Based off the Novel by Lev Grossman of the same name, ‘The Magicians’ is a television series on the Syfy channel. It centers around a young man named Quentin Coldwater, who is played by Jason Ralph. Quentin felt secluded and alone while growing up, but always had an obsession with magic.
At the beginning of the show, he is on his way to grad school. However, on his way there he accidentally finds himself at a school called Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, located in Upstate New York, where magic is actually real. The rest of the season follows Quentin as he learns how to use magic and make friends at his new school.
‘The Magicians’ is surprisingly very good. It can be compared to ‘Harry Potter’, but it’s aimed at college students rather than young adults. ‘The Magicians’ is very dark and very violent. There is plenty of swearing and gore shown throughout the season, but it being more adult oriented is not what makes it so appealing.
The chemistry between the characters and the dialogue are very organic. There are some subtle, and some not so subtle, pop culture references that make the world of ‘The Magicians’ seem more grounded in reality than you might expect from a TV show that centers around a school where people go to learn magic.
The episodes are very tense and well written. One episode in particular has the main character, Quentin, in a mental hospital. The whole episode has you questioning whether or not all the magic is real, or if he is just crazy.
I very much enjoyed watching ‘The Magicians’, and am already anticipating the second season. I would recommend it to anybody, especially fans of magic or fantastical stories like ‘Harry Potter’.