SDCC 2016: ‘The Magicians’ Panel Recap

Season 1 of The Magicians ended with a jaw dropping cliff hanger, but fans were able to learn more about the highly anticipated season 2 at Comic-Con and catch a glimpse of what is to come. You can watch all of season 1 on Syfy.com

Sera Gamble, one of the writers, said of the main characters, “…they will all be back in one form or another.” If you have seen the season 1 finale, you know this statement can fill you with hope and dread at the same time.

Lev Grossman (the author of The Magicians books) moderated the panel and asked Gamble how the show got started. Gamble replied that it was actually Amazon that recommended his books to her. John McNamara, another writer for the show, commented, “I read it and it blew my mind.” He went on to say, “The scariest things in there are not the monsters but what people do to each other.” McNamara and Gamble then optioned the book with their own money to get the show started.

Grossman posed an interesting question to the actors on the panel, “Which of you auditioned for a different part?” Olivia Dudley, who plays Alice, said she auditioned for the role of Julia while Jade Tailor, who plays Julia, auditioned for Margo. Hale Appleman said he auditioned for Penny and said, “I would not have made a good Penny.” It is amusing to think of what the show would have been like if the actors ended up playing the roles they originally auditioned for.

Stella Maeve answered the question of what is the “hardest thing to do for your character” by saying, “For Julia, everything. These characters are flawed…hart to get into it.” She went on to say how it was difficult because many times she would not agree with her character and what she does. Summer Bishil felt it was, “grounding the hilarity between Margo and Elliot.” She added the writing helped and she focused on staying true to the script. Arjun Gupta, Penny, revealed, “taking Penny to a place where he was at a point of almost suicide.” Rick Worthy, Dean Fogg, humorously added, “In the pilot, initially I thought I died….Long story short…they found a brilliant way to keep me around.” Dudley talked about the physicality of Alice and how that affects her character. This was the “first time I got to play a character where everything is on the inside.” Before every take, she tenses up to remind herself that Alice holds it all in. Speaking of Alice, if you were wondering how drinking that “god spunk” was, she was able to make it herself and it was lychee. Jason Ralph, Quentin, rounded off the group saying it is challenging for him that his character thinks so fast.

Remember that Talor Swift song? Who could forget that magical dance number? Guess how much they paid for the rights to the song….$50,000! McNamara said that “the guy who wrote the check said, ‘Can we agree that we will never do this again?'” Ralph loved it though because “I got to be a pop star for the day”.

Maeve thinks that the fun thing about the books and the show is that they are “not afraid to make fun of themselves.”

Dudley went on to say, “We get to go to these worlds and comment on them, like a human”. That grounds the show because weird things happen and the characters actually acknowledge the strangeness. It is like they say what you the viewer are thinking.

Grossman asked, “What prop or wardrobe item from the show would you steal?” Worthy wants the dean’s office because there is “a lot of cool stuff in there.” He also likes the dean’s wardrobe and he loves the dean’s glasses! Bishil, just like Summer would say, “I would steal my stripper heels.” Appleman would “probably steal all of Eliot’s clothes and the Physical Kids’ house.” Dudley and Ralphy actually took home items! Dudley confessed she took home Alice’s glasses but “I brought them back.” Ralph took a jacket because it fit so well.

It is easy to wonder how similar actors are to their characters. Sometimes the line between actor and character blur. Gupta admitted, “So many times I have called people by their character names.” In thinking about how he is like Penny, Gupta said, “I would like to think I am a lot nicer than Penny but I don’t know if people think that.” Grossman the authority on the subject, said, “Olivia, you are the most like Alice”.

When asked what magical ability he would choose Ralph replied, “If you go by the rules of this world, you don’t just have one power. You’re a magician…you can just study a lot.” Grossman quickly replied that maybe Ralph is most like his character. Bishil shocked the panel by saying she would like to “turn poop into gold. It’s a daily thing…a lot of gold.” Ah Margo. The crowd loved her power choice.

There was a question from the audience about the spell casting and if it is choreographed. The action is described in the book, and serendipitously the finger tutting phenomenon happened right when they started making the show. It is rather cool to watch the character cast spells. Yes, they do have a choreographer.

Ralph was asked to pick between Olivia and Julia but he would not, though he had a nice response saying, “They both had specific times in his life.”

Gupta and Tailor are happy they are more in the show than in the books when asked what they like with the adaptation of the books.

For those wondering about the time loops, Gamble said, “I wouldn’t count out going back and looking at other time loops.”

Yes, we will find out why Elliot has two books. Not really a spoiler but makes a whole lot more sense after you have seen the show.

Ralph and Gupta were asked about their character’s relationship and Ralph feels they are “similar souls on a different path.” They are foil characters but they both want the same thing, magic.

If you wonder about how the show follows the books, Gamble explained, “We see the big plot points as spots on a map, and maybe we get there a different way than Lev and the book.”

If you aren’t already excited for season 2, they will have a centaur!

Here is a fun behind the scenes look at what is coming in season 2!

Also, here is the exclusive first scene of next season that they premiered at Comic-Con!