Television series

The Magicians

Name: The Magicians
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Fantasy
Released: 2015
Cast: Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Summer Bishil, Hale Appleman, Jason Ralph

Portal fantasy

The Magicians is a moody, adult fantasy about a secret magic university where brilliant misfits discover their childhood favorite fantasy world is real and catastrophically dangerous. It's *Harry Potter* for people who've read too much philosophy and drink too much wine, blending wonder with genuine horror at what power actually costs. For fans of dark academia who want their magic to hurt.

TVMaze rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy fantasy that treats magic as a grubby, exhausting craft and wants its characters to be messy, clever and unlikable at once, the way Lev Grossman's books do.

Skip it if you want Narnia-style wonder or a tidy, cosy school story, since it is frequently crude, sexually frank and happy to make its characters miserable for long stretches.

What it asks of you: Five seasons of hour-long episodes, a long commitment; its mood swings between sly comedy and bleak, hungover unease you must keep pace with.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Expanse2015

Another ensemble-driven sci-fi epic that builds a vast, detailed world while keeping intimate focus on flawed characters learning to work together. Same scale and moral ambiguity, different universe.

But Slower pacing in the early seasons, and the shift to streaming after cancellation may require platform juggling.

Grimm2011

A college-aged ensemble discovers a hidden supernatural world layered over everyday life, then scrambles to survive the complications. The chemistry between leads and the monster-of-the-week format with ongoing mythology build in similar ways.

But Less literary and more procedural; shifts tone between horror and camp that not everyone loves.

Penny Dreadful2014

Gothic, learned, steeped in dark literature, with gorgeous cinematography and performances. A group of damaged people drawn into a war against occult horror they're unprepared for. Adult fantasy that doesn't apologize.

But Slower, more atmospheric than The Magicians, and some plots dissolve rather than resolve.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Magicians

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood2009

Both are stories where the protagonist's education becomes a descent into understanding that the world is crueler and more complicated than they imagined, and their friends become collateral damage.

An anime about two brothers learning magic to undo a catastrophic mistake, discovering the horrifying rules of their world's power system. Shares The Magicians' core truth: magic has prices, knowledge has limits, and good intentions don't protect you from consequences.

But Anime; 64 episodes; Japanese with subtitles or English dub. A commitment that requires patience with the medium's conventions.

Arcane: League of Legends2021

Two cities, two magic systems, a friend group that fractures under pressure, and extraordinary craft in every frame. A story about what magic costs, and how power corrupts people who begin with the best intentions.

But Based on a video game, which puts some people off; animated, which others dismiss unfairly.

A Discovery of Witches2018

Literary, erudite fantasy centered on adults discovering a hidden magical world full of politics and centuries-old grudges. Bookish protagonists who actually read matter. Richly detailed supernatural history.

But Uneven pacing across seasons; romance takes precedence over plot in ways that derail momentum.

The Haunting of Hill House2018

An ensemble dealing with past trauma, magical horror, and their own complicity in each other's pain. Gorgeous cinematography, genuinely frightening scares, and emotional depth that lingers.

But More horror than fantasy; only one season, so no long-term investment payoff.

Midnight Mass2021

A small community encounters something impossible and dangerous, forcing characters to choose between comfort and truth. Mike Flanagan's orchestration of ensemble dread with philosophical questions about faith and power.

But Religious horror may alienate some viewers; very slow-burn, very bleak, and quite long at seven episodes.

Legacies2018

Young people with magical abilities at a secret school learning to control powers while navigating larger supernatural conflicts. Lighter than The Magicians but builds the same sense of a hidden world operating beneath the mundane.

But Decidedly YA-leaning; less intellectual ambition, more teen drama, and weaker writing overall.

Over the Garden Wall2014

Both treat magical worlds as dark mirrors of our own, where beauty and danger are inseparable, and where the entry into knowledge is also the entrance into a kind of trauma—where growing up means losing the comfort of not knowing what's real.

A miniseries (10 episodes, 10 minutes each) about two brothers lost in a dark, mysterious forest. Gothic Americana with fairy-tale logic, grim atmosphere, and a mythology that unfolds like horror. Proof that television can be genuinely literary.

But Very short form; deliberately obscure and atmospheric rather than plot-driven; melancholy and dark throughout, no triumph or lightness.