The Magicians is returning for a fifth season on SYFY, the network announced today. "The Magicians raised the bar at SYFY and has gained momentum season after season, attracting a new audience to the channel. We are proud of this series as it continues to break the boundaries of storytelling,” Bill McGoldrick, President, Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, said in a statement. Executive producer Henry Alonso Myers will showrun Season 5 alongside current showrunners John McNamara and Sera Gamble. “We couldn’t be happier or more excited to conjure another year of magic and all it entails — love, hate, loyalty, betrayal, sex, foul language, drugs, battling gods, monsters, and the most dangerous enemies of all: other human beings," said McNamara and Gamble — who are also producers — in a joint statement. "We have the best writers, producers, directors, cast, and crew in the charted multiverse. Here’s how strongly we believe this: Anyone who tries to poach a single one of them will be cursed. And we have the voodoo dolls to do it." The show is based on Lev Grossman's book series of the same name. To date, three novels have been published: The Magicians, The Magician King, and The Magician's Land. Quentin Coldwater (played by Jason Ralph on the show) is the main protagonist, a grad student who is accepted into a school for magic, where he learns that the fantasies he read about as a kid are actually very real and very deadly. "Having been a fan of Lev’s books since before meeting with John and Sera, the opportunity to bring his world to life has been like a dream come true," Myers said. "It’s rare in this business to find a combination of great material, great creative partners, and a phenomenal production team like ours. I’m not sure which particular dark magic landed me here, but I’ll be sure to keep doing all of it in secret, just in case.” Season 4 premieres Jan. 23 on SYFY.<doc-sep>One day before The Magicians’ season 4 premiere, Syfy has picked up a fifth season of the critically praised fantasy drama series. In addition, Henry Alonso Myers (Ugly Betty), who has been an executive producer on the series since season 1, joins John McNamara and Sera Gamble as co-showrunner for upcoming season 5. Based on the bestselling novels by Lev Grossman, the UCP-produced series centers on a group of 20-something friends from Brakebills University as they discover their magical abilities and ward off evil creatures who threaten to destroy the magical world they’ve come to know. “The Magicians raised the bar at Syfy and has gained momentum season after season, attracting a new audience to the channel. We are proud of this series as it continues to break the boundaries of storytelling,” said Bill McGoldrick, President, Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Related Story 'Below Deck' Cold Water Series, 'Summer House' Winter Spinoff, Dick Wolf Unscripted Crime Series & Jason Biggs Game Show Lead NBCU Cable Lineup “We couldn’t be happier or more excited to conjure another year of magic and all it entails — love, hate, loyalty, betrayal, sex, foul language, drugs, battling gods, monsters and the most dangerous enemies of all: other human beings. We have the best writers, producers, directors, cast and crew in the charted multiverse. Here’s how strongly we believe this: anyone who tries to poach a single one of them will be cursed. And we have the voodoo dolls to do it,” said executive producers and co-showrunners, McNamara and Gamble. Season 4 will pick up with our newly mind-wiped magicians at the mercy of The Monster, who is seeking them out for unknown reasons. The series stars Jason Ralph, Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Hale Appleman, Arjun Gupta, Summer Bishil, Rick Worthy, Jade Tailor, Brittany Curran and Trevor Einhorn. McNamara, Gamble, Chris Fisher, Myers, Laurie Lieser, David Reed and Groundswell Productions’ Michael London and Janice Williams executive produce. Said McNamara and Gamble: “Henry [Alonso Myers] has been with the show since minute one of Season 1. His talent, professionalism and love of all things magical has been instrumental to our success. We couldn’t be happier to see him become co-showrunner. Also, he bakes the greatest bread this side of the Hudson River.” Said Myers: “Having been a fan of Lev’s books since before meeting with John and Sera, the opportunity to bring his world to life has been like a dream come true. It’s rare in this business to find a combination of great material, great creative partners, and a phenomenal production team like ours. I’m not sure which particular dark magic landed me here, but I’ll be sure to keep doing all of it in secret, just in case.” McNamara and Gamble added, “We want to hit pause on our usual snark and sincerely thank UCP and Syfy for their unparalleled support and guidance. This show wouldn’t exist without them and if it did, wouldn’t be nearly as good — or fun to do.” Season 4 premieres Wednesday, January 23 at 9/8c on Syfy.