A new series starring Las Vegas magician Rick Lax has been a huge hit for Facebook Watch.
“Making Magic” has garnered nearly 4 million views over two episodes since premiering in mid-April with Lax, a Las Vegas native.
He’s racked up over 5 billion views for his Facebook magic videos, which led to the creation of “Making Magic,” essentially a magicians’ version of Jerry Seinfeld’s Web series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”
“After I was working, I started putting out magic videos on my own on Facebook,” says Lax, 37, who worked as an assistant to acclaimed magician David Copperfield. “That went really well. But then I also have some friends who I think are even better than me so I said, ‘Let’s make a show where I can showcase some of my friends.’ ”
“Making Magic” was born. The five-episode first season airs every other week on Facebook Watch (there’s no set day or time) with each episode featuring Lax showcasing one of his magician pals as they demonstrate tricks and discuss their craft.
Aside from putting out his own Facebook magic videos and his history as a magician, Lax also created “Wizard Wars,” a reality competition show featuring magicians which premiered on Syfy in 2014 and ran for two seasons.
As a result, he has an eclectic network of connections to fellow magicians to feature on “Making Magic,” including Justin Flom, Billy Kidd and Jibrizy.
“Some people [featured on the show] came from work, some people from professional connections,” says Lax, referring to Seinfeld’s Web series.
“I’m doing the same thing here where everyone I’m hanging out with is not only a great magician, we’re also friends in real life.”
Tricks showcased by Lax include making a Tesla appear out of nowhere and making a woman levitate.
“It seems like something is going on with cars and streaming videos — it’s not just comedians in cars, it’s also the James Corden ‘Carpool Karaoke videos,” says Lax. “I think a car is just a nice way to frame a conversation, and people can tell it’s something new and different — it’s not a traditional interview show with someone sitting behind a desk and someone sitting on a couch.”
The show’s large audience numbers, Lax says, has resulted in nibbles from other networks.
“We’re getting interest from other places,” he says, adding that he’s keeping his options open, but that Facebook is his home for now. “Obviously Facebook has been in the news a lot for a lot of issues — it’s been such a good place for me. I use it to connect with magicians across the globe and I met my fiancee through Facebook.
“When she was diagnosed with cancer we set up a support group for her there, so Facebook obviously has legitimate issues going on, but it also does a lot of good stuff.”