Netflix reality special 'The Push' guides one unsuspecting man toward... murder?
At any given moment, how close are any of us to committing an act as despicable as murder? What kind of circumstances could arise to push a person in that direction?
Those are questions The Push sets out to ask. The upcoming Netflix reality special stages an elaborate ruse in which a series of scripted events drive one unsuspecting man toward killing a living human.
A new trailer for the hour-long program, out Feb. 27, hints at the premise. There's a big-money auction happening, and one of the event's wealthy benefactors falls to the ground clutching his chest shortly before it begins.
Chris, the unwitting "star" of the program, is one of two participants who's there when it happens. He's subsequently drawn into a "web of lies" as the show's 70 actors lead him toward participating in what the trailer suggests is a staged suicide.
The whole thing is a setup, of course, but Chris doesn't know that. The Push is the work of Derren Brown, a British mentalist whom Netflix describes as a "psychological illusionist." The reality special, an "audacious social experiment" is a consideration of how both authority figures and social pressures can manipulate an otherwise ordinary person in extraordinary ways.
The Push isn't actually a new release. It's one of two older Brown specials that originally aired in the United Kingdom and which Netflix has now picked up for re-release (the other is called The Miracle). Brown is also working on something completely new for the streaming giant, but no details have been released yet.
Even if The Push isn't technically new, the trailer released on Tuesday and the alarming premise it introduces prompted quite a reaction.
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Topics Netflix
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
