Mystery Diners (2011– ) User Reviews

Proof of Fake Reality Show

[joshuasbrenner · 4/10 · 26 July 2016]

I came across this show on Netflix a few weeks ago and couldn't get enough of it. I went to YouTube and discovered 200 something episodes. I have multiple degrees in Criminal Justice and was a Private Investigator and worked undercover for about 12-years so I really liked this show until a couple of episodes stood out with known goofs. In the episode with the mob like thug who was stealing meat from supplier and selling it to a restaurant; they said they were calling the police. In the control room were 2 alleged police officers in blue uniforms. Charles said for the officers to take the crooks away and on the left shoulder their patch said, "Security." I played it back several times.

Then, I came across Season 10, Episode 2 with a countdown of the 'sneakiest employees.' In the episode with "Bob" who was caught faking a hurt leg from a Workers Comp Claim and Mystery Diners proved he was faking. In the control room, I recognized the so called "Bob." After watching it back several times, I identified "Bob" as actor

Robert Palmer Watkins currently plays the role of Dillon Quartermaine on General Hospital for a little over a year. I have been watching GH for 30-years, so I know who he is and yet "Mystery Designers" is not listed under the actor's credits. I respect Robert as a great actor on GH and something like this discovery could hurt his resume but the truth needed to come out.

It's a shame because there are probably legitimate episodes but ran out of those in need and kept the show running with the fake shows. Talk about a discredit to the series.

Encourages Criminal Behavior

[formanwim · 3/10 · 29 October 2012]

This program goes to great lengths to "catch" people in the act of criminal behavior. Then... there is a very energetic and emotional confrontation between the owner and the person committing the crime. At the very least Theft. The person ends up quitting or being fired and leaving the restaurant to go out in the world and DO THE SAME THING AGAIN!! No consequences other than possibly being seen on this show as an untrustworthy, unethical employee or outright thief . If the person can't be prosecuted the show should explain that. Otherwise, the manager of the program just seems to excite agitation in the owner with no fall out.

Whatch Ralphthemoviemakers video on this.

[aidenthegr · 16 July 2018]

Want garbage, then watch this. Want entertainment, then check out Ralphthemoviemakers video on this. RELEASE THE DRONE.

Stop making this show. It is obviously fake, and insulting to the viewers

[distinctive-dave · 1/10 · 15 May 2013]

This is the worst show on television. It is so insanely obvious that the show is faked, that it is insulting to the viewers intelligence that the producers even try to pass it off as real. The people are horrible actors and any person who takes the time to audition for this show has placed a black mark on their resumes for even showing up. I want to watch shows about cooking! Not terrible actors pretend to be terrible employees. Please no more!!!

FOOD NETWORK when you good this show the first thing that shows up is the shows website, only quickly followed by a web page entirely dedicated to people's frustration about this show being fake. Even simply typing the words 'mystery d' prompts Google to auto-fill the words 'mystery diners fake'.

Might be good if it wasn't completely fake....

[Omne · 2/10 · 21 December 2012]

The show tonight unfortunately proves it's a fake and a reenactment.

The episode was about a sommelier who had wine sales drop during the year he had working at the restaurant. I was watching the camera angles and when they cut to a scene of him pouring wine for a couple the camera angle would have put the camera at chest level in the wall behind the table. They cut to a long shot and there was nothing on the wall except paint. In another scene the camera shot showed the subject walking past the "hidden" camera which was at eye level less than 3 feet from him and only a little smaller than his head. The camera was attached to a post on the top of a divider wall. Hard to miss something that big that's swiveling around, especially when you've worked there a year. Impossible.

I watched another episode about a pub. During the set up summary they claimed they had 3 cameras installed and showed the locations. They also were supposed to have one of their undercover operatives wearing a camera mounted in her eyeglass frames. I counted 10 completely different camera angles during the alleged operation while I was watching the playback on my DVR. They also had a close up shot of the woman wearing the glasses. Unless they managed to come up with a camera with no lens that's less than a millimeter thick there wasn't a camera on the frames.

Too bad, I liked the concept. I wish they had a real show like this.

Shockingly fake

[thescouseassassin93 · 1/10 · 17 February 2016]

Only 1 star as there is no zero. Why oh why is this even on a food channel, nothing to do with food, completely fake, terrible acting, set up situations, a million camera angles from a few supposedly secret cameras!!! Even a quick google will tell you how fake it is, and as unbelievable as it is so far 4 of the 19 reviews have been positive...so I guess that explains why they get away with such a blatantly bad show. This show and its brethren Restaurant Stakeout have no place on a channel that is supposed to be about food. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a food channel is going to be watched by serious foodies who like to see different recipes and cuisines being prepared and tasted, not this pap!!!

Embarrassingly fake and pointless.

[lanzdesign · 1/10 · 17 April 2013]

The fact that Cooking Channel has the audacity to pass this off as "reality" is an insult to their viewers' intelligence. Everyone on the show is an actor (most are laughably bad) and the entire show is nothing but a poorly-staged ruse passed off as reality for the enjoyment of only the most tragically gullible of TV viewers.

