The Magicians to Be Canceled by Syfy After Season 5

A magical era of television has come to a close as Syfy has decided that The Magicians season 5, which is currently in progress, will mark the end of the series. Although the show commanded the network’s largest audience for years, it recently fell in the ratings in a season that was missing the story’s main character, Quentin Coldwater.

That controversial decision may not be solely to blame for the cancelation, and five years is a respectable run for any show. However, fans will most certainly wonder if Jason Ralph’s departure played a key role in the series’ demise. The Magicians season 5 has enjoyed stellar reviews here at Den of Geek, and there are high hopes that the season will be able to wrap up the story in a satisfying way.

“The Magicians has been a part of our Syfy family for five fantastic seasons,” Syfy shared in a statement to THR. “As we near the end of this journey, we want to thank [executive producers] 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.”

Henry Alonso Myers took over showrunning duties in The Magicians season 5 from Sera Gamble, who executive produced along with John McNamara, but the trajectory of the show has stayed consistent in this final season, allowing characters and fans to mourn Quentin while delivering an action-packed, apocalyptic storyline.

In fact, because The Magicians season 5 has contained several allusions to the final Lev Grossman novel, it’s possible that when the show finishes its run on April 1, the story of Fillory’s troubles and the quest for the world seed will come together in a way that provides a proper ending for the series that will console both fans of the trilogy and of the show. Although both interpretations stand on their own, the groundwork has definitely been laid.

The Magicians survived on Syfy after many other of its contemporaries such as The Expanse and Dark Matter were canceled (although the former was picked up by Amazon), but with viewership down by 25% and more in the key demographic, the writing was on the wall. In the meantime, we will continue to review the show until its conclusion as we have done since the very beginning.