Prime Video’s Most Underrated 5-Part Fantasy Series Is Perfect From Start to Finish

It’s been a tough decade for fans of fantasy television. Despite the early, world-shattering success of Game of Thrones and the prestige fantasy boom that followed, the last few years have seen a severe drop-off in quality for many promising projects. After the abrupt cancellation of The Wheel of Time, the disappointment of Season 2 of both The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, fantasy television hasn’t hit another peak yet. Thankfully, fantasy fans don’t need to look too far for a more reliable television experience, as there’s one series that has never released a single bad season: The Magicians.

Based on the book trilogy of the same name written by Lev Grossman and created for television by Sera Gamble and John McNamara, The Magicians is often described as Harry Potter, but in college. It’s a subversive take on high fantasy that infuses the awe of learning magic on Earth with all the hilarious misadventures of maturity. The series follows Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph), an awkward fantasy fan himself, whose dreams come true when he learns that magic is real and is invited to attend Brakebills, a college for the magically gifted, as a graduate student. Over the course of five seasons, Quentin subsequently realizes his favorite fantasy series is real, becomes schooled in the true meaning of magic, and goes on all sorts of hilarious adventures alongside an equally unhinged supporting cast.

‘The Magicians’ Is a Masterclass in the Art of Television Adaptation

Image via SYFY

We’d be here all day if we were to list everything there is to love about The Magicians. Not only does the series feature a talented cast of performers who consistently nail their roles, impressive special effects, and a unique message about the origins of magic, but by and large, The Magicians is an excellent example of how to adapt rich source material for the screen. Grossman’s novels are already engrossing and filled with relatable characters, lore, and tragic backstories, but Gamble and McNamara take advantage of their long-form format to flesh out the trilogy’s supporting players and make the world their own in a way that still honors the wayward spirit of the original. The result is a strong foundation for a series that only finds new ways to entertain, devastate, and enthrall you over time.

Which Hogwarts House Are You?

Some of The Magicians‘ best changes involve its main cast. Not only does the series greatly expand on characters like Margo (Summer Bishil) and Kady (Jade Tailor) — both of whom are based on characters who go by different names in the novels — but it also upgrades Fen (Brittany Curran) from a sidenote in the books to one of the show’s most hilariously chaotic mainstays. Furthermore, the series honors the queerness of characters like Eliot (Hale Appleman) and Quentin with heartbreaking storylines that go beyond the teases and more ambiguous circumstances of the original trilogy. This earnest focus is what allowed The Magicians to release its most beloved and iconic episode, Season 3’s “A Day in the Life,” and also consistently deliver some of the show’s most beautiful moments between the two in later seasons.

‘The Magicians’ Makes the Source Material Its Own

Aside from expanding Grossman’s world and honoring his characters, these additions are also what allow The Magicians to sustain its level of high quality across all five seasons. Although the series stretches its source material to more or less encompass its full run, the reality is that the show could have wrapped things up in at least three seasons if its creators had opted for a more straightforward adaptation. The reason The Magicians never experiences a sudden shift in quality or narrative drop-off is because the show’s storytelling never becomes dependent on the books. Unlike Game of Thrones, which found itself in serious trouble once the show caught up to George R.R. Martin‘s series, The Magicians developed so many fresh takes on Quentin and his friends that it had plenty of additional material to explore, allowing The Magicians show to come into its own over time rather than stray from the conventions of someone else’s world.

Between the show’s exploration of the underworld, multidimensional antics, and depiction of morally disturbed gods, The Magicians partially maintains its narrative momentum through largely original storylines, but it also keeps things refreshing for fans of the show and books alike. With constant pop culture references dropped by one of television’s most underrated duos, it’s no exaggeration to say Margo and Eliot’s mere presence makes every one of their scenes better, and The Magicians‘ spontaneous musical numbers are another great example of how the series takes full advantage of its talented cast while also honoring the irreverent tone of the novels. Featuring creative episode formats involving split perspectives, alternate universes, and time loops, The Magicians also takes a page out of the narrative playbook of less fantastical shows like Community, allowing innovative approaches to the show’s unique medium to complement the self-sustaining power of its adaptation.

‘The Magicians’ Success Should Serve as a Lesson for the Future of Fantasy on Television

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As with any fantasy series, there are some changes The Magicians makes that don’t quite land. Despite the power of Julia’s (Stella Maeve) journey and some welcome tweaks the showrunners introduce to her character, her short-lived ending in the series is conflicting, to say the least. Nevertheless, the heights The Magicians hit are far more memorable than its misses, and it is through the show’s strengths that it manages to remain compelling throughout all five of its seasons. A decision to kill one of the main characters, for instance, exemplifies how Gamble and McNamara were willing to deviate dramatically from their source material to move their story forward in a refreshing way. This absence allowed The Magicians to double down on its changes without relying on the novels’ original protagonist, opening the door for new heroes and villains to literally steal the show.

It’s not for nothing that The Magicians still feels like it has even more story to tell after its Season 6 cancellation, and it’s this level of success that makes the series the perfect roadmap for the future of fantasy television. At a time when series are either buckling under the weight of their source material or making changes that undermine the underlying narrative, The Magicians‘ ability to both respect and surpass its inspiration should be studied by streamers and other creatives in the industry. By keeping what works, expanding ideas that deserve more screentime, and being willing to kill someone else’s darlings to do what’s best for the story, The Magicians delivers five seasons of phenomenal television that never misses a beat.