David Blaine Talks ‘South Park’ Parody, Exploring Real-Life Magic and Pushing His Limits in New Series ‘Do Not Attempt’

variety.com:

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor David Blaine has made a habit of blowing people’s minds. The magician and mentalist is known for such feats of endurance as burying himself alive for seven days and holding his breath for more than 17 minutes.

But he’s also gone viral with his filmed magic tricks, often shot on the street as strangers observe and react to them. In expressing their disbelief, people have been known to run away screaming or even burst into tears while Blaine maintains his deadpan, stoic facade.

Their responses are often as memorable as the trick itself — such as when Harrison Ford pulled his playing card from inside a freshly cut orange and promptly told the illusionist, “Get the fuck outta my house.” But now it’s Blaine who gets to react with wide-eyed disbelief to what he calls “real-life magic” in his new six-part “David Blaine: Do Not Attempt,” launching March 23 on National Geographic before hitting Disney+/Hulu the following day. (Following the premiere of the first two, subsequent episodes will air each week.) In the series, produced by Imagine Entertainment, Blaine travels all over the world to meet with people from different cultures who perform remarkable feats of endurance, from eating nails to lighting themselves on fire.

After a crash-course with the masters, Blaine attempts a few stunts on his own — including covering himself in scorpions, inserting a knife up one nostril and kissing a king cobra on its head.