Is ‘The Magicians’ Canceled? Writers Tried To Find Another Network Before Ending Show

“The Magicians” is coming to an end. The Syfy show is currently in Season 5, and this year’s season finale will be the final episode. Executive producers Sera Gamble and John McNamara revealed that it was mostly a financial decision.

“It was always a discussion—never really about the creative—about the financials and you always know, with any show, that there's this kind of fine line between what it brings in and what it costs,” McNamara told TV Insider.

“It's not going to necessarily expand in terms of revenue, it's not necessarily going to contract in terms of revenue, but it is going to cost more,” he added.

According to TV Series Finale, the show has averaged 0.341 viewers each week with 0.11 in the 18-49 demographic. The ratings were slipping, with Season 4 averaging .541 viewers each week. It makes sense that Syfy wouldn't want to expand the budget for something that fewer people were watching.

Gamble and McNamara knew that they couldn’t do another season on Syfy, so the search for other TV networks or streaming platforms began. In the meantime, they started crafting a season that could function as the final chapter if necessary.

“None of them seemed in the end like a perfect financial or creative fit,” McNamara explained. “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.”

With the ending being planned, fans are wondering if Quentin (Jason Ralph) will return for one last goodbye. Quentin’s death was a controversial move at the end of Season 4, and Season 5 already gave the characters more closure with a 12-year-old golem of him. However, producers have not revealed if Ralph will return for one last appearance in the finale.

“The Magicians” Season 5 premiered Jan. 15. The series finale will air April 1 (and the writers are assuring fans that, no, the end of the show is not an April Fools' joke).