Penn & Teller: Fool Us

Penn & Teller: Fool Us
Also known as
  • Fool Us
  • Penn & Teller: Fool Us in Vegas
Genre
  • Entertainment
  • Comedy
Created by
Directed byDennis Rosenblatt
Presented by
Judges
  • Penn Jillette
  • Teller
Narrated by
Composers
Country of origin
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons10
No. of episodes153
Production
Executive producers
  • Andrew Golder
  • Peter Davey
  • Peter Adam Golden
  • Lincoln Hiatt
Producer
Johnny Thompson (2011–2019)
  • Michael Close (2019–present)

Danny Harris (2015-present)

Production locations
Running time
  • 45 minutes
  • 65 minutes (pilot)
Production companies
Original release
Network
Release7 January 2011 (2011-01-07) –
present (present)

Penn & Teller: Fool Us is a magic competition television series in which magicians perform tricks in front of American magician-comedian duo Penn & Teller. Its first two seasons were hosted by Jonathan Ross, the third through ninth seasons were hosted by Alyson Hannigan and the tenth season by Brooke Burke. Fool Us was filmed at Fountain Studios in London, England (season one) and the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino (season two onward), located in Las Vegas. After each performance, if Penn & Teller cannot figure out how a trick was done, the magician(s) who performed it win a Fool Us trophy (since season 2) and a five-star trip to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act in Penn & Teller's show, also at the Rio Hotel & Casino.[1]

The tenth season premiered in October 2023.

Format

[edit]

Each episode starts off with the introduction stating the purpose of the series. Penn & Teller come out and take their seats towards center stage, and hopeful magicians perform (6 in the pilot, 4 in season 1–present) their acts in front of them with a live studio audience (except for the second half of season 7 through season 9, when Covid forced them to perform in front of a virtual audience).

After each performance, Penn & Teller privately confer while the host interviews the magicians. Penn then reveals if they know how the trick was performed, typically using cryptic language, or they write down the method and present it privately to the magicians to confirm, so as to avoid publicly exposing the secrets behind the trick. Teller notes that the doublespeak helps teach people new techniques without spoiling the trick.[2]

If Penn & Teller are wrong, or cannot figure out how the trick was done, the magician wins a Fool Us trophy and the opportunity to later perform at one of Penn & Teller's Las Vegas shows. A backstage judge or judges, versed in the techniques of the magic industry and privately informed how the trick is done prior to the show, makes any necessary calls whether Penn & Teller were properly fooled. At the end of each episode, Penn & Teller perform a magic act of their own.

Production

[edit]

The pilot of Fool Us was first commissioned by John Kaye Cooper, the controller of entertainment for ITV.[3] 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.[4] The eight episodes were shot in a ten-day filming block, and began airing in June 2011.[5]

It was announced on 28 June 2012 that ITV had cancelled the show, despite averaging 4 million viewers, higher than the norm for the timeslot.[6] 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.[7] The second season was a ratings hit for The CW, giving the network its highest ratings in that time slot compared to the previous five years.[8]

On 11 August 2015 the series was renewed for a third season by The CW[9] which premiered on 13 July 2016,[10][11] now hosted by Alyson Hannigan.[12] The fourth season premiered on 13 July 2017.[1][13] A special one-off April Fool's episode was broadcast on 2 April 2018 as a precursor to the fifth season, which premiered on 25 June 2018.[14][15] After another April Fool's episode on 1 April 2019, the sixth season premiered on 17 June 2019.[16]

In the summer of 2020 the show was renewed for a seventh season, which was set to begin filming in October 2020. Due to COVID-19 safety and travel restrictions, the second half of season 7 was filmed with a virtual audience, and international acts performed via video from their home countries. The magicians and crew were tested for COVID over 660 times, with every result negative.[17] On 20 January 2022, the series was renewed for a ninth season.[18] On 18 May 2023, the series was renewed for a tenth season, with new host Brooke Burke which was taped during the first weeks of July in the Penn & Teller Theatre at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The season premiered on 27 October 2023.[19][20][21] In June 2024, the series was renewed for an eleventh season.[22]

Episodes

[edit]
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
1Pilot7 January 2011 (2011-01-07)ITV
818 June 2011 (2011-06-18)28 August 2011 (2011-08-28)
2136 July 2015 (2015-07-06)5 October 2015 (2015-10-05)The CW
31313 July 2016 (2016-07-13)16 September 2016 (2016-09-16)
41313 July 2017 (2017-07-13)30 November 2017 (2017-11-30)
51325 June 2018 (2018-06-25)1 October 2018 (2018-10-01)
61317 June 2019 (2019-06-17)30 September 2019 (2019-09-30)
7281422 June 2020 (2020-06-22)16 November 2020 (2020-11-16)
148 January 2021 (2021-01-08)16 April 2021 (2021-04-16)
8141 October 2021 (2021-10-01)4 March 2022 (2022-03-04)
91414 October 2022 (2022-10-14)14 April 2023 (2023-04-14)
102027 October 2023 (2023-10-27)26 April 2024 (2024-04-26)

Performers who fooled Penn & Teller are listed in bold type.

