Penn & Teller: Fool Us

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Penn & Teller: Fool Us
260px
Also known as 'Fool Us
Penn & Teller: Fool Us in Vegas'
Genre
Created by
Presented by
Starring
  • Penn Jillette
  • Teller
  • Peter Adam Golden
  • Andrew Golder
Judges
  • Penn Jillette
  • Teller
Narrated by Dominic Byrne
Composer(s)
Country of origin United Kingdom
United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 22
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Andrew Golder
  • Peter Davey
  • Peter Adam Golden
Producer(s) Johnny Thompson
Production location(s) Fountain Studios (season 1)
Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino (season 2-)
Running time
  • approx. 45 minutes
  • approx. 65 minutes (pilot)
Production company(s) 1/17 Productions & September Films
Distributor DCD Rights[1]
Release
Original network ITV, STV, UTV (U.K.)
The CW (U.S.)
Picture format 1080i
Original release 18 June 2011 –
present
External links
Website

Penn & Teller: Fool Us is a British-American television programme. Hosted by Jonathan Ross and filmed at Fountain Studios in London, England and the Rio All-Suites Hotel in Las Vegas, Fool Us is a magic competition in which magicians perform tricks in front of American magician-comedian duo Penn & Teller. If Penn & Teller cannot figure out how a trick was done, the magician or magicians who performed it win a five-star trip to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act in Penn & Teller's world-famous show, also at the Rio Hotel & Casino.[2]

It was announced on 28 June 2012 that ITV had cancelled the show, despite its averaging 4 million viewers, higher than the timeslot average.[3] After finding moderate ratings success in running the ITV-produced episodes during the summer of 2014, The CW ordered a second season of original episodes to air in 2015.[4] The second season has been a ratings hit for The CW, giving the network its highest ratings in that time slot compared to the previous 5 years.[5] On August 11, 2015 the series was renewed for a third season by The CW,[6] which will be hosted by Alyson Hannigan.[7] Season 3 is scheduled to premiere on July 11, 2016.[8]

Production and format

The pilot of Fool Us was first commissioned by John Kaye Cooper, the controller of entertainment for ITV.[9] In February 2011, it was announced that due to good viewing figures, a series of eight episodes had been commissioned, and would be produced by September Films and 1/17 Productions.[10] The eight episodes were shot in a ten-day filming block, and began airing in June 2011.[11]

Each episode starts off with the introduction stating the purpose of the series. Penn and Teller come out and take their seat towards center stage, and hopeful magicians perform their acts in front of them with a live studio audience. At the end of the episode, the duo perform a magic act of their own.

Episodes

Performers in yellow fooled Penn & Teller in the episode.

Season 1

No. in Series No. in Season Episode Title Air date Performers Type Nationality
1 Pilot How to Saw a Woman in Half 7 January 2011 Ali Cook close-up and stage magician British
Richard Bellars close-up and stage magician British
Michael Vincent close-up and stage magician British
John Archer magical comedy entertainer British
James More stage magician and illusionist British
Benjamin Earl illusionist British
ITV website exclusives Morgan & West close-up and stage magicians British
Damien O'Brien street magician British
Noel Qualter close-up magician British
2 1 Teller Sucks... Helium 18 June 2011 High Jinx illusionists and circus performers British
Jon Allen street magician British
Graham Jolley mind reader and mentalist British
3 2 Stab a Card, Any Card... 25 June 2011 Mark Shortland magical comedy entertainer British
Mathieu Bich card illusionist French
Young and Strange street stage illusionists British
Daniel Madison card illusionist British
4 3 Solid Goldfish 2 July 2011 Piff the Magic Dragon magical comedy entertainer British
Soma illusionist Hungarian
Alan Hudson close-up magician British
Damien O'Brien street magician British
5 4 Teller is a Blockhead 9 July 2011 Daniel Kramer illusionist British
Romany, the Diva of Magic burlesque dancer and magician British
Alan Rorrison close-up magician British
Richard Bellars illusionist British
6 5 Penn Gets Nailed 16 July 2011 Cubic Act illusionists French
Nick Einhorn mentalist British
Michael Vincent close-up and stage magician British
Morgan & West close-up and stage magicians British
7 6 The Magic of Polyester 23 July 2011 Gazzo street magician British
Colin McLeod mentalist Scottish
Keelan and Charlotte quick-change artists British
Brynolf & Ljung illusionists Swedish
8 7 A Bellyful of Needles 30 July 2011 Manuel Martinez illusionist "Cuban"[lower-alpha 1]
Shawn Farquhar[lower-alpha 2] close-up magician Canadian
Etienne Pradier card magician French
Chris Dugdale illusionist British
9 8 Water Tanks for the Memories 28 August 2011 Lee Hathaway cabaret act and close-up magician British
Jack Taperell close-up magician British
Laura London illusionist British
Paul & Martin Daniels renowned magicians British
Unaired segments Chris Cox mind reader British
James Brown stage magician British
Marc Oberon card magician British
David Masters illusionist British
Noel Qualter close-up magician British
David Jay illusionist British
  1. ↑ Martinez presented himself as Cuban, but was outed as British by Penn & Teller following the conclusion of his act.
  2. ↑ Although Penn & Teller saw Farquhar perform a deck switch, which they had previously decided would automatically mean a contestant did not fool them, they considered themselves fooled because they could not explain the essence of how Farquhar had performed his card trick.

