As far as reality show competitions go, “Fool Us” is remarkably straightforward. Performers go on the show and do several minutes of magic. The contestants are not competing against each other, only against the supple minds of their hosts. The challenge is to do a trick so complex or so sophisticated that Penn & Teller, who, between the two of them, have an encyclopedic knowledge of the craft, cannot figure out how it was done.
Of course, as with magic itself, nothing on the show is as simple as it appears. Charisma and showmanship do matter, even if they don’t necessarily factor into which magicians earn the show’s tongue-in-cheek F.U. trophy, not to mention the bragging rights that come with fooling two of the best magicians on the planet. Indeed, the show’s hook — fool us, or don’t — is, in itself, a trick.
“On one level, the show really isn’t about fooling us,” Jillette said. “The show is really a showcase for magicians.”
In that role, the series has succeeded in spades, introducing worldwide audiences to scores of the best magicians from around the globe. The CW show returned last week for its 10th season, with a new host (Brooke Burke, who replaces Alyson Hannigan), new acts and new tricks from the duo, who close each episode with an act of their own.
“We’re no longer able to do the famous bullet catch trick, because it’s now considered in bad taste, and rightly so,” Teller said of the trick, which, in his and Jillette’s version, the two magicians appear to fire handguns directly at each other’s faces. “So we’re going to do the same trick with a wrist rocket and a lima bean.”
