Netflix has invested in just about every kind of visual entertainment imaginable -- at least in non-pornographic categories -- but for all the concert films, stand-up comedy specials and other stage-bound performances, the streaming service has featured an arguably startling lack of original magic acts in its library. That could all change now that Netflix has teamed up with the talented and sometimes controversial British illusionist Derren Brown to produce a brand new special. And the good news doesn't end there.
To start off with the new stuff, Derren Brown has signed on to produce a brand new special for Netflix, and it will apparently be one as big and shocking as his previous efforts. In fact, Deadline reports that details surrounding the special are being kept secret as not to destroy the surprise. That couldn't be more intriguing for anyone who has seen Brown's past efforts.
Speaking of those past efforts, Netflix has also acquired two of Derren Brown's previous performances, and streaming customers around the world will soon be able to watch the U.K. specials Derren Brown: The Push and Derren Brown: Miracle. In the former, Brown controversially exposed how social compliance can manipulate people into doing crazy and ill-advised things, while the latter did its own bit of polarizing audiences by focusing on faith healers, a group that Brown has spoken out against in the past. While we're not sure when the new production or when Miracle will show up on Netflix, we do know that The Push will debut on Tuesday, February 27.
Recently, Derren Brown has been touring with Underground, a show designed to be viewed by international audiences, so we can possibly hope to see that showing up on Netflix at some point. Teaming with the streaming giant will definitely help Brown's recognizance factor whenever he returns to New York later this year to perform Derren Brown: Secret, and the psychologically fraught performance will be taken nationwide in 2019, at which point his new Netflix special will hopefully be up.
Beloved British creators like Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker and Catastrophe's Sharon Horgan have shifted their careers to go full-time with streaming services on the scripted side of things, while Jeremy Clarkson and his former Top Gear crew have settled at Amazon with The Grand Tour. Could Derren Brown open the floodgates for more British magicians (or any country's magicians) to populate Netflix's library in the future? The company has already signed on with the comedy-centered U.S. magician Justin Willman for a six-part docu-series that explores his career, but it's not the same as a full-on performance.
The hand holding the remote is quicker than the eye in this case, and Netflix subscribers should keep their eyes open for Derren Brown: The Push, which debuts on the streaming service on Tuesday, February 27, at 3:01 a.m. PT. Head to our 2018 Netflix schedule to see more streaming excellence on the way, and then bookmark our midseason premiere schedule to see everything else that's hitting soon.
