Backseat Drivers

Taxicab Confessions returns to HBO for another wild ride

Ralf Tooten/Corbis
Before scripted reality TV became the norm (ahem, The Hills), there was HBO's Taxicab Confessions, a hidden-camera show that clandestinely filmed rather colorful passengers (think crack addict prostitutes and sexually adventurous couples) in New York City cabs spilling their guts to an inquisitive driver. First airing in 1995, the ongoing documentary quickly became a late-night cult favorite and won an Emmy before it took off to Las Vegas for seven more episodes, then came back to Manhattan in 2003. On November 8, after a three-year hiatus, the show returned to HBO for its thirteenth installment; here Taxicab's creators, brothers Joe and Harry Gantz, answer our questions for a change.

First off, why the blip in Las Vegas?

Harry Gantz: After we did it for a few years in New York, Giuliani's administration didn't give us permission.

Joe Gantz: Everybody liked us but Giuliani.

Do passengers ever catch on?

HG: We lose maybe 20 percent when the driver starts asking personal questions. Some people are like, "Oh, man, this seems a lot like Taxicab Confessions." Or they recognize a driver we're using again.

So the drivers are actors?

JG: No. They're real cabdrivers. Some just have this personality that makes you relax, and once people relax, everybody wants
to talk.

Where are you two during filming?

JG: We're in a follow vehicle where we can see and hear what goes on in the cab. We can talk into the driver's ear and direct the conversation.

Have you kept in contact with anyone who has been on the show?

JG: There was a woman in Taxicab 1—we called her the Pierced Girl because she had a lot of piercings. She showed the driver a picture of her boyfriend's pierced penis during the ride. But she told such a sad story. Her mother had passed away from being a drug addict, her brother had died in gang violence, and she lived with her grandparents, who she felt didn't understand her. She got an outpouring of positive emotion from people who watched the show. I kept in contact with her for about nine years.

Can you tell from looking at someone that they're going to be a great interview?

JG: You try to predict. But it's when you're rushing to someplace with your prediction that someone else waves you down and they're the amazing, off-the-charts ride.

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