Season 1 (2011)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateProd.
code [a]
UK viewers
(millions) [b]
1Pilot"How to Saw a Woman in Half"7 January 2011 (2011-01-07)1094.28[23]
  • United Kingdom Ali Cook, close-up and stage magician
  • United Kingdom Richard Bellars, close-up and stage magician
  • United Kingdom Michael Vincent, close-up and stage magician
  • United Kingdom John Archer, magical comedy entertainer
  • United Kingdom James More, stage magician and illusionist
  • United Kingdom Benjamin Earl, card manipulator
  • ITV website exclusives
    • United Kingdom Damien O'Brien, street magician
    • United Kingdom Noel Qualter, close-up magician
    • Penn and Teller perform "Cell Fish" (later repeated for US run) and sawing a woman in halves
21"Teller Sucks... Helium"18 June 2011 (2011-06-18)1074.07[23]
  • United Kingdom High Jinx, illusionists and circus performers
  • United Kingdom Jon Allen, street magician
  • United Kingdom Graham Jolley, mind reader and mentalist
32"Stab a Card, Any Card..."25 June 2011 (2011-06-25)1023.57[23]
  • United Kingdom Mark Shortland, magical comedy entertainer
  • France Mathieu Bich, card illusionist
  • United Kingdom Young and Strange, street stage illusionists
  • United Kingdom Daniel Madison, card illusionist
  • Penn and Teller perform "Hand Stab"
43"Solid Goldfish"2 July 2011 (2011-07-02)1033.12[23]
  • United Kingdom Piff the Magic Dragon,[c] magical comedy entertainer,
  • Hungary Soma, illusionist
  • United Kingdom Alan Hudson, close-up magician
  • United Kingdom Damien O'Brien, street magician
  • Teller performs "Silver Fish"
54"Teller is a Blockhead"9 July 2011 (2011-07-09)1043.27[23]
  • United Kingdom Daniel Kramer, illusionist
  • United Kingdom Romany, the Diva of Magic, burlesque dancer and magician
  • United Kingdom Alan Rorrison, close-up magician
  • United Kingdom Richard Bellars, mentalist
65"Penn Gets Nailed"16 July 2011 (2011-07-16)1053.29[23]
  • France Cubic Act, illusionists
  • United Kingdom Nick Einhorn, mentalist
  • United Kingdom Michael Vincent, close-up and stage magician
  • United Kingdom Morgan & West, close-up and stage magicians
  • Penn and Teller perform "Nail Gun"
76"The Magic of Polyester"23 July 2011 (2011-07-23)1063.62[23]
  • United Kingdom Gazzo, street magician
  • United Kingdom Colin McLeod, mentalist
  • United Kingdom Keelan and Charlotte, quick-change artists
  • Sweden Brynolf & Ljung, illusionists
  • Penn and Teller perform "Polyester"
87"A Bellyful of Needles"30 July 2011 (2011-07-30)1013.22[23]
  • Canada Shawn Farquhar,[d] close-up/card magician
  • United Kingdom Manuel Martinez, illusionist[e]
  • France Etienne Pradier, card magician
  • United Kingdom Chris Dugdale, illusionist
  • Teller performs "East Indian Needle Mystery"
98"Water Tanks for the Memories"28 August 2011 (2011-08-28)108N/A
  • United Kingdom Lee Hathaway, cabaret act and close-up magician
  • United Kingdom Jack Taperell, close-up magician
  • United Kingdom Laura London, illusionist
  • United Kingdom Paul & Martin Daniels, renowned magicians
  • Penn and Teller perform "The Water Tank"
  1. ^ As listed in U.S. listings
  2. ^ SD viewers only.
  3. ^ Although Piff, after being shown Teller's deduction, stated that he did not fool Penn & Teller, Penn later admitted in a blog post that he and Teller had gotten Piff's technique wrong but Piff played along with them, although this has not been mentioned on-screen.[24] Piff's subsequent guest appearances on the show in the episodes "Something Fishy This Way Comes" and "Penn the Magic Dragon" have been as a joint magic performance act alongside Penn & Teller at the end of each episode.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Martinez presented himself as Cuban, but was outed as British by Penn & Teller following the conclusion of his act.

Unaired segments include:

  • United Kingdom Chris Cox, mind reader (unaired as he was the only performer who failed in his performance)
  • United Kingdom James Brown, stage magician[25]
  • United Kingdom Marc Oberon, card magician[26]
  • United Kingdom David Masters, illusionist[27]
  • United Kingdom Noel Qualter, close-up magician[27]
  • United Kingdom David Jay, illusionist

