This Underrated Fantasy Show With 91% On Rotten Tomatoes Was So Good, I’m Surprised It Didn’t Get More Seasons

The Magicians was one of the best fantasy shows on television during its five-season run, which makes it a surprise that it was canceled early. Focusing on Jason Ralph’s Quentin Coldwater, who enrolls in Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy to be trained as a magician, the series was a bit more of a mature take on the idea of a magical school for students. Instead, The Magicians featured dark moments throughout. With its premise, it was able to tell engaging stories while exploring the stellar characters that were at the heart of the show.

The Magicians was based on a trilogy of novels by Lev Grossman and was a success when it originally premiered on Syfy in 2015, gaining critical acclaim over the course of its run. It was an incredible journey for five seasons, and it is a shame that Syfy decided to pull the plug despite the creators already having a road map for what season 6 would entail. The Magicians is one of the best, most underrated fantasy shows ever made, and deserves more love.

The Magicians Was Canceled After Five Seasons Despite Great Reviews

Syfy Pulled The Plug After The Magicians Had Five Successful Seasons

Even though the show was well-received, Syfy still decided to cancel The Magicians, leaving a sixth season up in the air for another network (or streaming service) to possibly take over, but that never happened. While there was never an official statement put out by the network about the exact reasoning for the cancellation, it’s likely due to a number of factors, including dwindling viewership that peaked in season 2, the rise in production costs, and the fact Syfy had several other fantasy shows running at the same time.

The Magicians was met with critical acclaim, averaging 91% on Rotten Tomatoes by critics, and having a passionate, albeit dwindling, fanbase that was onboard for as many seasons as possible. The show went beyond its initial premise as a school for magic and became something that was unique in its own right. It earned its spot as one of the best fantasy shows around and could have continued, at least for another couple of seasons.

The Magicians Season 5 Was Thankfully Written As A Potential Finale

The Creators Were Aware That It Could Potentially Be The End

A lot of cancelled shows never get the chance to conclude their storylines in any satisfying way. Thankfully, The Magicians season 5 was written with the possibility that the series would be cancelled early, closing up most of the significant plot points that had built up over its five seasons while keeping enough things left ajar in case the show would continue. In an interview with TV Insider, creators John McNamara and Sera Gamble opened up about The Magicians’ cancellation, stating:

John McNamara: It played out kind of the way it’s played out almost every season. With the exception of Season 4 into Season 5, we never knew whether or not we’re going to get picked up. It was always a discussion—never really about the creative—about the financials and you always know, with any show, that there’s this kind of fine line between what it brings in and what it costs.

Sera Gamble: And as the creators of the show, we understand that. We had the sense going into this season that Syfy, in particular as our first platform, was kind of hitting the point of “The cup is full and there’s no more room.”

Despite their best efforts, the show’s early cancellation will always hang over the entire series. Still, The Magicians did its best to end in as good a way as it possibly could. There wasn’t a lot to be upset about in terms of the way the narrative wrapped up, but it is a shame that it wasn’t able to continue going. It’s one of the best Syfy shows of all time, and a staple of the fantasy genre on television as a whole, despite not getting nearly as much viewership as it deserved.

The Magicians At Least Lasted Longer Than A Lot Of Other Promising Fantasy Shows

Fantasy Shows Tend To Be Cancelled Early

For some reason, the fantasy genre on television, especially in the streaming era, tends to have very promising shows that never get the chance to grow an audience if their first couple of seasons aren’t immediate successes. It happens with shows that start off great, and then never get to tell a complete story because the executives decide to pull the plug early, mostly because of production costs compared to viewership. The cancellation of Shadow and Bone and Wheel of Time are more recent examples, while classics like Firefly never stood a chance.

Despite being cancelled even with critical success, The Magicians still received five seasons to tell its story, much more than a lot of fantasy shows are afforded. In a lot of ways, it feels like a miracle that it was given that long, but the show itself is so good that it could have run for many more seasons at the same level of quality. Still, The Magicians at least got to have a proper finale, making it a worthwhile watch as it is one of the best fantasy shows out there.