Season 2

No. in Series No. in Season Episode Title Air date Performers Type Nationality
10 1 Phone-y Business July 6, 2015 Jon Armstrong Close-Up/Card American
Xavier Mortimer Illusionist French
The Shocker Mentalist/Illusionist American
Steven Brundage Close Up American
11 2 The Invisi-Ball Thread July 13, 2015 Mike Hammer Illusionist American
Leon and Romy Illusionist/Card American/Australian
Shin Lim Close Up American
Peter Boie Illusionist American
12 3 Shoot to Kill July 20, 2015 Brian Brushwood Close Up American
Simon Pierro Illusionist German
Handsome Jack (John Lovick) Illusionist American
Kyle Knight & Mistie Illusionist American
13 4 Knife of the Party July 27, 2015 Austin Janik Close Up American
Amazing Allison Mentalist American
Mac King Illusionist American
Norman Ng Close Up American
14 5 Mission Impossi-Ball August 3, 2015 Bill Cook Close Up American
Wes Barker Illusionist Canadian
Matthew Holtzclaw Close Up American
David Regal Illusionist American
15 6 Now THAT'S Bunny! August 10, 2015 Jay Sankey Close Up Canadian
Greg Wilson Illusionist American
Trigg Watson Close Up American
Jen Kramer Close Up American
16 7 Penn's Favorite Card Trick August 17, 2015
Kostya Kimlat Close Up Ukrainian-American
Frederick Falk Close Up American
Chris Funk Card/Stage Magician Canadian
Nate Dendy Stage Magician American
17 8 Teller Plays with a Full Deck August 24, 2015 Blake Vogt Close Up American
Joshua Jay Close Up American
Levent Comedy Magician American
Ben Seidman Illusionist American
18 9 Star Spangled Magic August 31, 2015 Riley Siegler Close Up American
Jade Illusionist Chinese-American
Ran'd Shine Close Up American
David Roth Coin Magician American
19 10 Where There's Smoke There's Magic[12] September 14, 2015 Joel Meyers & Spidey Mentalist American
Rick Lax Close Up/Card American
Marcus Eddie Illusionist American
Bruce Gold Comedy Magician American
20 11 Teller Deflowers a Shadow[12] September 21, 2015 Scott Alexander & Puck Illusionist American
Eric Jones Coin Magician American
Mark Calabrese Close Up/Card American
Paul Vigil Mentalist American
21 12 Penn & Teller Ring Someone's Neck[12] September 28, 2015 Victor & Diamond Illusionists American
Francis Menotti Mentalist American
Nash Fung Close Up Chinese-American
Chad Juros Rope Magician American
22 13 An Egg-Cellent Trick[12] October 5, 2015 Derek Hughes Close Up/Card American
Reuben Moreland Illusionist American
Suzanne Close Up American
Jared Kopf Mentalist American

Reception

Readers of ukgameshows.com named it the second best new game show of 2011 in their "Hall of fame" poll.[13]

International broadcast

  • In Australia, the show commenced airing on ABC1 each Saturday at 9:25 pm from 1 October 2011.[1][14]
  • In New Zealand, the show commenced airing on ChoiceTV each Saturday at 7:30 pm from 28 April 2012.[15]
  • The CW acquired the series for broadcast in the United States, where it premiered on 30 July 2014. The pilot episode was trimmed to one hour (including commercial breaks) for its CW airing.[16][17]
  • The series has also been sold to BBC Entertainment in Scandinavia, Africa, and Latin America, to screen at a date yet to be announced.[1]
  • The series has been aired in India by Comedy Central India.
  • In Canada, the series aired on Bite TV before it was rebranded to Makeful on 24 August 2015.
  • Channel 5 bought the UK rights to the second series and premiered it on 6 March 2016.[18]

U.S. ratings

Season 1

Episode Air date A18-49 Rating/Share Viewers (Millions)
Stab a Card, Any Card… July 30, 2014 0.5/2 1.75[19]
How to Saw a Woman in Half August 6, 2014 0.5/2 1.45[20]
A Bellyful of Needles August 13, 2014 0.5/2 1.68[21]
Solid Goldfish August 20, 2014 0.5/2 1.69[22]
Water Tanks for the Memories August 27, 2014 0.5/2 1.59[23]
Teller is a Blockhead September 3, 2014 0.7/2 2.07[24]
Penn Gets Nailed September 10, 2014 0.5/2 1.73[25]
The Magic of Polyester September 17, 2014 0.5/2 1.58[26]
Teller Sucks... Helium September 24, 2014 0.5/2 1.51[27]

Season 2

Episode Air date A18-49 Rating/Share Viewers (Millions)
Phone-y Business July 6, 2015 0.5/2 1.66[28]
The Invisi-Ball Thread July 13, 2015 0.5/2 2.01[29]
Shoot to Kill July 20, 2015 0.5/2 1.81[30]
Knife of the Party July 27, 2015 0.6/3 2.24[31]
Mission Impossi-Ball August 3, 2015 0.5/2 2.06[32]
Now THAT'S Bunny! August 10, 2015 0.6/2 2.35[33]
Penn's Favorite Card Trick August 17, 2015 0.5/2 2.10[34]
Teller Plays with a Full Deck August 24, 2015 0.5/2 1.87[35]
Star Spangled Magic August 31, 2015 0.6/2 2.11[36]
Where There's Smoke There's Magic September 14, 2015 0.5/2 1.46[37]
Teller Deflowers a Shadow September 21, 2015 0.3/1 1.15[38]
Penn & Teller Ring Someone's Neck September 28, 2015 0.4/1 1.34[39]
An Egg-Cellent Trick October 5, 2015 0.4/1 1.36[40]

International versions

  • In 2011 it was reported that the format had been sold to Ukraine broadcaster STB, who would produce a local version.[1]
  • In 2012 the show was licensed to Israel's Channel 2. The show was renamed Mi Yapil Et Ha Master ("Who Can Fool The Master?"), Penn & Teller were asked to be the judging magicians but they had to decline due to other commitments. Max Maven took their place.[41]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Teller's twitter, 2 February 2015

External links

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