David Blaine's New Disney+ Series: Everything We Know

Special after special, David Blaine has pushed the boundaries of what we think magic can be. But it's been a while since we've seen the famous street magician grace our television screens. It's left many wondering when we'll see a new special from Blaine and what his next TV show might be about.

Then, as part of the Nat Geo presentation at the TV Critics Association Winter Press Tour, Nat Geo content president Courteney Monroe gave us the answers we needed. Blaine and his team are working on a new documentary series.

In his next project, an episodic series named Beyond Belief for Disney+, Blaine adventures to otherwise unexplored corners of the world to meet their occupants and learn unique rituals. Little is known about the show, but it's bound to astonish in unexpected ways.

Most of Blaine's specials feature him performing incredible stunts like holding his breath for 17 minutes or getting frozen in a block of ice for 63 hours. In this case, he will take more of a backseat as the focus is on the people he meets along the way. Who will these people be, and what feats can they accomplish? A big part of David's journey will be to learn the secrets of these individuals; how much will they be willing to reveal on camera?

Disney, a company known for invoking feelings of magic, has made a few forays into featuring the mystic arts. Recently in 2020, a Disney+ original film hit the platform called Magic Camp, starring Adam Devine. The movie is loosely based on Tannen's Magic Camp and features a lot of original routines performed by the cast.

Along with Disney, National Geographic is also producing the series. Nat Geo is known for exploring the beauty of this Earth, typically through nature and wildlife, but in their first series working with Blaine, they will be focusing on shamans, fakirs, and magicians alike. This is not National Geographic's first time dipping its toe into the magic arena.

A 2014 similarly named series Beyond Magic from magician DMC shows him performing magic for locals of popular areas worldwide. Dynamo also produced a 2020 mini-series for Sky called Beyond Belief, which showcased magic alongside the story of Dynamo's road to recovery after a career-threatening onslaught of chronic arthritis.

In 2011, magician Dan White aired a show on Discovery titled THE SUPERNATURALIST, with a premise close to Blaine's new series. White travelled to Nepal and relied on his talents as an illusionist to open doors normally closed to outsiders in an attempt to find one of these feared monks and - hopefully - witness the Monk's true magic.

Although most of David's specials have taken place inside the United States, this is not his first televised venture outside the country. In Real or Magic, aired in 2013, Blaine travelled to Liberia, Africa, to meet the human water spout. This man had grown up in a place where clean water was scarce, so he learned how to store water in his stomach by controlling the muscles.

After learning the secret, David could produce gallons of water at will while storing an assortment of fish and frogs in his stomach. Eventually, kerosine was added to the mix, and he mastered producing the kerosine and water separately, which he did on Jimmy Kimmel Live. If the upcoming series is anything like this journey, we are in for an exciting ride.

Whatever is to come on Beyond Belief, we all know it will examine our thoughts on what the human body can do and our perception of the world. Nothing is out of the question with what is next for Blaine; we'll have to tune in to see for ourselves. Will you be tuning in to watch Beyond Belief, and what detail makes you most excited about the series?