Here in the UK, we mainly know Derren Brown for his illusionist specials on Channel 4, with the likes of Pushed to the Edge and Russian Roulette all premiering on the broadcaster and horrifying and gripping viewers in equal measures.
Nowadays, though, Derren Brown is breaking America and teaming up with Netflix, with his new special Derren Brown: Sacrifice, in which he will try to convince a man to sacrifice his life for a stranger, scheduled to drop later this year.
Sacrifice marks the first special that has been filmed entirely for Netflix and speaking to Graham Norton on his Radio 2 show today (September 15), Derren talks making the switch to the streaming platform.
“It feels… in some ways it’s different,” he said. “After years of Channel 4, they knew how we made the shows, in terms of things like the duty of care to the person going through it, if it’s a big, dark stunt.
“So we kind of had tracks that we slotted into to make sure all that was in place, but with Netflix, we’re having to explain to them as much about how we make the shows as with fitting in with what they require as well.
“They’re brilliant and supportive, but they’re also just further away, they’re in America. So we’ve been entrusted a lot.”
Luckily for longtime Derren Brown fans, he added that he’s trying to avoid repeating ideas in his new projects, and added that his Sacrifice special is “really good”.
During the chat, Derren also revealed that viewers in America are a lot more outraged by his stunts and illusions, which he’s finding “fun”.
“Here, I got used to… there are moments when I’ve been a controversial figure, but I imagine for most people now it’s like, ‘oh ok he’s doing another thing like that’. Whereas out there, they [say] ‘You’re doing what?! You’re pushing someone off a building?’
“It’s an outrage, [I’m] getting talked about on Fox News. So I’m going out there and facing all that kind of thing, which is fun.”
Derren Brown was on Graham Norton to discuss his new photography book, Meet the People with Love, which is out now.
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