<doc-sep>SYFY’s The Magicians renewed for season 5 Deadline brings word that SYFY has renewed The Magicians for a fifth season ahead of the Season 4 premiere tomorrow. Executive producer Henry Alonso Myers will also join Sera Gamble and John McNamara as co-showrunner for the new season. Season 4 will pick up with our newly mind-wiped magicians at the mercy of The Monster, who is seeking them out for unknown reasons. “We couldn’t be happier or more excited to conjure another year of magic and all it entails — love, hate, loyalty, betrayal, sex, foul language, drugs, battling gods, monsters and the most dangerous enemies of all: other human beings. We have the best writers, producers, directors, cast and crew in the charted multiverse. Here’s how strongly we believe this: anyone who tries to poach a single one of them will be cursed. And we have the voodoo dolls to do it,” McNamara and Gamble told the outlet. RELATED: SYFY Has Renewed The Magicians for Season 4 Based on Lev Grossman’s bestselling novels, The Magicians centers on Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) and his 20-something friends as they are thrust into the unfamiliar world of the beautifully enchanting yet mysteriously dangerous Fillory – and places beyond – where they must draw upon their novice skills to save the existence of magic. The Magicians stars Ralph, Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Hale Appleman, Arjun Gupta, Summer Bishil, Rick Worthy and Jade Tailor. The series is executive produced by John McNamara, Sera Gamble, Chris Fisher and Groundswell Productions’ Michael London and Janice Williams. The series is produced by UCP.<doc-sep>
Syfy has renewed “The Magicians” for a fifth season just ahead of the fourth season premiere. The show has also promoted Henry Alonso Myers to co-showrunner for the fifth season. “‘The Magicians’ raised the bar at Syfy and has gained momentum season after season, attracting a new audience to the channel. We are proud of this series as it continues to break the boundaries of storytelling,” said Bill McGoldrick, president of scripted content at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Based on Lev Grossman’s bestselling novels of the same name, “The Magicians” centers on a group of 20-somethings from Brakebills University as they discover their magical abilities and ward off evil creatures. Currently, the characters have forgotten who they are, having had their minds wiped by “The Monster,” who has sought them out for still unknown reasons. “We couldn’t be happier or more excited to conjure another year of magic and all it entails — love, hate, loyalty, betrayal, sex, foul language, drugs, battling gods, monsters and the most dangerous enemies of all: other human beings. We have the best writers, producers, directors, cast and crew in the charted multiverse. Here’s how strongly we believe this: anyone who tries to poach a single one of them will be cursed. And we have the voodoo dolls to do it,” said executive producers and co-showrunners Sera Gamble and John McNamara. On the subject of Myers, who has served as executive producer since the start of the show, the duo added that “his talent, professionalism and love of all things magical has been instrumental to our success. We couldn’t be happier to see him become co-showrunner. Also, he bakes the greatest bread this side of the Hudson River.” Myers himself called “the opportunity to bring [Lev’s] world to life has been like a dream come true” and added that “it’s rare in this business to find a combination of great material, great creative partners, and a phenomenal production team like ours.” On the subject of his new co-showrunner role, he said, “I’m not sure which particular dark magic landed me here, but I’ll be sure to keep doing all of it in secret, just in case.” Produced by Universal Cable Productions, “The Magicians” is also executive produced by Chris Fisher, Laurie Lieser, David Reed and Groundswell Prods.’ Michael London and Janice Williams. The show stars Jason Ralph, Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Hale Appleman, Arjun Gupta, Summer Bishil, Rick Worthy, Jade Tailor, Brittany Curran and Trevor Einhorn. “The Magicians” Season 4 premieres Jan. 23 at 9 p.m. on Syfy.