The Magicians (2016)

:

Season 1
  • Network: SyFy
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 25, 2016
Season #: 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1
User Score
7.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 225 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 158 out of 225
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 225
  3. Negative: 38 out of 225
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User Reviews

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  1. Jenmlx
    Mar 1, 2016
    1
    Having read the books I greatly looked forward to this show. The first episode was not too bad. There were changes to be sure, but none unforgivable. I found it perfectly allowable to change a few things to get the action going faster than it did in the book. Then I watched the second episode. Things started to get bad. Every deviation from the original book had me wondering why. EveryHaving read the books I greatly looked forward to this show. The first episode was not too bad. There were changes to be sure, but none unforgivable. I found it perfectly allowable to change a few things to get the action going faster than it did in the book. Then I watched the second episode. Things started to get bad. Every deviation from the original book had me wondering why. Every time they changed course from the original source material it got cheesier. By the third episode I completely understood: There was no intention of following the books at all. Obviously the idea was to just use the books as inspiration and create a series that could be continued for as long as the show continued to make money.

    The dialogue and plot quickly became ridiculous and unforgivable.    … Expand
  2. Vixeneque
    Apr 2, 2016
    3
    Well I loved this show when it first started. But the last few episodes have left me thinking i may have to pass on watching it further. It started out so good too, but the last few episodes have been complete and utter crap. The acting was never great, but it was acceptable. But it seems that it is just getting worse as the season goes on. In fairness not all the actors are bad...but if aWell I loved this show when it first started. But the last few episodes have left me thinking i may have to pass on watching it further. It started out so good too, but the last few episodes have been complete and utter crap. The acting was never great, but it was acceptable. But it seems that it is just getting worse as the season goes on. In fairness not all the actors are bad...but if a script is poorly written, not even the best actor can save it. I had high hopes for this show when it first started. But now i will be extremely surprised if it gets a second season. Sad, because they could have done so much better.… Expand
  3. Shambala
    Jan 1, 2017
    0
    The Magicians is a wonderful series of books - unique, groundbreaking, a fantastic, grown-up spin on some of the beloved books of our childhood. This TV adaptation is pure garbage. It ruins key plot points in the first 10 minutes. The writers take liberties and make changes all over the place, and each decision is a terrible one. It is cheap - not even B-movie quality. It takes goldThe Magicians is a wonderful series of books - unique, groundbreaking, a fantastic, grown-up spin on some of the beloved books of our childhood. This TV adaptation is pure garbage. It ruins key plot points in the first 10 minutes. The writers take liberties and make changes all over the place, and each decision is a terrible one. It is cheap - not even B-movie quality. It takes gold material and spins it into a pile of vomit. The writers should be banned from TV. If you like anything at all about this show, you'd be so much better off turning it off and reading the books instead. They are wonderful.… Expand
  4. luczai
    Jan 26, 2016
    3
    Wow. I can't believe how dumbed down this is from the books. I really hope this doesn't discourage potential readers of this excellent series of books. So much is lost in making everyone older (even the kids in Fillory--presumably to set the stage for sex scenes with them in the future as there is no other plausible reason), better looking, and compressing the storyline to the point whereWow. I can't believe how dumbed down this is from the books. I really hope this doesn't discourage potential readers of this excellent series of books. So much is lost in making everyone older (even the kids in Fillory--presumably to set the stage for sex scenes with them in the future as there is no other plausible reason), better looking, and compressing the storyline to the point where you can't imagine what they're going to do if the series gets renewed. I was really looking forward to this and am very disappointed. If you haven't read the books, you might like it better than I did.… Expand
  5. Lecroan
    Mar 15, 2016
    1
    Not only are the character descriptions from the novels ignored completely, the magic system isn't even explained rendering the viewer mostly confused. The pacing of the story is terrible, the Chatwin kids aren't actually kids. The show is completely butchering the source material. They couldn't even get a tall Quentin, just the height is incorrect. Nothing to redeem this drab affair.
  6. lazy_davey
    Jun 11, 2016
    0
    Is this a prawn directors first attempt at making a TV series? The soft focus scenes all seem to have this air about them. It's as if the action is about to kick off, but then it disappoints by staying in bland TV friendly territory on a par with charmed or Buffy the vampire slayer. One of the lead actresses Stella Maeve is like a down market Remy Lacroix with those awful wrist tattoosIs this a prawn directors first attempt at making a TV series? The soft focus scenes all seem to have this air about them. It's as if the action is about to kick off, but then it disappoints by staying in bland TV friendly territory on a par with charmed or Buffy the vampire slayer. One of the lead actresses Stella Maeve is like a down market Remy Lacroix with those awful wrist tattoos that young ladies are getting these days.

    Olivia Taylor Dudley puts me in mind of Alex Grey, especially in that naked tying each-others wrists up scene with Jason Ralph.

    I have no idea what is going on from scene to scene, they may as well just be random scenes leading into a prawn shoot. At least Buffy and Charmed story lines made sense from episode to episode.

