It's hard to picture MTV's Catfish without Max Joseph's signature silver coif. His brutal honesty and refreshingly candid character, that returned too many catfish to the pond to count, seems irreplaceable. On Aug. 8, Max announced via Twitter that he wouldn't be returning to the show next season. While Nev Schulman may be accepting applications for a new co-host, why Max is leaving Catfish after helping lead the show to success over seven seasons?
The hard truth is, Max can't be chasing catfish with cameras forever. He's an esteemed filmmaker with big dreams, and bigger fish (pun intended) to fry. His heartfelt statement explained his reasoning for choosing to move on, and well, it all makes total sense. It reads:
"The time has come, sadly, for me to move on from Catfish," he wrote. "Working on this show for the last seven years has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. For a while now I have been straddling two careers as TV host and filmmaker and, while this level of busy-ness is a dream come true, my life can no longer sustain it."
His filmmaking career caught public attention most recently with the release of We Are Your Friends, the 2015 film starring Zac Efron that Max directed and cowrote. But before that, most viewers probably saw him as Nev's co-host and camera man. But Max is up to way more than that. He wasn't kidding about being too busy. According to his website, he has written, directed, or produced over 64 short films, many of which he juggled between traveling and filming for Catfish.
"Although I have a heavy heart, I am also excited for everything that's to come – for myself, for Nev, for our crew and for the show," he continued. He also said that Catfish is still "going strong," so there's no need to be worried about a cancellation following his departure.
Of course, when fans think about Max leaving Catfish, they immediately wonder how his split will affect the bromance that blossomed as a result of it all. Max and Nev became very close friends throughout their time together. But in an additional statement, Nev assured everyone that their brotherhood is here to stay.
"It is with a very heavy heart, that all of us at the #catfish family say goodbye to @maxjoseph - Good luck Max, love you brother," Nev wrote on Twitter. His goodbye statement was so poetic and heartfelt.
"Working with Max on Catfish has been a blast," Nev wrote. "What started as a casual friendship quickly turned into a brotherhood. As sad as I am that Max is leaving the show, it brings me great joy to know that he is following his heart."
Although Max might be leaving Catfish, that doesn't mean you won't get the chance to see him on screen again in the future. He's going to be spending most of his time behind the camera, but who knows — as his film career progresses, sometime soon he could be walking on stage to accept an award or two.
