Fans were taken aback when it was announced that Syfy’s ‘The Magicians’ current fifth season would be its last. As is the norm these days, fans have begun clamoring for the show to move to a new outlet, but unfortunately, the producers knew that the end was coming and have already tried to find a home with no takers. But on a positive note, unlike a lot of shows, ‘The Magicians’ will NOT end in a cliffhanger that will never be resolved. Because the producers knew that this journey was ending on Syfy, they crafted a season finale that also works as a series finale, so hopefully, that will give viewers the closure they crave.
Executive producer John McNamara told TV Insider:
“Yeah, we were aware that it was definitely not going forward on Syfy at that point and that we were then going to want at least to try to make a run on other platforms… None of them seemed in the end like a perfect financial or creative fit. And so we reluctantly just decided, ‘Well at least we have this season finale that was crafted to also be a series finale.’ It was kind of always going to pull double duty.”
Reactions to the cancellation have been predictably mixed. Of course, die-hard fans are upset, but many had already tuned out after Season 4 which culminated in the death of the lead character, Quentin Coldwater, played by Jason Ralph. That is reflected in the drop in ratings that the show has experienced in its current fifth season, which kicked off on January 15. It is down roughly 42% in viewers compared to S4. (And personally speaking, the show really began meandering well before that.)
In announcing the show’s cancellation, Syfy stated:
“The Magicians has been a part of our Syfy family for five fantastic seasons. As we near the end of this journey, we want to thank John McNamara, Sera Gamble, Henry Alonso Myers, Lev Grossman, and our entire brilliant cast, crew, writers and directors for their beautiful creation. But most of all, we thank the fans for their tremendous support and passion. Because of you, magic will be in our hearts forever.”
Viewers can look forward to a musical episode which will be the second-to-last installment of the series.
The final, non-cliffhanger episode will air on Wednesday, April 1.
