Wizard Wars

Wizard Wars Conjures Up A Lot Of Fun.

There are a lot of Reality Shows on television that are rooted in human competition. Regardless of the theme, these shows always pit an individual or team against others to win respect and usually a substantial sum of money. Some of these shows work really well, and the show proves to be engaging while some prove to be incredibly dull. One of the newest of these competition based Reality shows combines elements of Robot Wars and Iron Chef with magic. The resulting show, Wizard Wars, is going to be pretty good if the first episode is any indication. 

Wizard Wars is full of engaging personalities and a cool premise, now to hope the show’s engaging cast of regulars and fun premise: Two teams of challengers use a pre-selected group of items to prepare a short performance. The judges, then select a winning team to go up against a two-person team from the resident “master wizards” using another group of items with a $10,000 prize on the line for the challengers.

A team of judges, led by the legendary magic duo Pen and Teller hold court and pass final rulings over every performance and give insight into what the challengers should and shouldn’t do in terms of interacting with the live audience and each other, as well as the flow of their tricks. The overall flow of  Wizard Wars is pretty solid, with nothing seeming to drag on longer than it should. In fact, the overall flow of this show could be a high point if the magicians weren’t so darn engaging. There’s no segment that feels like it’s running too long and all in all, that made for a fun experience.

If first impressions can sell someone on a show, Wizard Wars definitely sold me. The engaging and knowledgeable cast members, fun magic tricks, and the lure of rooting for a particular team will definitely give viewers a lot to look forward to. Wizard Wars premieres Tuesday, August 19th at 10/9c, and it’s definitely a generally cooler experience than David Copperfield making an airplane vanish.