Season 2 (2015)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
101"Phone-y Business"6 July 2015 (2015-07-06)2021.66[28]
  • United States Jon Armstrong, close-up magician
  • France Xavier Mortimer, illusionist
  • United States The Shocker, mentalist/illusionist
  • United States Steven Brundage, close-up magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "Cell Fish"
112"The Invisi-Ball Thread"13 July 2015 (2015-07-13)2032.01[29]
  • United States /Australia Leon and Romy, illusionists
  • United States Mike Hammer, illusionist
  • Canada /United States Shin Lim, close-up magician
  • United States Peter Boie, illusionist
  • Teller performs "The Red Ball"
123"Shoot to Kill"20 July 2015 (2015-07-20)2011.81[30]
134"Knife of the Party"27 July 2015 (2015-07-27)2042.24[31]
  • United States Austin Janik, close-up/card magician
  • United States Amazing Allison, mentalist
  • United States Mac King, illusionist
  • United States Norman Ng, close-up magician
145"Mission Impossi-Ball"3 August 2015 (2015-08-03)2052.06[32]
  • United States Bill Cook, close-up magician
  • Canada Wes Barker, illusionist
  • United States  Matthew Holtzclaw, close-up magician
  • United States David Regal, illusionist
156"Now THAT'S Bunny!"10 August 2015 (2015-08-10)2062.35[33]
  • Canada Jay Sankey, close-up magician
  • United States Greg Wilson, illusionist
  • United States Trigg Watson, close-up magician
  • United States Jen Kramer, close-up magician
  • Penn and Teller pull a rabbit out of a hat
167"Penn's Favorite Card Trick"17 August 2015 (2015-08-17)2072.10[34]
  • Ukraine /United States Kostya Kimlat, card magician
  • United States Frederick Falk, close-up magician
  • Canada Chris Funk, card/stage magician
  • United States Nate Dendy, stage magician
178"Teller Plays with a Full Deck"24 August 2015 (2015-08-24)2091.87[35]
  • United States Blake Vogt, close-up magician
  • United States Joshua Jay, close-up magician
  • United States Levent, comedy magician
  • United States Ben Seidman, illusionist
  • Penn and Teller perform "The Atheist's Deck of Cards"
189"Star Spangled Magic"31 August 2015 (2015-08-31)2102.11[36]
  • United States Riley Siegler, close-up/card magician
  • China /United States Jade, illusionist
  • United States Ran'd Shine, close-up magician
  • United States David Roth,[a] coin magician
1910"Teller Deflowers a Shadow"14 September 2015 (2015-09-14)2121.46[37]
  • United States Scott Alexander & Puck, illusionist
  • United States Eric Jones, coin magician
  • United States Mark Calabrese, close-up/card magician
  • United States Paul Vigil, mentalist[b]
  • Teller performs "Shadows*
2011"Where There's Smoke There's Magic"21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)2111.15[38]
  • United States Joel Meyers & Spidey, mentalist duo
  • United States Rick Lax, close-up/card magician
  • United States Marcus Eddie, illusionist
  • United States Bruce Gold, comedy magician
2112"Penn & Teller Ring Someone's Neck"28 September 2015 (2015-09-28)2081.34[39]
  • United States Victor & Diamond, illusionists
  • United States Francis Menotti, mentalist
  • China /United States Nash Fung, close-up magician
  • United States Chad Juros, rope magician
2213"An Egg-Cellent Trick"5 October 2015 (2015-10-05)2131.36[40]
  • United States Derek Hughes, close-up/card magician
  • United States Reuben Moreland, illusionist
  • United States Suzanne, close-up magician
  • United States Jared Kopf, mentalist
  • Penn and Teller perform "One Minute Egg"
  1. ^ Roth's award was given as an honorary award since Roth pioneered coin magic, and Penn & Teller stated that they only knew the tricks because they had read his books.
  2. ^ Although Paul Vigil did not fool them, Penn admitted that the only reason they know how his trick is done is because they have read it in Paul's books.

Season 3 (2016)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
231"Won't Get Fooled Again...?"13 July 2016 (2016-07-13)3041.46[41]
242"Jesse Eisenberg Gets Carded"20 July 2016 (2016-07-20)303[citation needed]1.21[42]
  • United States Brett Loudermilk, sword swallower
  • United States Dan Harlan, close-up/card magician
  • Canada Ryan Joyce, illusionist
  • United States Kyle Eschen, comedy magician
253"Have A Blast"27 July 2016 (2016-07-27)3021.18[43]
  • Mexico Robert Ramirez, comedy mentalist
  • Poland /United Kingdom Dominik (Krzanowski), illusionist
  • United States Joel Ward, comedy magician
  • Canada Mahdi Gilbert, close-up/card magician
264"Penn Plays With Fire"3 August 2016 (2016-08-03)3051.42[44]
  • United States David and Leeman, comedy magician
  • United States Jibrizy, close-up magician
  • United States Rick Maisel, escape artist
  • Dominican Republic Felix Bodden, close-up/card magician
275"You Dirty Rathead!"10 August 2016 (2016-08-10)3011.43[45]
  • United States Alex Ramon, illusionist
  • Canada Greg Frewin, illusionist
  • United States Vinny Grosso, comedy magician
  • United States Arthur Trace, close-up magician
  • Penn and Teller perform the "Room 101 Card Trick"
286"Penn & Teller Snake their Chances"17 August 2016 (2016-08-17)3091.47[46]
  • United States Elliot Zimet, illusionist
  • United States Paul Gertner, close-up/card magician
  • Canada Matthew DiSero, comedy mentalist
  • Lithuania Rokas Bernatonis, illusionist
  • Penn and Teller cut and restore a live snake while discussing the controversy that arose when they performed the trick on Saturday Night Live in the 80s.
297"Juggle, Juggle, Penn's in Trouble"24 August 2016 (2016-08-24)3081.49[48]
  • Canada Vitaly Beckman, illusionist
  • Australia Simon Coronel,[c] illusionist
  • United States Mac King, comedy magician
  • United States Kevin Viner, mentalist
  • Penn juggles lit torches and broken bottles while reciting a monologue
308"Here's Moxie!"31 August 2016 (2016-08-31)303[citation needed]1.78[49]
319"The Great Escape"2 September 2016 (2016-09-02)3071.28[50]
  • France Xavier Mortimer, illusionist
  • United States Fielding West, comedy magician
  • United States Caleb Wiles, close up/card magician
  • United States Kevin Hall The Magic Maniac, comedy magician
3210"To Tea Or Not To Tea?"7 September 2016 (2016-09-07)3101.54[51]
  • Germany Timon Krause, mentalist
  • United States Kyle Marlett, close up/card magician
  • Canada The Evasons, mentalists
  • United States Chef Anton, illusionist
3311"Penn & Teller Get Trapped"9 September 2016 (2016-09-09)3111.41[52]
  • United States Christopher Tracy & Jim Leach,[d] comedy magicians
  • Canada Neil Croswell, illusionist
  • United States Ben Young, illusionist
  • Ethiopia /Ireland Henok, mentalist
3412"Penn & Teller Rip for your Pleasure"14 September 2016 (2016-09-14)3121.38[53]
  • United States Joseph Réohm, illusionist
  • United States Brent Braun, close-up/card magician
  • United States Chris Rose, close-up magician
  • United States Charles Bach, illusionist
3513"Can Penn & Teller Fool Penn & Teller"16 September 2016 (2016-09-16)3131.34[54]
  • United States Anthony Asimov, close-up magician
  • United States Angela Funovits, mentalist
  • United States Ivan Amodei, mentalist
  • United States Vince Charming, illusionist
  1. ^ Appeared in a previous episode where they fooled Penn & Teller.
  2. ^ Penn admitted that they do not know how he got the golf ball inside the jar, but the contestant agreed that he did not fool them, since they got all the other parts of the trick.
  3. ^ Although Coronel indicated during the initial broadcast that he had not fooled Penn & Teller, they confirmed in their "April Fool Us Day" special on 2 April 2018, that they had indeed been fooled.[47]
  4. ^ Performed as the magic duo "Hal & Kellar" parodying Penn & Teller.

