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The Magicians poster

Shows that feel likeThe Magicians (2015–2020)

Brakebills University is a secret institution specializing in magic. There, amidst an unorthodox education of spellcasting, a group of twenty-something friends soon discover that a magical fantasy world they read about as children is all too real— and poses grave danger to humanity.

If you loved The Magicians, the closest series we have are Once Upon a Time (2011), Merlin (2008) and The Wheel of Time (2021). All three share The Magicians' contemplative and cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Dark Matter (2024).

★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗5 seasons · Syfycreated by Sera Gamblecontemplativecerebraldreamlike
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

Buy seasons:Amazon see price ↗Apple TV$49.99 buyThe Magicians: The Complete Series · Apple price as of 2026-10-02

If The Magicians hit the spot, these will too

Once Upon a Time poster
Once Upon a Time
2011–2018 · 7 seasons · ABC
★ 7.6drama · sci-fi & fantasyHuluDisney+

Beloved childhood stories dragged into complicated adult lives

The difference: Family-friendly and earnest — none of the boozy irreverence

There is a town in Maine where every story book character you've ever known is trapped between two worlds, victims of a powerful curse. Only one knows the truth and only one can break the spell.

Merlin poster
Merlin
2008–2012 · 5 seasons · BBC One
★ 7.9action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

Magical talent learned in secret, with friendship at the core

The difference: Sunny Saturday-adventure tone — grief and sex don't exist here

The unlikely friendship between Merlin, a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers, and Prince Arthur, heir to the crown of Camelot.

The Wheel of Time poster
The Wheel of Time
2021–2025 · 3 seasons · Prime Video
★ 7.2sci-fi & fantasy · dramaPrime Video

Magic as a discipline that demands training and takes its toll

The difference: Straight-faced epic questing — the genre-savvy jokes are gone

The lives of five young villagers change forever when a strange and powerful woman arrives, claiming one of them is the child of an ancient prophecy with the power to tip the balance between Light and Dark forever. They must choose whether to trust this stranger – and each other – with the fate of the world before the Dark One breaks out of His prison, and the Last Battle begins.

Shadow and Bone poster
Shadow and Bone
2021–2023 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.5drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Young people discovering power that isolates as much as it elevates

The difference: YA-clean and plot-driven — trauma is gestured at, not lived in

In a world cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, a young soldier uncovers a power that might finally unite her country. But as she struggles to hone her power, dangerous forces plot against her. Thugs, thieves, assassins and saints are at war now, and it will take more than magic to survive.

Heroes poster
Heroes
2006–2010 · 4 seasons · NBC
★ 7.5sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflix

Ordinary people warped by discovering what they can do

The difference: Superhero sprawl that famously loses its own plot

Common people discover that they have super powers. Their lives intertwine as a devastating event must be prevented.

Fate: The Winx Saga poster
Fate: The Winx Saga
2021–2022 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 6.8sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflix

Magic school as a crucible for messy young-adult feelings

The difference: Thinner CW-style writing — the wit and weirdness are missing

The coming-of-age journey of five fairies attending Alfea, a magical boarding school in the Otherworld where they must learn to master their powers while navigating love, rivalries, and the monsters that threaten their very existence.

The Witcher: Blood Origin poster
The Witcher: Blood Origin
2022 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 5sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaNetflix

A doomed band of outcasts on a quest bigger than any of them

The difference: A rushed four-episode prequel — widely considered a misfire

More than a thousand years before the world of The Witcher, seven outcasts in the elven world unite in a blood quest against an unstoppable power.

The Peripheral poster
The Peripheral
2022 · 1 season · Prime Video
★ 7.5sci-fi & fantasy · dramaPrime Video

A gateway into another world that turns out to have teeth

The difference: Hard sci-fi and tech — wonder comes from machines, not magic

Stuck in a small Appalachian town, a young woman’s only escape from the daily grind is playing advanced video games. She is such a good player that a company sends her a new video game system to test…but it has a surprise in store. It unlocks all of her dreams of finding a purpose, romance, and glamour in what seems like a game…but it also puts her and her family in real danger.

Dark Matter poster
Dark Matter
2024– · 2 seasons · Apple TV
★ 7.6sci-fi & fantasy · dramaApple TV+

An ordinary life shattered by stepping through the wrong door

The difference: One tight thriller premise — no ensemble, no whimsy at all

Jason Dessen is abducted into an alternate version of his life. To get back to his real family, he embarks on a harrowing journey to save them from the most terrifying foe imaginable: himself.

Outlander poster
Outlander
2014–2026 · 8 seasons · STARZ
★ 8.3drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflixStarz

Both keep coming back to the same thing: magic

The story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Warrior Nun poster
Warrior Nun
2020–2022 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 7action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Common ground: superpowers

The difference: Leans harder into action & adventure than The Magicians does

After waking up in a morgue, an orphaned teen discovers she now possesses superpowers as the chosen Halo-Bearer for a secret sect of demon-hunting nuns.

The Shannara Chronicles poster
The Shannara Chronicles
2016–2017 · 2 seasons · MTV
★ 7.1action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy

Both are built on the same subject: magic

The difference: Easier on the stillness than The Magicians

A young Healer armed with an unpredictable magic guides a runaway Elf in her perilous quest to save the peoples of the Four Lands from an age-old Demon scourge.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed series that share The Magicians’ defining feeling.