‘The Carbonaro Effect’: Is It Real Or Fake? Set Secrets Revealed

Michael Carbonaro is bringing back “The Carbonaro Effect” for another season of entertaining illusions. Before the truTV series returns with new Season 4 episodes, get a closer look at how real the hidden camera series is.

On the show, Carbonaro plays pranks on unsuspecting individuals, which he’s able to pull off thanks to his magic training. “I had this love-hate relationship with magic; magic can sometimes be a bad word. A lot of people– they think of their dumb uncle or some stupid clown that they saw. They don’t really know that magic can be super skilled and super wonderful,” Carbanaro told The Interrobang in 2015.

To make each scene, Carbanaro doesn’t rely on scripts or filming the same tricks multiple times.

“I wish I could try each one a lot but we have to shoot 13 episodes in 10 weeks time. That’s like a hundred and forty-something brand new tricks that we’ve come up with that we have to figure out how to do and shoot right away. So it’s madness. And part of the fun is that ring of fire,” he said.

Of course, he does need some help to make his magic tricks a reality. Carbonaro utilizes a team of 30 crew members and six cameras to film the show. “I work really closely with producers,” Carbonaro told RealityBlurred in May.

“We all get together, we sit in a room, and the ideas can come from anywhere. We might have a trick that’s really cool and then we find a place to put it... I call them kooky weirdos, but I should call them magical geniuses, which is what they are. But we are weirdos—come on! You have to be to make up this show.”

With such mind-bending tricks, the realness of Carbonaro’s show has been called into question before. After one viewer spotted a continuity error in 2016 and went on to suggest the show hired actors or took multiple takes to complete tricks, Carbonaro posted an unedited video of one of his tricks to prove that’s not the case.

“If anything this was really very positive,” Carbonaro wrote online at the time of the criticism. “I understand why people are skeptical.”

Those still in denial about the realness of the show can see Carbonaro perform live. The show’s star is currently on tour where he “brings his signature blend of bizarre antics, audience interaction, hilarious video clips, and mind-blowing magic, live on stage” to each performance.

“The Carbonaro Effect” returns to truTV with all-new episodes on Dec. 13 at 10 p.m. EST. The show is also currently streaming on Netflix. Check out a Season 4 sneak peek here.​