Season 4 (2017)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
361"Penn & Teller Teach You a Trick"13 July 2017 (2017-07-13)4021.62[55]
372"Penn, Teller and a Mind Reading Chicken"20 July 2017 (2017-07-20)4011.72[56]
  • United States Jonathan Burns, comedy magician
  • Belgium Jo De Rijck, mentalist
  • United States David Caserta, illusionist
  • United States Jimmy Ichihana, close-up/card magician
383"Teller Flips a Bird"27 July 2017 (2017-07-27)4031.56[57]
  • United States Misty Lee, close-up magician
  • Canada /United States Shin Lim,[a] close-up magician
  • United Kingdom Andi Gladwin, comedy magician
  • Canada Hatfields, illusionist
  • Penn and Teller perform Johnny Thompson's "The Great Thomsoni and Company" (comedy dove production routine).
394"50/50 Chance"3 August 2017 (2017-08-03)4051.64[58]
  • Canada Matt Johnson, escape artist
  • Ecuador Siegfried Tieber, close-up/card magician
  • United States Jafo (Jason Fields), close-up/coin magician
  • United States Jessica Jane Peterson, illusionist
405"Does This Trick Ring a Bell?"10 August 2017 (2017-08-10)4071.53[59]
  • United States Dyno Staats, illusionist
  • United States Aiden Sinclair, mentalist
  • Sweden Axel Adler, illusionist
  • United States David Parr, close-up/card magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "Circle Stop"
416"Something Fishy This Way Comes"17 August 2017 (2017-08-17)4121.49[61]
  • United States Dan Sperry, illusionist
  • Canada Jean-Pierre Parent,[b] comedy magician
  • Scotland Naathan Phan, illusionist
  • Canada Richard Forget, illusionist
  • Penn and Teller perform a book test with Piff the Magic Dragon.
427"A Big Round of Applause for Alyson"24 August 2017 (2017-08-24)4111.48[62]
  • Italy Riccardo Berdini, mentalist
  • Russia /Canada Yan Markson, mentalist/magician
  • Czech Republic Ondřej Pšenička, close-up magician
  • United States Glenn Morphew, close-up/card magician
438"I Dream of Genie Tube"7 September 2017 (2017-09-07)4101.42[63]
  • United States Dennis Watkins, close-up/card magician
  • United States Jeff McBride, manipulation
  • United States Kevin Li, close-up illusionist
  • United States Steve Marshall, dice stacking magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "Tube to Bunny" (Genie Tube effect)
449"Penn & Teller Are Full of Hot Air"14 September 2017 (2017-09-14)4131.48[64]
  • United States Liberty Larsen, close-up/card magician
  • Spain Jorge Blass, close-up/card magician
  • United States Paul Gertner, close-up/card magician
  • Italy Sergio Starman, close-up magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "Inflatables"
4510"Monkey Business"21 September 2017 (2017-09-21)4041.55[65]
  • United States Sean-Paul & Juliana Fay, close-up/card magicians
  • United States Jason Andrews, illusionist
  • United States Eric Mead, close-up magician
  • United States Reza Borchardt, card magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "The National Magic Trick" (vanishing handkerchief)
4611"Penn Does the Heavy Lifting"25 September 2017 (2017-09-25)4090.92[66]
  • United States Stuart MacDonald, close-up magician
  • United States Kyle Littleton, card magician
  • United States Lion Fludd, close-up/card magician
  • United States The Beckers, illusionists
  • Penn and Teller perform Robert-Houdin's "Light and Heavy Chest"
4712"Penn & Teller & Dracula"28 September 2017 (2017-09-28)4081.66[67]
  • United States Mike Bliss, comedy magician
  • Canada Ekaterina, mentalist
  • Spain Javi Benitez, close-up/card magician
  • Israel Ran Gafner, mentalist
4813"Hanging Out with Penn & Teller"30 November 2017 (2017-11-30)[d]4061.14[68]
  • France /Canada Patrik Kuffs, close-up/card magician
  • United States Todd Lamanske, card magician
  • United States Adam Wilber, close-up/card magician
  • Spain Hector, close-up illusionist
  • Jen Kramer and AmberLynn Walker[c]
  1. ^ Appeared in a previous episode where they fooled Penn & Teller.
  2. ^ It was later revealed that Penn & Teller were only fooled due to the actions of one of the show's writers, Matt Donnelly.[60]
  3. ^ Outside of competition, performed in the magic act at the end of the episode together with Penn & Teller.
  4. ^ Scheduled 2 October 2017 airing of this episode was postponed following the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.

