The Magicians (2015)
All magic comes at a cost.
Brakebills University is a secret institution specializing in magic. There, amidst an unorthodox education of spellcasting, a group of twenty-something friends soon discover that a magical fantasy world they read about as children is all too real— and poses grave danger to humanity.
| Type | TV series |
|---|---|
| First aired | 16 December 2015 |
| Status | Ended, last episode 1 April 2020 |
| Genre | Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy |
| Created by | Sera Gamble |
| Starring | Olivia Taylor Dudley, Arjun Gupta and Stella Maeve |
| Seasons | 5 seasons, 65 episodes |
| Episode length | about 45 min |
| Time to watch it all | about 49 hours |
| Rated | TV-14 |
| Scores | TMDB users 7.6/10 |
Where to watch The Magicians
We could not find The Magicians on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
Where to watch The Magicians in 12 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Andorra | Prime Video |
| Australia | Binge $19.00 AUD, Foxtel |
| Belgium | Prime Video €4.99 |
| France | Prime Video €6.99 |
| French Guiana | Prime Video |
| French Polynesia | Prime Video |
| Gibraltar | Prime Video |
| Guernsey | Prime Video |
| Ireland | Prime Video €6.99 |
| Monaco | Prime Video |
| Netherlands | Prime Video €4.99 |
| United Kingdom | Prime Video £8.99 GBP |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
The Magicians is a 2015 drama and sci-fi fantasy series that takes the trope of a secret magic school and rips the safety out of it. Created by Sera Gamble, it runs 65 episodes over 5 seasons, totaling about 49 hours of viewing. The show leans into the idea that all magic comes at a cost, treating the supernatural not as a power fantasy but as a source of existential dread. It is a deconstruction of the genre, where the real danger is not the monsters but the people trying to control them. It is for viewers who want their fantasy to feel like a warning.
What the critics said
The critical reception climbed steadily. Season 1 opened at 74% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Metacritic gave it a 60. By Season 4, Rotten Tomatoes hit 93% and Metacritic rose to 81. The consensus shifted from noting "sluggish pace" to praising "mind-bending" twists. Not everyone was convinced by the lighter tone. Lisa Weidenfeld of The A.V. Club argued the show framed victims of sexual assault as its villains. That specific critique cut through the generally favorable scores.
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Sources
- The Magicians on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q20642677 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Magicians (American TV series)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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