    If you've bothered to read the books I hear this garbage is based on, you're probably just better off keeping to your bookish ways.    … Expand
  7. dc127
    Aug 18, 2016
    3
    Original Review: I have read all three books and went into watching the TV show with mixed expectations. The books have a lot going for them, but I could see how it would be hard to adapt them for TV. As others have pointed out the pilot is clumsy with a bit too much filler going on in the background. There are a lot of deviations from the book that I just don't get. It helps to view theOriginal Review: I have read all three books and went into watching the TV show with mixed expectations. The books have a lot going for them, but I could see how it would be hard to adapt them for TV. As others have pointed out the pilot is clumsy with a bit too much filler going on in the background. There are a lot of deviations from the book that I just don't get. It helps to view the show as a unique stand alone rather than compare it to the books. So far I have found the series enjoyable but flawed. Alice to me is the stand out on the show so far. Elliot also has his moments. Most of the other actors really aren't that likeable. Both Quintin and Julia strike me as selfish, narcissistic jerks at times. I loathed Julia's character in the novels, and so far I still don't like her in the show. Hopefully as I make it into the back half of the season her story gets better.

    Updated: Well I have now finished watching the entire season. I have to say I am very disappointed. Instead of fixing the problems that popped up early they got progressively worse. Quintin is just a whiny **** In the books he has self esteem problems, but is a very competent magician who demonstrates bravery and loyalty to his friends. In the show he is just a depressed wet paper sack. There are a ton of deviations from the book that just make no sense. If you can't identify with Quintin what is the point of the story?

    He is the MAIN CHARACTER of the entire series. In the show they have made him secondary to highlight Julia and even Alice's skills as magicians and strong women. The only white males in the show are a sad sack who is completely emasculated (Quintin), gay comic relief (Elliot), or the villain (Martin). On the other hand they made Penny Indian, and made both female characters much stronger and more important that in the books. This is just sloppy writing that serves no actual purpose other than some identity politics. Also aging the characters up so that they are in graduate school rather than college makes no sense. It would be much better if they were 19-20 and still ****    … Expand
  8. yass
    Jan 27, 2016
    0
    Watched the first two episodes. I don't know what all the fuss is about. Haven't read the books though so this review is purely about the show itself. The acting is nearly appalling. The special effects are quite good though. Will watch the next couple of episodes to see if it gets better.
  9. kuehnau
    Jan 29, 2017
    0
    The Magicians is based on a series of books by Lev Grossman. The books were kind of like a more adult oriented Harry Potter series. While not al that amazing, the books are an intresting read.

    With that being said, the TV series is almost nothing like the book series. People who have never read the books will most likely enjoy the series, but fans of the written books will no doubt    The Magicians is based on a series of books by Lev Grossman. The books were kind of like a more adult oriented Harry Potter series. While not al that amazing, the books are an intresting read.

    With that being said, the TV series is almost nothing like the book series. People who have never read the books will most likely enjoy the series, but fans of the written books will no doubt dislike this adaptation.

    When will writers and producers start to realize that fans of a book want a faithful interpretation and not a reimagining? A series is popular because the fans of the series makes it popular, so they should be the focus when writing or producing a spinoff.    … Expand
  10. Yolrey
    Jan 8, 2017
    3
    The Magicians is a low budget Harry Potter knockoff with a million plotholes. The characters are underdeveloped and riddled with cliches, the acting is terrible, and the main plot seems to be at a complete standstill (just like Once Upon a Time). Like Hogwarts, this school has each kid sorted into houses but this time they are sorted based on their magical ability instead of theirThe Magicians is a low budget Harry Potter knockoff with a million plotholes. The characters are underdeveloped and riddled with cliches, the acting is terrible, and the main plot seems to be at a complete standstill (just like Once Upon a Time). Like Hogwarts, this school has each kid sorted into houses but this time they are sorted based on their magical ability instead of their personalities which would make much more sense if they actually expanded on these abilities. Instead, the series seems to slip over a lot of their magical development in place of drama. I understand that the SyFy channel doesn't produce large budget series but the magical effects look only slightly better than M Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender. If you want a good SyFy channel show to watch, go watch Dark Matter.

    I can't understand why this is rated so high. The only time I watch this series is when I am busy doing something else and I want some background noise.    … Expand
  11. Knighthawk81
    Jan 25, 2016
    3
    Maybe these books are cool, I don't know. I never read them. But I watched the pilot for this series when it had a sneak peak premier, and it was a hot mess. No thanks.
  12. lisa2016
    Mar 7, 2016
    0
    The worst new show! Boring story, violent content, actors who can't act, bad editing with awkward timing... Just a bad copy of Harry Potter, I really want to erase my memory watching this show fro my mind!! I regret I even gave it a try!!
  13. Moirahas
    Mar 2, 2017
    0
    This is one of those series that you can't watch.Actors need to go back to acting school because even a toddler would be better than any of them and the plot is beyond silly.
  14. Kamamura
    Jun 27, 2019
    2
    It started nicely enough like another light escapist fantasy show about magic, however, it went downhill quite sharply since then.