Season 5 (2018)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
49"April Fool Us Day"2 April 2018 (2018-04-02)N/A0.94[69]
A special episode.
501"Penn the Magic Dragon"25 June 2018 (2018-06-25)5031.35[70]
512"The Rematch"2 July 2018 (2018-07-02)5021.34[71]
  • United States Vinny Grosso,[a] comedy magician
  • United Kingdom Morgan & West,[a] close-up and stage
  • United States Paul Gertner,[a] close-up/card magician
  • United States Eric Jones,[a] coin magician
523"Penn & Teller Get Loopy"9 July 2018 (2018-07-09)5041.29[72]
  • United States Ryan Chandler, close-up magician
  • Canada Ryan Hayashi, samurai/coin magician
  • Germany Dirk Losander, illusionist
  • United States Ed Ripley, close-up magician
534"Here Comes the Magic"16 July 2018 (2018-07-16)5011.39[73]
  • United States Danny Cole, illusionist
  • Ukraine /United States Kostya Kimlat,[a] card magician
  • Sweden Håkan Berg, comedy magician
  • United States John Hinton, close-up magician
545"Psych!!"23 July 2018 (2018-07-23)5081.45[74]
  • United States Emily Victoria, mentalist
  • Germany Patrick Folkerts, illusionist
  • United States Migz, close-up/card magician
  • United States Seth Grabel, escape artist
556"Penn & Teller Against the World"30 July 2018 (2018-07-30)5061.38[75]
  • Japan Taijyu Fujiyama, close-up/stage magician
  • Germany Pit Hartling, close-up/card magician
  • Australia Helen Coghlan, illusionist
  • Israel Menny Lindenfeld, mentalist
567"Imagine (Magic) Dragons"6 August 2018 (2018-08-06)5051.31[76]
  • United States Erik Tait, comedy magician
  • United Kingdom Rebecca Herrera, mentalist
  • Japan TanBA, danger magician
  • Canada Ian Stewart, stunt magician/hypnotist
578"Here Lie Penn & Teller"13 August 2018 (2018-08-13)5091.60[77]
  • Canada Damien James, mentalist/ventriloquist
  • China Kelvin Chow, close-up/card magician
  • United States Joshua Lozoff, mentalist
  • Canada Murray SawChuck, illusionist
589"Teller's Gambling Problem"20 August 2018 (2018-08-20)5111.28[78]
  • United States Will Bradshaw, stunt magician
  • United States Eric Dittelman, comedy mentalist
  • Finland Christian Engblom, close-up/card magician
  • France Compagnie des Dragonfly, illusionist group
5910"Penn & Teller Keep You In Suspense"27 August 2018 (2018-08-27)5071.62[79]
  • Germany Simon Pierro, illusionist
  • Canada Nicholas Wallace, danger magician
  • Canada Darcy Oake, close-up/card magician
  • United States Alex Geiser, coin magician
6011"The Fool Us Zone"3 September 2018 (2018-09-03)5101.34[80]
  • United States Tyler Twombly, close-up illusionist
  • United States Michael Rubinstein, coin magician
  • United States Anastasia Synn, illusionist
  • United States Adam Cheyer, card magician
6112"Never Trust A Magician"24 September 2018 (2018-09-24)5120.89[81]
  • France Alexandra Duvivier,[b] card magician
  • United States Christine Barger & Darlene Hollywood, mentalists
  • United Kingdom Jamie Allan, close-up illusionist
  • Ireland /United States Christopher Grace, mentalist
6213"Let's Hear It For The Kids"1 October 2018 (2018-10-01)5131.16[82]
  • Spain Kiko Pastur, close-up magician
  • Canada Jason Palter, comedy magician
  • United Kingdom Michael Gee, card magician
  • United States Bryan Saint, illusionist
  1. ^ a b c d e Appeared in a previous episode where they fooled Penn & Teller.
  2. ^ Penn & Teller later revealed on their "April Fool Us Day" special on 1 April 2019 that in scenes deleted from the episode, Duvivier initially indicated that she had not fooled them, due to her misunderstanding Penn's cryptic language. However, after Teller went backstage and spoke with her privately about her techniques used on stage, he informed Penn that they had gotten their deductions wrong. They then called Duviver back to the stage and told her that they were indeed fooled by her, which was shown during the original broadcast.

Season 6 (2019)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
63"April Fool Us Day 2019"1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)N/A0.74[citation needed]
A special episode.
641"David Copperfield vs. Penn & Teller"17 June 2019 (2019-06-17)6011.31[83]
  • Netherlands Jan Reinder, stunt magician
  • Czech Republic Ondřej Pšenička,[a] close-up/card magician
  • United States Giancarlo Bernini, close-up magician
  • United States Penn & Teller,[b] comedy magicians
652"They're Baaack!"24 June 2019 (2019-06-24)6021.10[84]
  • Spain Javi Benitez,[a] close-up magician
  • United Kingdom Rebecca Herrera,[a] mentalist
  • Australia Helen Coghlan,[a] escapologist
  • United States Danny Cole,[a] illusionist
663"Penn & Teller vs. Inventors"1 July 2019 (2019-07-01)6031.14[85]
  • Sweden Arkadia, comedy mentalist
  • Germany Harry Keaton, hypnotist
  • Spain Jandro, comedy mentalist
  • United States Derek Selinger, danger magician/illusionist
674"Penn & Teller Cure the Common Code"8 July 2019 (2019-07-08)6041.15[86]
  • United States Anna DeGuzman, card manipulator
  • Italy Raffaele Scircoli, mentalist
  • United States Allen Abbott, illusionist
  • Germany Axel Hecklau, close-up magician
685"Penn & Teller Hit the Streets"15 July 2019 (2019-07-15)6051.18[87]
  • Spain Adrián Carratalá, close-up magician
  • United States Kevin Blake, card mentalist
  • Canada Ryan Stock & AmberLynn Walker, illusionists/danger duo
  • Italy Christopher Castellini, mentalist
696"Duck! It's Alyson!"22 July 2019 (2019-07-22)6061.18[88]
  • United States Jimmy Ichihana, close-up/card magician
  • Belgium Herbert & Alyson,[c] illusionists
  • Canada Eric Samuels, mentalist
  • China Rabby Yang, mentalist
707"Are You Better Magicians Than a 6th Grader?"29 July 2019 (2019-07-29)6071.15[89]
  • Norway Hans Petter Secker, card mechanic
  • Spain Xulio Merino, close-up magician
  • United States Zoe LaFleur, close-up/card magician
  • United States Josh Farley, illusionist
718"2nd Chance Foolers"5 August 2019 (2019-08-05)6081.24[90]
  • United States Marcus Eddie, close-up and card magician
  • United States Kevin Li, mentalist
  • United States Blake Vogt & Jana, danger magicians
  • Mexico Robert Ramirez, close-up magicians
729"Magic Meatballs"19 August 2019 (2019-08-19)6091.25[91]
  • Austria Anca & Lucca, mentalist duo
  • Sweden Tom Stone, illusionist
  • United States Jon & Owen (The Passing Zone), juggling magic duo
  • Taiwan Horret Wu, close-up/card magician
7310"Magical Moxie"26 August 2019 (2019-08-26)6101.21[92]
  • Austria Wolfgang Moser, illusionist
  • United States Johnny Magic, mentalist
  • Spain Pere Rafart, comedy magician
  • Italy Giacomo Bertini, coin magician
7411"The Mind Noodler"9 September 2019 (2019-09-09)6111.14[93]
  • United States Scott Green, comedy mentalist
  • United States Matt Donnelly: The Mind Noodler, comedy magician
  • United States Doc Dixon, comedy magician
  • South Korea Sangsoon Kim, close-up illusionist
7512"Magic is Bad for Your Health"23 September 2019 (2019-09-23)6120.88[94]
  • Canada Lucy Darling, stage magician (Carisa Hendrix)
  • France Nestor Hato, close-up/card magician
  • Spain Alfonso Rituerto, coin magician
  • United Kingdom Keelan Leyser & Matt Daniel-Baker, illusionist duo
7613"Virtual Reality"30 September 2019 (2019-09-30)6130.91[95]
  • Spain Woody Aragon, close-up/card magician
  • United States Denny Corby, mentalist
  • China Sinbad Max, coin magician
  • United States John Walton, mentalist
77"Merry Fool Us"29 November 2019 (2019-11-29)N/AN/A

