U.S. cable network Syfy has picked up the street magic reality show Close Up Kings.

Produced by London-headquartered Zig Zag Productions and Toronto’s Yap Films, the 8 x 60 minute-series follows sleight-of-hand artists Magick Balay, Loki, and Johnny Blaze as they travel the United States attempting to one-up each other with increasingly complex tricks, such as a Houdini-style jail escape and teleporting a person 700 yards across a desert.

“Magic programming is very much en vogue and we believe the key to creating internationally successful shows in this genre is to constantly try to reinvent what a magic show should be,” said Zig Zag CEO Danny Fenton. “Close Up Kings is unique in that the series is as much about three buddies having fun on the road as the incredible close up illusions they create on their journey.”

Fenton serves as exec producer along with Zig Zag’s Kevin Utton and Matt Gould. Elliott Halpern and Elizabeth Trojian are exec producing for Yap Films.

Syfy previously acquired the Zig Zag-produced series Troy: Street Magic.

Close Up Kings is distributed by eOne internationally.

From Realscreen

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