THE MAGICIANS — Season:1 — Pictured: (l-r) Stella Maeve as Julia, Summer Bishil as Margo, Hale Appleman as Eliot, Jason Ralph as Quentin, Olivia Taylor Dudley as Alice, Arjun Gupta as Penny — (Photo by: Lorenzo Agius/Syfy)
Syfy is making the premiere episode of its prestige series The Magicians – based on the best selling novels of Lev Grossman, available online at Syfy.com and On Demand beginning today. The premiere will also be avialable on Facebook, YouTube, Perk TV and Rokju the week of January 11th.
The series follows Quentin, a brilliant but aimless grad student who finds himself led to Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy, a secret upstate New York university specializing in magic. Somehow, it all ties into a series of fantasy novels he and his friends read as kids.
The Magicians premieres on Syfy on Monday, January 29th (9/8C). For further details, follow the jump.
SYFY AND UNIVERSAL CABLE PRODUCTIONS’ THE MAGICIANS AVAILABLE ONLINE AND ON DEMAND STARTING JANUARY 8
ADDITIONAL SEASON ONE GUEST CASTING ALSO ANNOUNCED
— 13-Episode Season Debuts With Two-Episode Premiere on
Syfy Monday, January 25 at 9 PM —
NEW YORK – January 8, 2016 – Syfy today announced that the first episode of its highly-anticipated series THE MAGICIANS will be available on Syfy.com and On Demand cable, satellite and telco TV platforms starting Friday, January 8. The episode will also be available on Facebook, YouTube, Perk TV and Roku the week of January 11. The series, from Universal Cable Productions, will debut on Syfy with a two-episode premiere on Monday, January 25 at 9PM ET/PT.
Additionally, Michael Cassidy (Men at Work), Spencer Garrett (Aquarius), David Call (Smash), Kacey Rohl (Hannibal), Tembi Locke (Eureka) and Hiro Kanagawa (iZombie) will all appear in recurring guest roles over the course of the first season.
Starring Jason Ralph (Quentin Coldwater), Stella Maeve (Julia), Olivia Taylor Dudley (Alice), Hale Appleman (Eliot), Arjun Gupta (Penny) and Summer Bishil (Margo), THE MAGICIANS is based on Lev Grossman’s best-selling novels. The series centers on Quentin, a brilliant grad student chosen to attend Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy, a secret upstate New York university specializing in magic. He and his 20-something friends soon discover that the magical fantasy world they read about as children is all too real – and poses grave danger to humanity.
Playing recurring roles in Season One of THE MAGICIANS are:
- Michael Cassidy as James, the well-educated, privileged and confident, long-time best friend to Quentin Coldwater and also Julia’s boyfriend. Cassidy is best known for his starring role in TNT’s Men at Work. He started his career with a recurring role on Fox’s The O.C., before being cast on The CW’s Smallville and Privileged. Recent TV credits include guest appearances in ABC’s Scandal and Castle and Showtime’s Masters of Sex. On the big screen, he has appeared in Argo and The Guild Trip, and will be seen in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
- Spencer Garrett as Ted Coldwater, Quentin’s mild-mannered – to the point of seeming indifference – father who surfaces at a stressful time in his son’s life. Garrett can be seen in the feature films No Escape, Blackhat and HOB’s All the Way. In the TV world, he is recurring on NBC’s Aquarius, USA’s Satisfaction, Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse and TNT’s Murder in the First. In the past, he has recurred on HBO’s Luck and booked guest leads on AMC’s Mad Men, Showtime’s Masters of Sex, Netflix’s House of Cards and TNT’s Major Crimes.
- David Call as Pete, a mild-looking, buttoned-down guy who is equally comfortable being relaxed and laid back as he is being dangerous. Best known for his extensive work in NY independent films, Call starred with Lena Dunham in her feature film Tiny Furniture. He can be next seen as the lead role in Americana with Kelli Garner and James White with Christopher Abbott. His TV credits include recurring roles on Fox’s Fringe, The CW’s Gossip Girl and NBC’s Smash.
- Kacey Rohl as Marina, a bookish young woman who gives off the impression of being both depressed and underemployed to cover up a very different persona. Rohl got her start on TV playing Sterling Fitch on AMC’s The Killing and appeared as Prudence in the dark fantasy film Red Riding Hood. Most recently, she appeared on NBC’s Hannibal and Working the Engels.
- Tembi Locke as Doctor London, a psychiatrist on a psychiatric ward in a New York City hospital who is charged with Quentin’s care. Locke has appeared as recurring characters on series include Syfy’s Eureka, NBC’s Windfall and Fox’s Sliders and as a guest star on ABC’s Castle, CBS’ NCIS and Fox’s Bones. She was recently seen in the movie Dumb and Dumber To.
- Hiro Kanagawa as Professor March, one of the Brakebills professors tasked with instructing students in magic and watching over their safety. Kanagawa is an award-winning actor and writer based in Vancouver. Noteworthy acting credits include Principal James Kwan inThe CW’s Smallville and Cyrus Xander on Syfy’s Caprica. Most recently he appeared as the mysterious Lt. Suzuki on the CW hit, iZombie and will be a recurring guest star on Man in the High Castle and Heroes Reborn.
Previously announced Season One recurring guest stars are Rick Worthy as Dean Fogg, Anne Dudek as Professor Sunderland, Jade Tailor as Kady and Esmé Bianco as Eliza.
Groundswell Productions’ Michael London and Janice Williams (Milk) will executive produce THE MAGICIANS. John McNamara (Aquarius) and Sera Gamble (Supernatural), writers of the pilot, will serve as executive producers. Mike Cahill (I Origins) directed the pilot. Universal Cable Productions will serve as the studio.
Lev Grossman’s The Magicians trilogy is an international sensation, published and widely praised in more than twenty countries. The epic conclusion to the series, The Magician’s Land, opened at #1 last summer on the New York Times Hardcover Best Seller’s list, and was widely acclaimed as one of the best books of the year.
THE MAGICIANS joins other high profile 2016 Syfy originals, including the epic space drama THE EXPANSE, starring Thomas Jane, Steven Strait and Shohreh Aghdashloo; the acclaimed time travel thriller 12 MONKEYS, returning for its second season in April; and HUNTERS, a 13-episode thriller from The Walking Dead executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, set to premiere in April. 12 MONKEYS and HUNTERS are also from Universal Cable Productions.
LINKS:
Facebook: facebook.com/TheMagiciansSyfy
Twitter: @MagiciansSyfy #TheMagicians