    It seems that from time to time, all the characters are possessed by a single, malevolent, misandrist entity that starts spewing feminist propaganda, while completely dropping out of character and forgetting the ongoing plot. "Kick the patriarchy in the    It started nicely enough like another light escapist fantasy show about magic, however, it went downhill quite sharply since then.

    It seems that from time to time, all the characters are possessed by a single, malevolent, misandrist entity that starts spewing feminist propaganda, while completely dropping out of character and forgetting the ongoing plot. "Kick the patriarchy in the nuts!" exclaims n-th latino-semi-asian-african half lesbian woman who is hated by the world because of here genius level inteligence apparently inherent to her gender.

    Fine. Every author has some agenda, but if you neglect the plot and the character development for it, people will likely go watch something actually enjoyable. Which is happening to many feminism-infested movies and shows today.    … Expand
  15. night4
    Jan 27, 2018
    3
    "Emo Harry Potter" sums it up perfectly.

    If you ever were watching Harry Potter and said to yourself, "you know, this is great and all, but it'd be even better if magic only came from pain and suffering. And while we're at it, let's remove most of the magic and maybe, MAYBE show one or two spells for a couple seconds per episode." Then, yes, this is the show for you.
  16. ganglio
    Jan 27, 2017
    1
    The good:
    - Probably the basic story. I will read the books
    - Keeps up interest over a lonely evening - Indian sidekick - Elliot character The bad: - Quentins acting - Teeny love dramas (why do you teach kids that everything should be complicated?) The ugly: - The one constant same expression of Alice as if she had been beaten - SJW **** such as in episode 11 when they talk    The good:
    - Probably the basic story. I will read the books
    - Keeps up interest over a lonely evening
    - Indian sidekick
    - Elliot character

    The bad:
    - Quentins acting
    - Teeny love dramas (why do you teach kids that everything should be complicated?)

    The ugly:
    - The one constant same expression of Alice as if she had been beaten
    - SJW **** such as in episode 11 when they talk about creepy men, patriarchy and privileges. Such obviously slanted US-election allusions make me want to vomit    … Expand
  17. SomeGuy79
    Feb 19, 2017
    0
    I have finished season 1, before I decide to write a review. This show I don't see going any farther than 2 season. The Main character that I feel drags the story down even slows it where its became annoying. Writers giving portrayed him as a Self destructive personality where his ignorant and lack judgment that pretty much give out selfishness. That doesn't work as a Story on a heroesI have finished season 1, before I decide to write a review. This show I don't see going any farther than 2 season. The Main character that I feel drags the story down even slows it where its became annoying. Writers giving portrayed him as a Self destructive personality where his ignorant and lack judgment that pretty much give out selfishness. That doesn't work as a Story on a heroes journey. The main character lacks progress where from rest of the supporting characters pull more weight to cover Quentin's mistakes and self pity that leads to boring predictable story that viewers like my self gets bored knowing what to expect.
    Yes! I know its not harry potter I didn't compare to him but if your were thinking that! Harry potter is a epitome of a dark horse where he knew what was wrong and build from it. Where Quentin just oblivious where his so called friends gets more damaged than he does but shows lack of gratitude. I am disappointed.    … Expand
  18. bkrz
    Feb 28, 2017
    2
    I read the first book in this series and watched the show, of which I've completed 11/13 episodes. This show is greatly flawed. They burn through 1/3 of an already fast paced book in the first episode (by skipping what was actually fun about that portion of the book), and fill up the remainder of the season with new material, which was shallow and spoils the realism of the series. TheyI read the first book in this series and watched the show, of which I've completed 11/13 episodes. This show is greatly flawed. They burn through 1/3 of an already fast paced book in the first episode (by skipping what was actually fun about that portion of the book), and fill up the remainder of the season with new material, which was shallow and spoils the realism of the series. They made it much less believable and I don't feel they built the magical world well, with just snippets of class noise in the background to try and explain how complicated and difficult magic is in this universe. They ruin every surprise there is in the book because, rather than have it remain a surprise, they insert it into the series so we can watch it happen step by step, which just makes it so much more boring. They explained "traveling" so very poorly as well.

    Above all, though, I just hate how they represented Alice. The actress looks nothing like her. She doesn't act much like her either, and I felt like her acting was forced in a lot of scenes. She seems like a weak character when I felt she was very strong in the books. It changed the entire dynamic of the story and has me eye-rolling at every scene she's in (which is most).

    Overall, these issues make me feel the entire story line is poorly put together and shallow. Not a series you can really fall in love with. Just one to tolerate.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Most Discussed TV Season of 2016
32
#32 Most Shared TV Season of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. TVLine
    Reviewed by: Michael Slezak
    Apr 6, 2016
    75
    The Magicians may not have perfected every incantation in its spellbook, but it’s worth a look for viewers intrigued by the idea of a Harry Potter-esque weekly fantasy series.
    Read full review
  2. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Jan 28, 2016
    70
    It promises to be a wild ride. [1-14 Feb 2016, p.19]
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    Jan 25, 2016
    80
    It’s a mere two episodes, but The Magicians provided enough evidence that it has enough talent and ambition to keep the surprises coming.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »