“Impractical Jokers” thrives off of chaos and stunts. Headlined by an improvisational comedy group known as The Tenderloins, the show uses ordinary citizens and hidden cameras to make comedic brilliance — but the laughs are always on them, as the best “Impractical Jokers” episodes show off stunts, gags, and practical jokes that often involve one or more of the group fooling one another, sometimes with celebrity assistance. It’s been a big enough hit to foster four spin-off programs and a movie special, all of which have helped make the show TruTV’s flagship program.

There hasn’t been a single change to The Tenderloin’s lineup since “Impractical Jokers” began airing on TruTV; the close-knit group, including Sal Vulcano, Brian “Q” Quinn, and James “Murr” Murray, have known one another since high school, long before achieving their current fame. While that may be something “Impractical Jokers” fans don’t know about the show, they definitely know Joe Gatto left the series in 2021. Explaining that he wanted more time off to be with his family via an Instagram post that also announced he was separating from his wife, his time has been spent with his two children. But his statement never closed the door to the notion of him coming back, if only to guest star on the show.

He eventually reconciled with his wife, Bessy, and re-emerged in the public eye with a stand-up comedy act and a special on Hulu in 2025. But when asked by TheWrap if he wanted to come back to the program, his response was a firm no. “I am not going to guest on my own show,” he declared. “It does not feel right, and I can not commit to coming back to it. I’ve moved on from the show, the show has moved on from me. I am so removed from it.” That doesn’t mean, however, that he doesn’t get along with his old friends, and he would be open to further collaboration outside of the “Impractical Jokers” brand.

Joe Gatto says that even though he’ll never work with his old “Impractical Jokers” friends on a regular basis, there’s no hard feelings and he’s happy to hang around with them socially. As a matter of fact, he’d even like to put a little closure on the group’s professional relationship and work with them on other projects in the future. “I have told all the jokes I want, but when it comes to an end, I would of course love to close it in a fun way,” he told TheWrap. “We talked about that a little bit. I would say it is definitely not the end of me collaborating with those guys.” He admitted that they do come back together to work on side projects, so he can’t put a full-on no ever appearing on stage with them.

That said, Gatto admitted to People that he hasn’t watched the series since leaving it. “I try to be consistent and never watched,” he said. “I never watched it on TV. I always watched the edits of the show because I worked on the edits. When I wasn’t editing it anymore, I didn’t have to watch it as much.”

Gatto’s life is quite busy and rich without the show; he co-hosts a podcast called Two Cool Moms, runs a nonprofit pet adoption charity called Gatto Pups & Friends, and has written a children’s picture book titled “Where’s Bearry?”  On top of that, his stand-up career continues apace, and he’s trying to branch out into the screenwriting and filmmaking side of the entertainment business. With all of that on his plate, don’t expect to see him joking around on camera with his old friends, but — as the man himself said — never say never.