable to being catfished," a voiceover says.
Kamie Crawford elaborated on this to Essence. "[F]or a lot of the episodes we've been filming, a lot of people have been saying that they've been talking to the people online for a year or two years, right kind of at the start of the pandemic. Or at least the pandemic became a good excuse as to why these catfish could not actually meet up in person," she said. "Then on the side of the catfish, there are a lot of people who started this because they were lonely during the pandemic and they didn't know what to do."
Both Kamie and Nev Schulman spoke to TV Insider about the impact remote episodes will have on future seasons. "... I appreciate not having to travel in cars," Nev said. "It does lower the show's carbon footprint, which is something I'm trying to be aware of in all aspects of my life." Kamie, meanwhile, said she was eager to explore how virtual episodes could help the show expand geographically. "I would personally love it if we were able to open up internationally," she said. We'll see! Some international "Catfish" action could be pretty wild.
