TV Shows Like The Magicians
If you like The Magicians, here are 9 similar TV shows — each with its current AI renewal verdict, so you can see which are still going and which have been cancelled.
Syfy · Drama · The Magicians is ended
The Magicians works because it takes the wish-fulfillment fantasy of discovering a hidden magical world and then immediately complicates it. These characters get everything they thought they wanted—admission to a secret school, proof that magic is real, access to the fantasy lands they loved as children—and it turns out to be a burden they never asked for. The show mixes the soap opera dynamics of a college drama with genuine stakes: spellcasting has costs, magical worlds have real threats, and the friendships that form under magical pressure have to survive the weight of actual consequences. It's smart about the appeal of fantasy while being skeptical of it.
The best shows like The Magicians
1. Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl shares The Magicians' focus on a tight-knit group of privileged young adults navigating complex relationships and social hierarchies, with plot twists that destabilize everything you think you know about the characters. The show's obsession with how secrets and hidden lives unravel mirrors the way The Magicians reveals that the fantasy world was always real, just hidden beneath everyday life.
Stream on Netflix, HBO Max, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Netflix Standard with Ads
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2. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
If what drew you to The Magicians was the fully realized fantasy world and the high-stakes magic system, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power builds an epic universe where magic is a tangible force and characters must navigate kingdoms, dark threats, and their own ambitions. The show treats its fantasy world with the same seriousness and detail that The Magicians uses for Fillory.
Stream on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Renewed100%
3. Felicity
Felicity captures what The Magicians does so well with the college setting: watching smart, emotionally complicated young adults figure out who they are away from home, surrounded by new friendships and romantic confusion. Like The Magicians, it balances the excitement of being somewhere new with the messiness of relationships tested by real circumstances.
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4. DC's Stargirl
DC's Stargirl follows a young person who stumbles into unexpected power and must learn to use it while her world expands in impossible ways, much like The Magicians' characters discovering magic is real. The show captures that same tension between the thrill of newly found abilities and the scary responsibility that comes with them.
Stream on HBO Max, HBO Max Amazon Channel
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5. Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew blends mystery and the supernatural with a young protagonist caught between two worlds—her normal life and something stranger and more dangerous lurking beneath it. Like The Magicians, it treats magical or unexplained elements as serious threats that demand real consequences, not just plot devices.
Stream on HBO Max, HBO Max Amazon Channel
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More on shows like The Magicians
Fans of The Magicians are drawn to stories about smart people learning to wield power they don't fully understand yet, set in worlds where magic or extraordinary abilities feel earned rather than given. They want character drama alongside world-building, young adults who are old enough to make serious mistakes, and plots that take both personal relationships and the larger world seriously. They tend to prefer shows where the characters are driven by something beyond simple ambition, where friendship groups fracture under pressure, and where the fantasy elements serve the human story rather than overshadowing it.
The recommendations here lean into different angles of what makes The Magicians work. Some emphasize the college setting and the drama of privileged young people navigating complicated lives. Others double down on the fantasy world and the discovery of magic as a real force with real dangers. A few mix both elements, giving you the chance to watch people stumble into extraordinary circumstances and figure out who they are while the stakes keep climbing. None of them are exactly like The Magicians—that show is specific in its mix of tones—but each one has something recognizable to offer.
More shows like The Magicians
Frequently asked
- What is the most popular show like The Magicians?
- Gossip Girl is the most popular show similar to The Magicians in the IsItRenewed catalogue.
- Are shows like The Magicians still on the air?
- Of the 9 shows similar to The Magicians listed here, 1 currently carry a renewed verdict — the rest are cancelled, ended, or awaiting a decision.
- How does IsItRenewed pick shows like The Magicians?
- The recommendations come from TMDB's similar-titles data, and each is shown with its current AI renewal verdict so you know which are still going.