A special episode. All the performers received a special holiday themed participation trophy.

  • United States Mat Franco, card magician
  • United States Adam Trent, illusionist
  • Israel Asi Wind, magician/mentalist
  • United Kingdom Mark Shortland, magical comedy entertainer
  1. ^ a b c d e Appeared in a previous episode where they fooled Penn & Teller.
  2. ^ Magician David Copperfield was invited to judge the act
  3. ^ Herbert's real name is Sebastien Dethise.

Season 7 (2020–21)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air date [96]Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
Part 1
781"Third Time's the Charm"22 June 2020 (2020-06-22)7011.13[97]
  • Canada Shawn Farquhar,[a] close-up card magician
  • Australia Helen Coghlan,[a] escapologist
  • Czech Republic Ondřej Pšenička,[a] card magician
  • United States Paul Gertner,[a] close-up card magician
792"Teller vs. Penn"29 June 2020 (2020-06-29)7021.02[98]
  • Canada Eric Leclerc, close-up magician
  • New Zealand Dev Sherman, close-up/card magician
  • China Conan Liu, illusionist
  • Spain Rubén Vilagrand, comedy magician
  • United States Penn Jillette,[b] juggler
803"Fool Us: The Home Game"6 July 2020 (2020-07-06)7030.93[99]
  • United States Caleb Wiles, card magician
  • South Korea D.K., close-up illusionist
  • United States Wes Iseli, mentalist
  • Germany Alana, illusionist
  • Teller builds a card castle while Penn and the Passing Zone juggle increasingly distracting/damaging objects.
814"Teller Talks!!!"13 July 2020 (2020-07-13)7040.94[100]
  • Canada Miranda Allen, escapologist
  • Argentina Iñaki Zabaletta, close-up/card magician
  • United States Keith Kong, mentalist
  • Brazil Guilherme Silveira, mentalist
  • Penn and Teller provide a tutorial on the French Drop.
825"Watermelon Surgery"20 July 2020 (2020-07-20)7051.02[101]
  • Israel Guy Bavli, mentalist
  • Spain Javier Botía, mentalist
  • India B.S. Reddy, illusionist
  • United States Chad Allen, close-up/card magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "Watermelon Surgery"
836"P&T in 3D...Glasses"3 August 2020 (2020-08-03)7060.90[102]
  • Netherlands Hans Klok, illusionist
  • Canada Michael Bourada, mentalist
  • Norway Hedné, card magician
  • Canada Vincenzo Ravina, mentalist
  • Penn and Teller perform "Multiple Outs"
847"Penn's Stupid Rope Trick"17 August 2020 (2020-08-17)7070.96[103]
  • Japan Sora, mentalist
  • Germany Jaana Felicitas, illusionist
  • Spain Mario López, comedy illusionist
  • Canada Clinton W. Gray, danger magician
  • Penn performs "Stupid"
858"Brad Sherwood's Nuts"24 August 2020 (2020-08-24)7081.01[104]
  • United States Mike Hammer, comedy magician
  • France Léa Kyle, quick change artist
  • Spain Dante, close-up/card magician
  • Japan Takamiz Usui, close-up magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "Pull Your Cash Out" (torn and restored bill effect.)
869"The Placebo Effect"31 August 2020 (2020-08-31)7090.92[105]
  • Uruguay Daniel K, close-up magician
  • Japan Yukihiro Katayama, card manipulator
  • United States Andrew Evans, illusionist
  • France David Stone, comedy magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "Placebo"
8710"Deep Fake Penn"5 October 2020 (2020-10-05)7100.78[106]
  • France Boris Wild, close-up/card magician
  • Spain Ramó & Alegría, illusionist duo
  • Japan Jonio, close-up magician
  • United States Ricardo Rosenkranz, danger magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "Cowboy"
8811"Say Hello to My Little Ball Pit Troll"12 October 2020 (2020-10-12)7110.87[107]
  • Spain Jandro,[a] comedy magician
  • United States David Parr,[a] danger magician
  • United States Magical Katrina, mentalist
  • United States Daniel Roy, close-up/card magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "Ball Pit Troll"
8912"Lord of the Ring"19 October 2020 (2020-10-19)7120.85[108]
  • United Kingdom Anna Ferris Simpson, mentalist
  • Australia Pierre Ulric, mentalist
  • United States Garrett Thomas, close-up/card magician
  • United States Francis Menotti,[a] card magician
  • Penn and Teller perform "How We Met" (previously known as "Cuffed to a Creep")
