Illusionist Derren Brown has been involved in some pretty hard-to-comprehend stunts in his time, meddling around with the murky territories of hypnosis, Russian roulette, heists, seances and more.
But now he's going on step further, by trying to manipulate people into murder as part of a new show called The Push.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR THE PUSH:
Advert
Taking the reality TV genre to its ultimate extreme, the new Netflix show has been designed to use social pressure to convince an 'ordinary, decent person' to cast aside their moral codes and commit murder.
The programme description explains: "Brown exposes the psychological secrets of obedience and social compliance.
"He expertly lifts the lid on the terrifying truth that, when confronted with authority, our natural instinct is to unflinchingly obey without question - to such an extent that even the most moral people can be made to commit the most horrendous acts, simply because they are told to do so."
In the special show, Brown orchestrates a 'meticulously planned and rehearsed' scenario, which sees a cast of 70 actors push victim Chris - who has no idea he's being filmed - to breaking point.
Advert
"Chris is enmeshed in a web of lies," Brown says in the trailer.
"And that's important. I need him to feel like there's only one way out - when he's told to commit murder."
Brown says that the show is about 'how readily we hand over authorship of our lives', exploring if and how social compliance can be used to make someone push a living, breathing human being to their death.
Advert
"The question we're considering is simple," Brown continues. "Can we be manipulated, through social pressure, to commit murder?"
Debuting on Netflix on 27 February, the intriguing - but obviously highly problematic - social experiment marks a new level for Brown, who's never been one to shy away from controversy.
A 2003 stunt, in which he played Russian roulette live on TV, was criticised by police, psychologists and anti-gun campaigners, with many worrying that it would inspire others to carry out copycat acts or that it glamourised gun culture.
Advert
Much of his work has also faced backlash from those concerned about the psychological impact it has on its participants, whose minds are often exploited to extremes.
And according to Entertainment Weekly there's plenty more where this episode came from, as The Push is part of three Netflix specials from Brown. So strap in, kids, as it looks like things are about to get pretty sketchy.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Netflix, TV