The Magicians canceled at Syfy; season 5 to be final season

We’ve been down this road before when it comes to shows airing on Syfy, and unfortunately, we’re here again with The Magicians. Today, the network formally announced the end of the long-running science fiction series, with the season 5 finale now serving as the series finale.

In a statement, here is what the network had to say on the subject:

“The Magicians has been a part of our Syfy family for five fantastic seasons … As we near the end of this journey, we want to thank 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.”

So do we consider this to be a cancellation or a conclusion? We’ve thought a lot about it, but the truth here is this: The finale was not written to be a definite series finale. It does seem as though there were hopes of the show coming back at one point. Speaking via TV Insider, executive producer John McNamara noted that there was already an effort made to see if there was another network/streaming service that could pick the show up:

None of them seemed in the end like a perfect financial or creative fit. And so we reluctantly just decided, “Well at least we have this season finale that was crafted to also be a series finale.” It was kind of always going to pull double duty.

So why end the show now? As is often the case with a show like this, it has a lot to do with the relationship between the show’s finances and its ratings. The series hasn’t been an enormous hit the past few seasons, but there’s been enough of a reason financially to keep it around. That reason has since started to fade, meaning that we are at this point. We know that there are more stories that could be told, but kudos to McNamara and fellow EP Sera Gamble for being both prepared and cognizant of the fact that this could be the final season. That allows them the chance to give the series at least some closure.

What do you think about The Magicians ending at Syfy?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Meanwhile, be sure to stick around for some other news about the series.