9013"Jaws of Death"26 October 2020 (2020-10-26)7130.85[109]
  • United States Blaise Serra, close-up/card magician
  • United States Leon Etienne, danger magician
  • France Xavier Mortimer, illusionist
  • Luxembourg Sylvain Juzan, close-up magician
  • Penn performs "Correlation Sticks"
9114"Magic With a Property Brother"16 November 2020 (2020-11-16)7140.79[110]
  • United Kingdom Ali Cook, close-up magician
  • United States Tony Clark, close-up magician
  • Germany Till Haunschild, card magician
  • Argentina Tony Montana, mentalist
  • Penn and Teller perform "52 Squared" (card at any location with a set of 52 sheets of 56 cards each.)
Part 2
9215"Penn & Teller Go for the Juggler"8 January 2021 (2021-01-08)7150.73[111]
  • United States Noah Sonie, comedy magician
  • Sweden Malin Nilsson, illusionist
  • United States Peter Samelson, close-up/card magician
  • United States Michael Karl, mentalist
9316"Teller vs Penn: The Rematch"15 January 2021 (2021-01-15)7160.76[112]
  • United States Jonathan Burns, escapologist
  • Taiwan Eric Chien, close-up magician
  • China Jeremiah Zuo, card magician
  • Netherlands Sabine van Diemen, illusionist
  • Teller
9417"Jedi Mind Tricks"22 January 2021 (2021-01-22)7170.75[113]
  • United States Chris Capehart, close-up magician
  • China Yan Yan Ma, illusionist
  • Germany Topas, close-up magician
  • United States Jason and Stacy Alan, card magicians
9518"Teller Gets Smashed"29 January 2021 (2021-01-29)7180.82[114]
  • South Korea Jeki Yoo, close-up magician
  • United Kingdom Matthew Pomeroy & Natasha Lamb, mentalists
  • United States Peter K. Wood, Collector of the Impossible
  • United Kingdom Lewis Starnes, close-up magician
9619"Penn & Teller Go for a Spin"5 February 2021 (2021-02-05)7190.83[115]
  • Spain Dania Diaz, close-up magician
  • United States Greg Gleason, close-up/card magician
  • United States Cameron Braxton, card magician
  • France Florian Sainvet, illusionist/manipulator
9720"Niagara Fools"19 February 2021 (2021-02-19)7200.68[116]
  • United States Greg Frewin, escapologist
  • United States Dyna Staats, mentalist
  • United States Matt Marcy, comedy magician
  • Brazil Guilherme Silveira, mentalist
9821"Back to the Future"26 February 2021 (2021-02-26)7210.76[117]
  • United States Abby Segal, mentalist
  • United Kingdom Noel Qualter, close-up and iPad magician
  • Germany Christoph Kuch, mentalist
  • United States Ray Lum, illusionist/illusion fabricator
9922"P&T Get the Finger"5 March 2021 (2021-03-05)7220.69[118]
  • United States Sanjeev Vinodh, card magician
  • United States Doc Dixon, comedy magician
  • United States David Merlin, illusionist
  • Germany Jorg Alexander, close-up magician
10023"Turn That Frown Upside Down"12 March 2021 (2021-03-12)7230.71[119]
  • United States Tyler Twombly, close-up magician
  • United Kingdom Josephine Lee, stage magician
  • Switzerland Lionel Dellberg, close-up magician
  • United States Aaron Hickok, close-up/card magician
10124"The Magic Toilet"19 March 2021 (2021-03-19)7240.80[120]
  • United States Mac King, comedy magician
  • United States David Shareef, close-up/card magician
  • Costa Rica Alejandro Navas, card magician
  • Canada Vitaly Beckman,[a] illusionist
10225"Penn & Tarot"26 March 2021 (2021-03-26)7250.74[121]
  • Australia Simon Coronel,[a] close-up magician
  • United Kingdom John Morton, mentalist
  • Italy Alberto Giorgi, illusionist
  • United States Makoto Halverson, close-up/card magician
10326"Teller's Wonderland"2 April 2021 (2021-04-02)7260.69[122]
  • Canada Ryan and Johnny Hayashi,[a] illusionists
  • United States Nathaniel Segal, mentalist
  • Spain Jandro,[a] comedy mentalist
  • United States Bill Goodwin, card magician
10427"Magic R App"9 April 2021 (2021-04-09)7270.72[123]
  • Germany Moritz Mueller, card magician
  • United States Michael Feldman, illusionist
  • United Kingdom Magical Bones, close-up magician
  • United States Seth Raphael, mentalist
10528"Penn & Teller Double Down"16 April 2021 (2021-04-16)7280.65[124]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Appeared in a previous episode where they fooled Penn & Teller.
  2. ^ Fooled Teller and Piff the Magic Dragon.

