Penn & Teller: Fool Us starts its second season tomorrow evening on the CW Network. If you've never seen this series, a quick rundown…
The idea is to fool Penn and Teller. Magicians come out and try to perform some trick that neither Mr. Penn nor Mr. Teller can figure out. This is not easy, especially the part about fooling Mr. Teller, as he is quite the expert on how illusions are performed. If the duo can't figure out how it was done, the magician who fooled them wins bragging rights and I'm not sure what else. If not…well, better luck next time.
The show debuted in 2011 on ITV in Great Britain, hosted by my buddy, British TV superstar Jonathan Ross. It did well but not well enough that anyone wanted to make more episodes. It looked for a long time like there would be no more. Then last year, the CW Network picked up those 2011 episodes and aired them to great response. I have a little bragging right of my own there because the person who told the CW Network execs about the series was me.
The shows did well enough that they ordered more so 13 additional episodes have been taped. Unlike the first series for which Penn and Teller had to commute to England, these were shot at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas where they are in permanent residence. They're not there now but that's because they're about to open a limited run on Broadway.
Anyway, like I said, Penn & Teller: Fool Us debuts on the CW tomorrow night. One of the magicians attempting to fool you-know-who will be another friend of mine, Jon Armstrong. Jon is my occasional magic tutor and one of the best guys in his field. Tune in and see if he fools them. I'll bet he'll fool you.