Netflix has brought back Star Search. For four weeks this January and February, viewers could watch contestants compete live, and then vote in real-time on which acts should move forward.
Harry Merlin Piper (left) and TJ Salta, two magicians who made the final round, with Salta ultimately taking the top prize. Harry Merlin Piper photo by Greg Gayne/Netflix; TJ Salta photo by Kit Karzen/Netflix
The competition saw two magicians make it to the final four: 15-year-old Harry Merlin Piper from Spain who blends comedy and ventriloquism with big illusions, and 24-year-old TJ Salta, a Las Vegas magician and mentalist. They both competed during the February 17 finale, with the winner determined by viewers voting in real-time. (Before the finale, viewers still voted, but judges Jelly Roll, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Chrissy Teigen ultimately decided who moved forward.)
At the end of the night, Piper and Salta were the last two acts standing, with Salta ultimately crowned the winner and recipient of $500,000. TJ’s final performance involved making Gellar’s ring vanish, only to appear once again, tied to the leg of Salta’s hawk, who goes by the name Messiah.
“I was shocked, and I was grateful,” Salta told the Netflix-run website Tudum about winning Star Search. “Just being here from day one and doing five rounds live—without a lot of time in between—it felt like it paid off immediately.”
“I want to ride this wave and give people the magic they want,” he continued. “I’m ready to give the world a magic experience. That’s my dream. I’m using this win as a first step in that.”