While the Harry Potter book series took the world by storm when it was first released, quickly becoming a global phenomenon with merchandise, spinoff books and the eight Harry Potter movies, many of the franchise’s original fans have moved on. Even setting aside J.K. Rowling’s controversial views, a harsh reality of rereading the series is the fact that many fantasy books are better than Harry Potter. This observation extends to the movies, which have since been outshone by other fantasy series, and, with the TV show airing this year, fantasy fans may be looking for an alternative.

The concept of a magical school is not unusual. Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch books explore the adventures of the accident-prone Mildred Hubble, Diana Wynne Jones’ Chrestomanci series shares several key plot points with Harry Potter, and Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea preceded Harry Potter by decades, remaining one of the best high fantasy books in desperate need of a TV show. That said, viewers looking for a more complex TV series set in a magic school that succeeds where Harry Potter fails must watch The Magicians.

The Magicians is based on Lev Grossman’s series and follows Quentin Coldwater, who discovers that he has an innate magical talent, and is accepted as a student in a school for magic. The series follows almost the same plot as Harry Potter, with Quentin encountering dangerous creatures, political upheaval, embarking on a quest, and making deep friendships that are tested throughout the series. However, the show has a drastically different and more complex tone, while being so self-aware that The Magicians has often been described as “the anti Harry Potter.”

Why The Magicians is “The Anti Harry Potter”

The Magicians mastered the magical school trope before Harry Potter had a chance, and despite the stories sharing a premise, the way these are explored is almost the exact opposite. Harry Potter might show the dark side of magic, but this is rarely addressed with nuance. The story follows a typical “good versus evil” trope, but The Magicians looks deeper, with few characters being entirely good or bad, and some of the more complex characters, like Julia, asking uncomfortable questions about morality and our capacity to cause harm.

Even in its darkest moments, Harry Potter remains whimsical, while The Magicians feels real and yet still maintains a sense of wonder. This reflection of the real world extends to the characters, who are much more diverse than those in Harry Potter, reflecting the many people of different races, backgrounds, LGBT+ status, and more, that we meet in the world. Harry Potter might feature a few standout fan favorite characters, like Luna Lovegood, but they still exist to impart one main message each, while the main characters in The Magicians feel multifaceted.

The Harry Potter connection does not end with a plot, as The Magicians is so self-aware that it incorporates the generation-defining series into its script. The Magicians’ universe places the Harry Potter series in the same role it plays in this world, as an enormously successful but fictional franchise. The characters often reference Harry Potter, along with other major works of fantasy, adding a meta twist to an already fascinating series.

Why Was The Magicians Cancelled?

Unfortunately, fantasy TV shows are often canceled too soon despite their potential, and The Magicians was one of these. Due to a combination of declining viewership and rising production costs, The Magicians was canceled after its fifth season despite the showrunners hoping to make the sixth season they had planned. That said, the show was given a proper ending with a main storyline that showed the characters dealing with the collapse of the magical world of Fillory.

The end of Harry Potter might be emotionally devastating in terms of the loss of major characters, but even here, the stakes are much lower with even parts of Hogwarts left standing. On the other hand, The Magicians characters, while also reeling from similar sacrifices, must rebuild an entirely new world for the Fillorians to inhabit. This final act, which can only be accomplished through immense group effort, cements the show as one of the best fantasy TV shows of the past 15 years, while being a true celebration of magic in all its diverse forms.

Release Date

2015 – 2020-00-00

Showrunner

Sera Gamble

Directors

Chris Fisher, James L. Conway, Joshua Butler, John Scott, Carol Banker, Scott Smith, Guy Norman Bee, Rebecca Johnson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Meera Menon, Amanda Tapping, Bill Eagles, Jan Eliasberg, Kate Woods, Shannon Kohli

Writers

John McNamara, Henry Alonso Myers, David Reed, Noga Landau, Christina Strain, Leah Fong, Alex Raiman, Elle Lipson, David Reed

• 

  Jason Ralph

  Quentin Coldwater

• 

  Olivia Taylor Dudley

  Alice Quinn