The series starred Jack Cutmore-Scott as Cameron Black, a superstar magician who joins the FBI as a consulting illusionist to help them solve crimes after his career is ruined by a scandal. Ilfenesh Hadera, Lenora Crichlow, Justin Chon, Laila Robins, Amaury Nolasco, and Vinnie Jones also star in the show. In September 2016, the series received a pilot production commitment at ABC, and received a pilot order in January 2017. The cast was filled out in early 2017, and filming on the pilot began in New York City in March 2017. The series was officially ordered by ABC in May 2017.
On May 11, 2018, ABC cancelled the show after one season.[1]
Premise
After his career as a magician is ruined by a scandal, Las Vegas illusionist Cameron Black becomes the world's first "consulting illusionist" as he works with the FBI to solve odd crimes.[2]
Cast and characters
Main
Jack Cutmore-Scott as Cameron Black, a Las Vegas illusionist who works with the FBI to solve crimes.[3] Cutmore-Scott also portrays Cameron's twin brother, Jonathan Black.[4]
Cameron’s brother Jonathan Black is revealed to the world in the worst possible way: blamed for a death in a car accident. However, Jonathan knows he was framed, as the supposed victim was heterochromatic while the actual victim was not. One year later, a plane containing a drug lord in a hangar appears to explode under FBI custody. However, Cameron realizes that it was an illusion and that the plane was dragged out from the back of the hangar. Cameron makes a deal with FBI agent Kay Daniels: he [with his magic team] will help the FBI find and catch the drug lord in exchange for the FBI's help in clearing Jonathan’s name. After catching the drug lord, Kay finds a phone at the hangar. Cameron finds that the person who helped make the plane disappear is the same mystery woman that framed Jonathan.
Chris Fedak serves as showrunner and writer on the series.
Deception was given a pilot production commitment by ABC on September 14, 2016, with the project being developed by Chris Fedak and magician David Kwong.[24] The pilot was ordered on January 19, 2017,[25] followed by a series order a few months later on May 12.[8][2] On February 10, 2017, Jack Cutmore-Scott was cast in the lead role as Cameron Black,[3] followed a few days later by the casting of Ilfenesh Hadera as Kay Daniels,[5]Lenora Crichlow as Dina Clark, and Amaury Nolasco as Mike Alvarez.[6] The following month, Justin Chon joined the cast as Jordan Kwon,[7] while Vinnie Jones was cast as Gunter Gastafsen.[9] In May 2017, it was revealed that Laila Robins had been cast as special agent Deakins.[8]
Production on the pilot began in March 2017,[26] with filming taking place in New York City.[27] Filming for the rest of the season began in September 2017,[28] and ended in February 2018.[29] The series is composed by Blake Neely and Nathaniel Blume.[30][31]
Release
Deception began airing on March 11, 2018, on ABC in the United States,[32] and on CTV in Canada.[33] The pilot was screened on July 19, 2017, at San Diego Comic-Con International.[34] On October 8, 2017, members of the cast and the executive producers attended New York Comic Con to promote the series and screen the pilot.[35]
In France, under the name "Cameron Black: l'illusionniste",[42][circular reference] it became a ratings hit, becoming the number one show in its timeslot.[43]
In Germany, after airing only 7 episodes, Deception had already broken viewing records.[citation needed]
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 60% approval rating with an average rating of 6.01/10 based on 9 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Deception isn't particularly original or thoughtful, but there's still some lighthearted fun to be found hidden up its sleeve." Audience reaction on the same website has a 93% approval rating.[44]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 51 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[45] According to The New York Times, Deception scores 3 out of 5, and that it is one of the latest shows that are trying to be Castle.[46]
Awards and online polls
In E!'s TVScoopAwards, Deception dominated categories, winning 3 awards including Worst Shocker, Breakout Actor (Jack Cutmore-Scott), and Best new 2017/18 Show.[47]
