I’ll try not to be biased here as not only do I love magic, but Penn & Teller are my favorite magicians.
If you enjoy magic on any level this show is probably for you. The premise is simple; a magician comes out on stage and does a trick. Just once. Then Penn & Teller see if they can figure out how they did it. They get one guess, if they figure it out the magician essentially loses. If they have no idea, then the magician gets to open for Penn & Teller at their show in Las Vegas.
The thing I like about the show is that Penn & Teller watch the act just like an audience member would. No replays, no looking at things form different camera angles, no special access; just sitting there with everyone else enjoying the show. Now they do have knowledge that most of us don’t about magic having been in the business for decades but they only get that one guess.
Another nice thing is that while discussing how the trick was done, there is no real revealing. Everything is said in a kind of code. Now if you want to spoil things for yourself, you could probably search for key words said between Penn and the performer, or you can choose to stay mystified. It’s all up to you.
The greatest thing is when Penn & Teller actually get fooled. It happens about once per episode and it is wonderful because it is nice to see someone get tricked by someone else in the same field. I’m guessing a magician doesn’t get the feeling of wonder that originally pulled them into doing magic in the first place and not being able to figure out how a fellow magician did something must bring a little of that back.
Finally, the best thing about this program has got to be the wide array of acts. You will see card tricks, comedy magicians, sleight of hand, mentalists; the list goes on and on. Every style and type of magician comes on this show. Oh! As a bonus Penn & Teller finish off every show with one of their own tricks so I recommend you watch if you enjoy illusions on any level.