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Fool us once: Penn & Teller are headed for home

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Author: 
Andrew Warren / TV Media
Penn Jillette and Teller as seen in “Penn & Teller: Fool Us”

Penn Jillette and Teller as seen in “Penn & Teller: Fool Us”

Fool us once: A short-lived U.K. series featuring two of America's favorite performers is headed to our shores.

Illusionists Penn Jillette and Teller have been Las Vegas favorites for decades, with the duo still drawing in big crowds to their show at The Rio. Well, now the Penn & Teller duo is bringing its latest (and some would say greatest) TV show home, and magic fans have big reason to be excited.

"Penn & Teller: Fool Us" is headed to The CW Wednesday, July 30, after a successful showing on ITV in the United Kingdom. The competition show shines a spotlight on new talent hoping to make it big in Vegas -- a town that the legendary Penn & Teller act knows all too well.

In each episode, up-and-coming magicians and illusionists perform their best tricks in front of the seasoned duo, who then try to explain how the illusions were done. These young guns will need to be original with their tricks, too -- with decades of experience shared between them, Jillette and Teller really have seen it all.

Of course, there's a point to this -- one that could potentially be the launching pad for a new David Copperfield. If ever one of the hopefuls performs a trick that Penn & Teller can't explain, then they hit the Vegas jackpot -- a trip to the legendary city in the desert, where they'll get to perform as the opening act in Penn & Teller's famous show.

As seasoned showmen, Jillette and Teller's latest TV show is just the latest that the duo has brought to the screen, but the pair's wry humor and knack for flair most definitely never get old. Catch this U.K. import when it premieres Wednesday, July 30, on The CW.

 

The British are coming!: The British imports really are flooding our shores, but that really shouldn't surprise anyone -- with the runaway success of shows like "Doctor Who" and "Sherlock," there's obviously an appetite for U.K. fare on this side of the pond.

Described as a "grown up" spy thriller, "The Honorable Woman" is due to premiere Thursday, July 31, on SundanceTV. With good buzz following it across the Atlantic and a stellar cast headlining, this eight-part miniseries may be one to watch out for.

Leading the ensemble cast is American Maggie Gyllenhaal. The Oscar-nominated actress appeared in last year's "White House Down" alongside sexy heartthrob Channing Tatum. She received her Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role in "Crazy Heart" (2009) and has also starred in "The Dark Knight" (2008), "World Trade Center" (2006) and alongside her younger brother Jake in "Donnie Darko" (2001).

In "The Honorable Woman," Gyllenhaal stars as the daughter of a Zionist arms procurer who comes under investigation by the British MI6 intelligence agency after taking over the company.

Actors starring alongside Gyllenhaal include Oscar nominees Stephen Rea ("The Crying Game," 1992) and Janet McTeer ("Tumbleweeds," 1999); Tony Award winner Lindsay Duncan ("Alice in Wonderland," 2010); cult favorite Katherine Parkinson ("Doc Martin," "The IT Crowd") and stage actor Andrew Buchan ("Garrow's Law").

Spy thrillers are always great fun, and with a focus on complex and sophisticated plots, "The Honorable Woman" is looking like a late-summer treat from our friends across the Atlantic. Watch for this eight-part series starting Thursday, July 31, on SundanceTV.

 

Saving the story: In 2009, the squeaky-clean facade was blown off of an old favorite.

That year, former "Saved by the Bell" actor Dustin Diamond published a tell-all autobiography titled "Behind the Bell," detailing some behind-the-scenes shenanigans that his fellow actors had gotten up to on set -- shenanigans that didn't exactly match up with the goody-goody personas that had been cultivated around the early-'90s sitcom.

Diamond's fellow castmates refuted many of his claims, and now Lifetime is aiming to set the record straight with "The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story," a TV movie special premiering Monday, Sept. 1.

The revealing movie will delve behind the scenes with six young actors thrust into the spotlight and snatching near-instant stardom, and with "Saved by the Bell's" original casting director on board, it has recruited some bright young talent to take on the roles of their predecessors.

These days, Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater in "Saved by the Bell") is probably the most famous of the original six actors, hosting "The X Factor" and having starred in "The Bold and the Beautiful" back in 2006. He'll be played by Julian Works, an young up-and-comer who's had roles in "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "The Closer."

Of course, the real star of the show in "Saved by the Bell" was the mischievous Zack Morris, played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar ("Franklin & Bash"). Cast in his role is Dylan Everett ("Degrassi: The Next Generation"), who will be joined on screen by Sam Kindseth ("Shameless"), Alyssa Lynch ("The High Jumping Witch," 2014), Tiera Skovbye ("Supernatural") and Taylor Russell ("Blink," 2013).

Being six of the biggest stars on television must make for a very strange way to grow up, and finally this story is going to be told. "Saved by the Bell" fans old and new won't want to miss "The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story" premiering Monday, Sept. 1, on Lifetime.