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Season 1 – The Magicians

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Jan 2016

Drama

Fantasy

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

74%

Tomatometer

47 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Quentin Coldwater, a grad student at Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, has been fascinated by the magical fantasy world since he was young. But as he has gotten older, Quentin and his 20-something friends have discovered that the magical world they read about as children is not only real, but poses dangers to humanity. While studying at the secret upstate New York school, the friends struggle to cope with the aftermath of a catastrophe that befalls the institution. The fantasy series is based on a series of novels by Lev Grossman.

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Critics Consensus

The Magicians' impressive special effects and creative storytelling help compensate for a derivative premise and occasionally sluggish pace.

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Alison Herman

Flavorwire

08/10/2017

The Magicians may have neither the special effects nor the star power of higher-profile adaptations, yet it maintains its source material's essential core: its themes of fantasy as escapism, and the inability of fantasies come true to provide true escape.

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Tim Goodman

The Hollywood Reporter

01/26/2016

The Magicians provided enough evidence that it has enough talent and ambition to keep the surprises coming.

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Lisa Weidenfeld

AV Club

01/26/2016

As with a lot of properties premiering new worlds, it's balanced unevenly between world building and story building.

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Carla Monfort

Espinof

03/07/2023

4.5/5

... A very interesting fantasy series that starts out as a grey version of Harry Potter but evolves into something truly unique and special. [Full review in Spanish]

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Maya Phillips

The Week

01/24/2019

Despite its uneven writing and poor treatment of some of its female characters, The Magicians still succeeds in one of its central aims: dismantling the tropes of the fantasy genre and reconfiguring them in ways that are innovative and contemporary.

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Amy Ratcliffe

Nerdist

01/23/2019

The Magicians excels at pairing the absurd with an earnest sincerity in a way no other series does. Don't sleep on it.

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Faiz D

May 14

This has the potential to be a great show.

Leodon S

Apr 3

The interesting ideas on display here are not quite enough to overcome the severe dislikeability of most of the characters. I've had more than enough of casual cruelty and lazy cynicism masquerading as "complex characters" (there's a strong case to be made that decades of dystopias populated by disinterested protagonists are precisely how we all found ourselves living in one), and the last straw perhaps was when the best character's redemption arc was cut short in a scene of pointless brutality. I'm over it. This kind of thing is not interesting. I don't think I can bring myself to care about what happens next to the ugly characters or the even uglier world they inhabit. The worst part is that the show is still better than the book.

Nerd Girl B

10/20/2023

I was enamored by the first episode and it quickly became my favorite show of all time. The casting, the crew, the writing and directing all magically combined into a fantasy masterpiece.

Stephan H

06/13/2023

I love fantasy series. But this show is teeming with alcohol, drugs and smoking. There is constant drinking and everyone takes some type of drug. It almost seems as if the authors of this series want to process a drug problem themselves or have a completely consumed image of today's youth. Although I love fantasy films very much, I had to stop watching this series for good in the first third of the second season because alcohol, drugs, etc. constantly came into play, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Even every magical ritual involves either taking a drug or getting drunk. if you cut out all the alcohol, drugs, over-the-top sex scenes to finally make a story that makes sense, then all the episodes would fit into one. The writers of this series should solve their own drug problem and leave us alone. I prefer to watch other fantasy series

Toms c

06/10/2023

I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did but I love it.

Jeff B

12/07/2022

I read all of the books and loved the show!

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Jason Ralph

Quentin Coldwater

Stella Maeve

Julia Wicker

Olivia Taylor Dudley

Alice Quinn

Hale Appleman

Eliot Waugh

Arjun Gupta

William "Penny" Adiyodi

Summer Bishil

Margo Hanson

Episode 1

Aired Jan 25, 2016

Unauthorized Magic

Best friends Quentin and Julia are recruited for an entrance exam to Brakebills University, a secret institution for magical pedagogy.

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Episode 2

Aired Jan 25, 2016

The Source of Magic

Quentin faces expulsion for his involvement in an otherworldly attack on Brakebills; Julia delves deeper into underground magic and tries to prove herself to the Hedge Witches.

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Episode 3

Aired Feb 1, 2016

Consequences of Advanced Spellcasting

Quentin and Julia have an unexpected and volatile reunion; Penny is overwhelmed by his own psychic abilities; Alice is determined to find out the truth behind her brother's disappearance.

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Episode 4

Aired Feb 8, 2016

The World in the Walls

Quentin panics when he wakes up in a mental hospital; upset over her fight with Quentin, Julia commits herself to learning more powerful spells.

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Episode 5

Aired Feb 15, 2016

Mendings, Major and Minor

The students each deal with a personal matter that keeps them from focusing on the upcoming Welter's Tournament.

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Episode 6

Aired Feb 21, 2016

Impractical Applications

The first-year students are put through The Trials, a series of unconventional tests that must be passed to stay at Brakebills.

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Episode 7

Aired Feb 29, 2016

The Mayakovsky Circumstance

An uncompromising professor at Brakebills South pushes the students' boundaries; Julia must decide whether she's ready to accept help.

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Episode 8

Aired Mar 7, 2016

The Strangled Heart

Penny is violently attacked by someone thought to be a friend; Quentin tries to find a connection to The Beast; Julia considers giving up magic for good.

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Episode 9

Aired Mar 14, 2016

The Writing Room

Quentin, Alice, Eliot, and Penny travel to England in search of a missing magic button; Julia searches for real meaning in her magic.

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Episode 10

Aired Mar 21, 2016

Homecoming

Penny travels to the world of The Neitherlands, and Quentin and Alice work together to save him; Julia joins an eclectic group of magicians.

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Episode 11

Aired Mar 28, 2016

Remedial Battle Magic

Quentin and the others learn battle magic and prepare for a showdown in Fillory; Julia and Kady take on a mission with the Free Traders.

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Episode 12

Aired Apr 4, 2016

Thirty-Nine Graves

The students wake up with foggy memories and regret after a night of drinking; Penny reminds everyone that their lives depend on getting to The Neitherlands.

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Episode 13

Aired Apr 11, 2016

Have You Brought Me Little Cakes

Quentin and Julia arrive in Fillory and try to catch up with the group, who are more than 70 years ahead of them, in the search for The Beast.

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