MTV Crew Filming Episode of 'Catfish' in Oak Lawn Area

OAK LAWN, IL — An MTV film crew will be filming in in Oak Lawn and Riverdale this weekend trying to help a 25-year-old woman determine if her “secret” online lover is real.

The fifth season of the TV show “Catfish,” which debuted on MTV this week, helps bring together couples who’ve become smitten over their LCD screens but have never met in real life, the show’s website states.

Based on the 2010 film documentary of the same name, show hosts Nev Schulman and Max Joseph use their Internet sleuthing skills to expose possibly deceptive online relationships. Hopeless romantics are given to opportunity to determine if their online love is a soulmate or some creepy social media stalker -- up until that first fateful knock on the door.

The MTV film crew will be following Paris, who claims she met her digital lover Tara in a chatroom four years ago. The two have become best friends and “secret lovers” but have never met in person, RedEye reports.

A catfish is someone who pretends to be someone they’re not using Facebook or other social media to create false identities, with the intention of getting someone to fall in love with online, according to the Urban Dictionary.

For example: “My mom got totally catfished by some guy she thought was a 45-year-old airline pilot who turned out to be some high school dude.”

Or, “That gorgeous guy I met on Facebook with the eight-pack abs turned out to be some pudgy catfish living in his parents’ basement.”

The show has drawn criticism from some news media outlets that it is scripted or “catfishy.”

“Catfish” airs at 9 p.m. Wednesdays on MTV; you can also catch it on Hulu. The show being shot in Oak Lawn this weekend is set to air in May. Catch it after you watch “Cheaters.”