ABC has just ordered the pilot for a new magic-based procedural called Deception. The Hollywood Reporter had the story.
Deception is being produced by Blindspot creator Martin Gero, Greg Berlanti (The Flash, Arrow) and David Kwong, who previously worked as a magic consultant for the film Now You See Me. The script will be written by Chris Fedak, co-creator of Chuck and current co-showrunner for the CW’s Legends of Tomorrow. ABC landed the series after a bidding-war with multiple other networks.
The series’ official logline is as follows: “When a superstar magician’s career is ruined by scandal, he has only one place to turn to practice his art of deception, illusion and influence — the FBI. He’ll become the world’s first consulting illusionist, helping the government solve crimes that defy explanation, and trap criminals and spies by using deception”. In other words, it’s Now You See Me meets Sherlock.
As the deal was just announced, there is currently no word on who will be starring in the series. However, considering the popularity of similar magic-themed shows such as SyFy’s The Magicians and the CW’s Penn and Teller: Fool Us, it seems likely that Deception will go out of its way to cast big names in order to stand out from its competitors.
Expect ABC to pull casting details out of a hat in the near future.