‘Death by Magic’ Star Drummond Money-Coutts Teases 3 Death-Defying Tricks

Move over, Harry Potter!

British magician Drummond Money-Coutts has nothing up his sleeves — and everything to lose — in this new series that chronicles his attempts to do mind-blowing stunts that killed other illusionists. “What drives me is the thought that I can represent to children what my heroes represented to me,” he says, crediting a strange childhood for his interest in “dangerous magic.” Here, he teases three don’t-try-these-at-home tricks.

Death By Magic

Underwater Escape

Inspired by a magician who drowned during an act in 1930, Money-Coutts is still chilled by his own twist on the scenario: “It wasn’t a failure, but it was, for me, the most traumatic.” Given that it involves being chained inside a car that is then flooded with water, we can see why!

Human Tomb

While every stunt comes with its own scares, Money-Coutts had an unexpectedly emotional experience working with the sons of a magician who died in 1990 during a botched buried-alive feat. He says their participation in his own take “[took it] full circle, carrying the torch for [their dad] and completing what he couldn’t.”

Burning Up

“In terms of immediate danger, perhaps the worst one for me was the fire stunt,” he recalls of his attempt to escape a suspended cage hanging from ropes that have been set ablaze (inspired by a trick that claimed one of Harry Houdini’s closest contemporaries in 1911). “When you’re dealing with fire, you’ve got all these elements that change every time you try it. It didn’t go, let’s say, as planned!”

Death by Magic, Series Premiere, Friday, Nov. 30, Netflix

More Magic Shows on Netflix That Will Blow Your Mind:

The Carbonaro Effect
Magician Michael Carbonaro wows bystanders with mind-boggling stunts in this truTV hidden-camera show. 20 episodes available.

THE CARBONARO EFFECT

Magic for Humans
Did he really just turn a photo of a tarantula on the screen of a smartphone into an actual tarantula? Why, yes. Justin Willman performs magic for everyday folks, leaving them delighted, slack-jawed and, in some cases, spooked. Season 1 available.

Magic For Humans

Breaking the Magician’s Code
How’d they do that?! On this 1997–2009 series from Fox and MyNetworkTV, a masked man reveals techniques behind some of the world’s most breathtaking stunts, like how to make an elephant disappear. Seasons 1–2 available.

Breaking the Magician’s Code