OLN preps magic duo

Canadian network OLN will premiere two original magic shows in 2015, including a coproduction between Toronto’s Yap Films and the UK’s ZigZag Productions.

The previously announced Close Up Kings follows three best friends who are renowned sleight-of-hand artists as they travel around Canada taking on different challenges and attempting to out-perform one another. Tricks include bringing a bird back to life and teleporting a person 700 yards across a desert.

The series was originally commissioned by OLN and Discovery Networks International for Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is distributed internationally by Entertainment One Television.

OLN, owned by Rogers Media, has also commissioned Illusions of Grandeur from Toronto-based Peacock Alley Entertainment. The show features illusionist Zack Mirza as he meets the best magicians in the world in a bid to improve his own skills. Both shows have been slated to air in 2015.