Did any of you really enjoy Punk’d with Ashton Kutcher? I remember that when I first saw it I found him so obnoxious in that hat in the little room. He was such a fool with that goofy act of his, but I eventually got used to it and learned to ignore him. There were times I found it interesting (albeit cruel), like when poor Justin Timberlake thought that the IRS was seizing all his stuff, including his dogs. The pranks were the appeal of the show, not Ashton. He just bugged me. Now we have news of another host who will try and narrate the pranks and line up unsuspecting celebrities to mock: 16 year-old singer, Justin Bieber. Shouldn’t they wait until his voice changes first?

MTV may need to start shopping for a trucker hat that won’t mess with Justin Bieber’s hair, because multiple industry insiders tell Vulture that the tween singer has been all but officially tapped as the host of a revival of Ashton Kutcher’s Punk’d for the network, assuming all details can be worked out. Kutcher isn’t entirely relinquishing the celebrity practical-joke franchise he birthed back in 2003: He’ll remain as an executive producer of the new series via his Katalyst Entertainment. But if a deal can be worked out, the on-air baby face of the new show will be none other than Biebs. If Kutcher’s past history with Punk’d is any indication, Bieber will likely appear in a few early episodes as a participant in the pranks, then gradually revert to mostly introducing segments. While Kutcher was famous during the original Punk’d era (he was starring on That 70s Show), the actor was nowhere near as famous (or busy) as Bieber, giving him more time to pull punks on his peers.

Kutcher announced he was retiring Punk’d back in 2007, but even at the time of the show’s demise, sources at MTV indicated the network hoped to one day revive the brand. The thinking was that the show, whose pranks had grown lamer as the years wore on (the final season included punks on Jewel and Freddy Rodriguez), needed time to rest. Given how quickly pop culture runs through celeb cycles these days, the move may have worked: We now have a whole new class of celebs who — like Bieber himself — weren’t even on our radar when Punk’d exited three years ago. So get ready Bristol Palin, Jon Hamm, Snooki, and the entire cast of Glee: You’re probably about to get Bieber’ed!

[From NYMag via WeSmirch]

Bieber is just as annoying and self important as Ashton Kutcher, so this could work. Plus, NYMag is right that there’s a new crop of celebrities to ridicule. Miley Cyrus, those Jonas Kids, the Kardashians, they’re all fair game. I guess it’s a good enough concept to continue, but Kutcher should have just sold it off instead of insisting on being involved. Didn’t he learn anything from the utter failure of Popfiction? It’s not like he has a hell of a lot else to do other than Tweet and attend events, though.