Why on earth would anyone ever want to watch such a blatantly scripted fraud of a show? Bad form, Cooking Channel. There's no place for this kind of trashiness on your otherwise decent network. All it does is undermine the credibility of the rest of your programming.

P.T. Barnum once said that there's a sucker born every minute, and judging by the fact that this show is somehow still on the air, his estimate seems far too conservative.

Release the drone

[d2gher · 8/10 · 11 January 2019]

Charles Stiles mystery diners Charles Stiles mystery diners Charles Stiles mystery diners Charles Stiles mystery diners Charles Stiles mystery diners

It is what it is

[safenoe · 7/10 · 29 October 2017]

Much has been written about the authenticity of Mystery Diners but it's a lot of fun, and entertaining seeing the undercover work that would make the NSA, CIA and Jason Bourne proud for sure.

Running a restaurant is a tough business and profit margins (if any) are thin, and you can see the distress of the restaurant owners as they seek to right the wrongs inflicted by ne'er-do-wells who think they know how to do the right thing.

In most cases the offenders get fired and surprisingly no unions are involved, no picketing, no social media outrage. This is really the tough love version of Undercover Boss.

It's f---ing fake!

[blogzillla · 1/10 · 4 March 2015]

Quit scamming people Hollywood. It's why I no longer pay to see your SHI*T!!!

What legal implications are involved with producers who offer no disclaimer and charade their programs as pretending to be real. It is ridiculous they are not held accountable.

I don't understand why the producer can't be sued considering he does not offer a disclaimer that the program has faked scenarios.

Just know something people ---You can't make a "reality" show without making it fake. It's impossible, because what you see takes careful planning and organization. Scenes have to be edited, actors have to know what to say (scripts), scenes have to be re-shot, they use make-up artists, caterers and times of events have to be arranged and scheduled FOR EVERY PRODUCTION, whether it charades as a "reality" TV show or it's a feature film

Release The Drone

[KimitKimitTheFrg · 10/10 · 11 July 2019]

My name is Charles Stiles. For over 20 years I have helped thousands of restaurants eliminate their problems, but people are becoming sappy, so we're going deeper undercover using private investigators and unleashing new technology. This is Mystery Diners like you've never seen before.

Entertaining though OTT

[welshNick · 7/10 · 1 June 2012]

I have watched the first few episodes of this as my wife and I do a lot of mystery shops in restaurants and other establishments. A company is hired to spy on the employees in a restaurant or bar to see what the employees are up to. This series so far has shown laziness, petty pilfering until episode 3.

Episode 3 showed a waitress having an after hours party, stealing money, and vanishing with her boyfriend into the ladies toilets all (except the inside of the toilets) being covered by cctv which the owner was watching from down the street. Eventually the owner had enough and moved in and closed the bar and put an end to the party as it was getting out of hand.

Although perhaps this show is a warning to employees it is made as a reality entertainment program and really the audience has a good laugh at the expense of the owner who must feel like a complete jackass for being taken for such a ride. I'm still not convinced that what we are seeing is real rather than a reenactment but this should not detract from laughing at the sheer audacity of some of the individuals.

Really quite a good show but for the wrong reasons.

In the words of Ralph Sepe:

[genericnamerelatedtomemes · 1/10 · 26 September 2018]

"Hi, I'm Ralph Sepe, world renowned food critic, and closeted homosexual....and today we're gonna talk about the worst show ever made."

Basically sums up my thoughts.....

Obviously fake

[imdb-19080 · 30 April 2015]

I've been watching this show for a while. I've always been skeptical of the show being real, but I simply contributed that to it being a reenactment of the events.

Last night I watched an episode that confirmed it was fake. This episode one of their new tools called a "Stingray". This device is real, but it is available to law enforcement only and only under strict non-disclosure from the FBI. In addition, it is likely illegal to intercept the communications without permission from one of the two parties. I also suspect it would be illegal to transmit on the frequencies used for cell phones without an FCC license.

Funny at First

[Johnny_West · 1/10 · 6 November 2021]

When this show came out, I used to watch it with my young daughter, and she thought it was real, so we had some laughs and discussions together about food hygiene. The episodes I recall included a lady who rubbed the hamburger buns under her armpits because she did not like the mystery shopper.

Unfortunately, after a few episodes the show turned more towards harassment of employees, and theft. I did not like the fake creepy stories, so it was back to SpongeBob for us.

This show is staged

[youngkaren-25330 · 1/10 · 31 July 2020]

All the people on this show chef's waiters and diners are all Actor's

It's all fake

[youngkaren-25330 · 1/10 · 14 September 2020]

Charles styles is fake and the people on this show are all Actor's

Want garbage? Watch this!

[adamray101 · 1/10 · 5 July 2013]

Wow. I was flipping channels and I saw this title pop up. Watching for about five minutes and something just didn't seem right...

So I got online to check out what it's all about. Then it hit me! This show is phony! It's fake! It's a fugazi!