Season 8 (2021–22)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
1061"Penn & Teller's Worst Nightmare"1 October 2021 (2021-10-01)8030.67[125]
1072"Magic with a Wolf"8 October 2021 (2021-10-08)8020.67[126]
  • United States The Shocker, danger magician
  • Germany Magic Maxl, close-up magician
  • South Korea Jeki Yoo,[a] close-up/card magician
  • United States Ben Seidman, mentalist
1083"Happy Birthday!"15 October 2021 (2021-10-15)8010.74[127]
  • United States Amanda Nepo, close-up/card magician
  • Japan Shoot Ogawa, close-up/coin magician
  • Italy Ale Bellotto & Giulia Musso, illusionists
  • Canada Mark Clearview, comedy magician
1094"Monkeys, Donuts and X-Men"22 October 2021 (2021-10-22)8060.65[128]
  • India Anchal Kumawat, stage magician
  • United States Mark Doetsch, close-up magician
  • United States Michael O'Brien, close-up magician
  • Spain Adrián Carratalá,[a] card magician
1105"Teller Gets Whacked!"5 November 2021 (2021-11-05)8040.67[129]
  • United States Alex Ramon
  • United States Micah (Micah Cover)
  • Scotland Cameron Young
  • United States Matthew Teague
1116"Penn & Tizzle"12 November 2021 (2021-11-12)8050.65[130]
1127"Rock Paper Magic!"19 November 2021 (2021-11-19)8070.69[131]
  • United States Hayden Childress
  • Norway Hans Petter Secker
  • United States Benjamin Barnes
  • United Kingdom Jay & Joss
1138"Magic Cubed"3 December 2021 (2021-12-03)8080.73[132]
  • United States Sydney Weaver
  • United States Steven Palmore
  • United States Danny Ray
  • United States Bobby Torkova
1149"Chocolate Magic"7 January 2022 (2022-01-07)8090.89[133]
11510"The Penn-Tagram"14 January 2022 (2022-01-14)8100.86[134]
  • Mellow
  • Paige Thompson
  • Stanley Zhou
  • Jonathon Lachance
11611"Stabba Dabba Deck"21 January 2022 (2022-01-21)8110.91[135]
  • Zak Mirz
  • John-Henry
  • Andy Deemer
  • Thomas Solomon
11712"P&T's Super Bowl Halftime Show"28 January 2022 (2022-01-28)8130.76[136]
11813"Penn on Fire"25 February 2022 (2022-02-25)8120.76[137]
  • John Fitzsimmons
  • David Corsaro
  • Diego & Elena
  • Bentley Burns
11914"Ghostbusters"4 March 2022 (2022-03-04)8140.85[138]
  • Sean-Paul & Juliana Fay
  • Disguido
  • Scott Kahn
  • Star Newman
  1. ^ a b c d e f Appeared in a previous episode where they fooled Penn & Teller.

Season 9 (2022–23)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title [96][139]Original air date [96]Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
1201"Single-Handed Three-Legged Twin Bullet Catch"14 October 2022 (2022-10-14)9010.55[140]
  • Jon Mobley
  • The Van Hargen Twins
  • Axel Adler
  • Chris Canfield
  • Penn and Teller perform "Bucket of Blood"
1212"Sleight of Foot"21 October 2022 (2022-10-21)9020.75[141]
  • Theron Christensen
  • Jaana Felicitas
  • Benjamin Barnes
  • Brian Curry
  • Penn and Teller perform "Sleight of Foot"
1223"Four Fools and Counting..."28 October 2022 (2022-10-28)9030.54[142]
  • Yann Yuro
  • Australia Helen Coghlan[a]
  • Jason Michaels
  • Alexander Boyce
  • Penn and Teller perform "Español"
1234"Alyson's Smart Ass"4 November 2022 (2022-11-04)9040.81[143]
  • Spain Dani Daortiz , close-up card magician
  • United States Knight & Gayle, spiritualist magician duo
  • Canada Jonah Babins & Ben Train, illusionist duo
  • United States Jason Fields, parlor magician
  • Penn performs "Smart Ass"
1245"Teller and the Big Dummy"11 November 2022 (2022-11-11)9050.64[144]
1256"Magic Socks Big Time"18 November 2022 (2022-11-18)9060.78[145]
1267"That (Bleeping) Teller!"2 December 2022 (2022-12-02)9070.72[146]
  • Luka Vidovic
  • Connor McDonald & Kenshin Amagi
  • Marc Desouza
  • Kevin Micoud
1278"Penn & Teller Animal Style"20 January 2023 (2023-01-20)9080.72[147]
  • Belgium Jo De Rijck, mentalist[a]
  • Nick Paul
  • Sachin KM
  • Christopher T & Sam the Doggo
1289"Tic Tac Time Travel"27 January 2023 (2023-01-27)9090.73[148]
  • Dustin Dean
  • Alan Hudson [b]
  • Kruti Parekh
  • Kyle Purnell
12910"The Evil Magic Octopus"3 February 2023 (2023-02-03)9100.69[149]
  • Damien James[a]
  • Mantas Wizard
  • Andy Gershenzon
  • Alejandro Linian
13011"Full Frontal Magic"10 February 2023 (2023-02-10)9110.62[150]
  • Hector Mancha
  • Adam Parisi
  • Ben Zabin
  • Robert Strong
13112"P & T Could Die Any Minute"31 March 2023 (2023-03-31)9120.56[151]
  • Jandro [a]
  • Ben Kraatz
  • Judge Gary Brown
  • Puck
13213"Chicken Trickin"7 April 2023 (2023-04-07)9130.62[153]
  • Seren & Nathan
  • Caleb Morgan
  • Spain Alfonso Rituerto, coin magician
  • United States Ricardo Rosenkranz, Physician Magician [152]
13314"Alyson Might Throw Up"14 April 2023 (2023-04-14)9140.62[154]
  • Raymi
  • United Kingdom Kat Hudson
  • Spain  Javier Natera