The Magicians
Quentin (Jason Ralph) learns that he has magical powers in the premiere of "The Magicians," which is now streaming online for free. SyFy

“The Magicians” isn’t making fans wait any longer. Though the new SyFy drama doesn’t air on TV until Monday, Jan. 25, the network has already released the entire first episode online. To attract as many viewers as possible, they aren’t even requiring a log in from cable providers. Users simply have to go to YouTube.

Watch “The Magicians” Season 1, episode 1 below for free:

Posting the episode online ahead of airing won’t necessarily make the network lose fans on premiere night. The pilot ends with a cliffhanger, and fans who are dying for another episode are in luck. Episode 2 will also premiere on Jan. 25, right after the pilot airs. "The Magicians" is one of several midseason TV shows that have released premieres online this season. “American Crime” and “Shameless” did the same last month.

“The Magicians” is an adaptation of Lev Grossman’s novel, which follows Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) as he discovers the magical world from one of his favorite books is real. He enrolls in a magical school, Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, a university hidden in upstate New York. That might sound a little “Harry Potter,” but this isn’t an 11-year-old wizard. Quentin and his classmates are in their 20s, so expect more sex and violence.

Viewers should also be prepared for everyone's powers to take a backseat to character-driven plots. “It’s not necessarily about the magic,” Olivia Taylor Dudley, who plays Alice Quinn, said in a SyFy video. “It’s about these people who are grounded in very real lives and real stories and real problems. And magic can’t fix their problems.”

Even readers of the book series can’t be sure of what’s coming next. “What it takes from the books is a certain tone, the settings, most of the characters come from the books,” Grossman told Syfy. “The general arc of the story comes from the books, but the specifics, what they do on a daily basis and how they move the arc forward, in some places, is very different from the books, which is quite exciting.”

“The Magicians” Season 1 premieres Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. EST on Syfy.

RELATED STORIES