Wave of illusionists on TV
It’s no illusion that magic is making its presence felt on TV.
The Illusionists, a band of magic experts from a hit Broadway show, comes to NBC Wednesday (10 p.m. ET/PT) for a one-hour special featuring everything from a futurist toying with technology to an “escapologist” holding his breath for several minutes while trying to break out of an underwater cell.
Viewers of America’s Got Talent may be familiar with some of The Illusionists, who have appeared on the NBC talent competition, and magician Mat Franco won Talentin 2014 and had an NBC special in September.
In other TV legerdemain, aspiring magicians try to dupe Penn & Teller on CW’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us, which has been renewed for a third season, and Syfy has an upcoming drama series, The Magicians (Jan. 25, 9 p.m. ET/PT). The drama, based on Lev Grossman’s best-selling trilogy, stars Jason Ralph (Aquarius) and Stella Maeve (Chicago PD) as young adults who attend a secret magic university.
Futurist Adam Trent of The Illusionists, who sees people of all ages attending the stage shows, senses a resurgence of magic.
“I think there absolutely is a growing interest in it,” he says. “There’s a lot of good magic out there lately and a lot of amazing magicians performing now, across YouTube, touring live, in comedy clubs, on Broadway.” Read more..
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/12/05/wave-illusionists-tv/76472070/