If you want to see garbage, please watch this, or actually look at a garbage can full of crap because I guarantee you you're going to save a lot more brain cells than seeing this...thing.

Right now I'm shaking my head at the Food Network to have this garbage be part of their broadcasting bill. Come on Food Network, you are so much better than this! Take this reality TV garbage out and put some serious shows back in. Don't waste our time just so you can make a few pennies.

What, you think we're stupid? Tear down this circus sideshow!

If there were negative integers, I'd be using it on this title review.

-Adam

The greatest thing ever made

[rsqndj · 10/10 · 26 December 2021]

I love mystery diners with all my heart. If I need a good laugh or a break from reality I boot up this show, and I can't help but get a smile when I hear him say CHARLES STILES WITH A COMPANY CALLED MYSTERY DINERS. I highly recommend this show as long as you don't take it seriously. It's dumb. Let it be dumb.

Why call it reality?

[barbie6982003 · 1/10 · 14 August 2013]

I have to admit I am NOT a reality TV fan. I've never watched ANY of it, from Big Brother to Dancing with the Stars. Not. Even. One.

OTOH, it's no secret that I watch House Hunters and rehab type shows. I'll also watch true crime re-enactment like "Cold Case Files" when I'm bored. But I know that those are re-enactments, I know to take it with a grain of salt. I expect the bad acting.

Why on earth do they call this "reality"? These are actors, and not even good actors. Unless "hamming it up" is what they were shooting for.

I won't be making that mistake again.

Brilliant!

[mcphan3393 · 9/10 · 22 June 2017]

When it comes to investigative tactics, Charles Stiles & Co do a terrific job.

With a minimal amount of cameras, his team make it look like the action is really 'live' and 'active'...they create the illusion that the camera is following right behind the 'person of interest'.

Although there is a disclaimer at the end which says some parts may be re-enacted for illustrative/dramatic purposes, it's often very difficult to distinguish the dramatized from the actual...simply amazing.

Charles Stiles, as well as being an exceptional host, lends his 'eagle-eye' to cases when observing the goings-on on the security cameras..he is often seen leaning toward the camera monitors and squinting (somewhat like Steve Austin, the 6 million $ man does when he's looking at distant objects). Whenever I see Charles squint, I know there is an impending coup de grâce moment to ensue.

Charles is THE man!

If you're a fan of WCW/WWF/WWE, you'll love Mystery Diners! Just like World Championship Wrestling is 100% authentic, so too is Mystery Diners. Simply brilliant.

I love it & I'm sure you will too. Enjoy.

Fake. All Fake

[chilimacmacie · 1/10 · 23 August 2017]

I can't believe what I am seeing. This "reality show" lasted ELEVEN SEASONS. And you know what? It's all acting. Nothing is original except for the restaurants, which I researched each restaurant.

You can tell this show is fake because of the acting, or lack there of. Each episode is THE SAME: A restaurant has an incredibly dumb problem, they call CHARLES STILES MYSTERY DINER to set up a billion cameras, Charles gets his actors to pose as waiters, they found out who caused the problem, that person is usually fired and/or quits, and then we look at the restaurant 4 months after the incident. The editors are incredibly lazy too, seeing as the exact same music plays every time. If that doesn't scream "lazy editing", I don't know what does.

There are even some moments where there is NO WAY that isn't fake, like in one episode where they pressed the space bar on a MacBook to STOP A CAR ENGINE. H-how is that humanly possible?

If you're not convinced that this show is faked, this quote appears in every episode: "Certain events may have been re-enacted for dramatic purposes."

I'm glad Food Network decided to cancel this show before it hit Season 12.

To sum it all up, the bad acting, repetitive editing and nature, and the fact that everything is scripted makes this a poor excuse for a reality show

So fake

[leemammas · 2/10 · 21 May 2016]

This is the worst staged show I have ever seen..! Charles Stiles needs to go to acting school along with his so called aids...! It's just unbelievable in so many ways... The shamed employees just take it & then are apparently re-employed not long after.... Don't think so... & that the disgraced & dishonest employees would let themselves be named & shamed on TV.... Come on ..?! Do you really think the public is this stupid?? They would never get another job after this was aired if it was actually real..! Absolutely rubbish Charles is ridiculously unbelievable Could be a good show if it was real, who would seriously put themselves out there like that

Please take this God awful show off TV

[emilymarko · 1/10 · 10 February 2016]

This show is sooooo awful I feel sick to my stomach any time it comes on and ruins the Food Network for me while I could be watching other good shows on there. It's completely fake if anyone couldn't already tell and the acting is horrendous. Please for the love of God remove this show completely from TV. And put some other better show in its place. If there was a 0 star I would have rated it that. I don't know why they would bother putting a show on air like this one. I really hope enough people complain that they remove the show completely. Don't waste resources to air this show when another one would get much better ratings.

It's fake!!!!!!!!!!

[youngkaren-25330 · 1/10 · 12 January 2021]

This show is fake it's like an idiot version of smile you're on candid camera