So January is the beginning of what — in the accursed, eternally burning nation of TV-land — is known as pilot season. That’s when the networks pick some of the series they have in development and greenlight them, meaning they’re actually going to cast and film a pilot episode.
It’s an exciting time. Except if your series doesn’t get greenlit.
The Magicians show was not greenlit.
This is a hard post to write. I’m really, really disappointed. I also feel bad that I got everybody excited about the project, only to have it immediately fail. I promise you — and I can’t stress this enough — I wouldn’t have done that unless I had some very good reasons to think that the show would in fact be greenlit. In fact I’m pretty stunned that it wasn’t.
I guess those reasons weren’t ironclad. Or maybe they were ironclad but not, I don’t know, adamantium-clad.
At any rate, clearly there was an issue with the cladding.
I don’t have a lot of good information as to why it didn’t happen. I don’t deal with network directly, and even beyond that the networks are pretty black-box about stuff like this: they don’t give out a lot of detail about their decision-making process. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that it has something to do with Terra Nova not doing as well as Fox hoped, so they weren’t anxious to go for another high-profile, high-concept, expensive genre show.
But that’s just speculation. I can’t imagine The Magicians would have been as expensive as Terra Nova. For one thing there aren’t half as many acceraptors in it.
Anyway.
From here the way forward for the show gets rockier, obviously. We’re going to take the script to cable networks. We’re also going to renew talks on the feature-film side. I can’t say I’m bitter about it. I wouldn’t have played my cards differently — we got exactly the right people and exactly the right script. It would have been incredible. It still will be, if we can get it to go somewhere else.
But no question, it’s a big disappointment. We had a really good shot this time, and it didn’t work out.
Tags: first world problems
Lev, I’m really sorry to hear this news. I was excited about the show too but I know my disappointment can’t compare to yours. I hope you have better luck going forward.
I attended your reading in Atlanta last fall and it was wonderful. Thanks for the world of The Magicians & The Magician King; those books have helped me a lot.
Shake it off, dude. You’re too cool for network TV anyway.
I’m sorry, Lev. I was hoping.
Excelsior. Go forward to bigger and better things.
It’s network TV. You’re so much better than network TV. (This is yet another reason I will now proceed to despise network TV. Idiots.) If I had to guess, I would say FOX thinks your story is just too smart for the drones who watch network TV.
I really hope you succeed with the cable networks. I’m sending up a prayer. And the good thing about cable networks, there’s more of a likelihood you will hit your target there.
Although I know network TV is better than no show at all. I’m really sorry.
There is always only one thing to think, I believe, whether the great thing happens or it doesn’t happen. This is: fuck them all, I am going to go write now.
If you’re lucky it’s a happy lighthearted fuck them all, if times are dark it’s less so. But all that really matters, and the thing that you can really do, is the writing. Here’s hoping the sting wears off soon.
The Magicians is not nearly base enough for network TV. You would have had to dumb it down enough for general audiences and then you’d feel like you sold it out. I’d rather see it on cable where you can expect more from your audience and give it the treatment it deserves.
Hang in there.
Ah man. Bad news. But as Jaimie says above, you’re better than network TV. I’d love to see this done right on HBO or Showtime. Hell, I’d love to see it anywhere, to be honest. I hope it gets picked up somewhere else. Meanwhile, you’ve written a couple of novels that will be part of fantasy lore for the ages. Keep that in mind – maybe it’ll balance out the bad news.
Lev, this is hard, but try to look at what you have. From my space, you are a succesful writer, you have daughters, a partner, you wrote an excellent piece in Time this week. You were born in a western country, and … I admire you. Yes this is a setback, but you are still a fab, talented man. I learned a couple of years ago, focus on the now, on what you have – and suddenly life is bloody good. x
For what it’s worth, I really appreciate that you kept your readers in the loop about the development of the TV series. Even when things don’t go well, it’s nice to know what’s going on. You really seem to care about your readers, which I genuinely appreciate.
Best of luck with your continued efforts. I think that the idea of a Magicians series on, say, HBO sounds just about perfect, actually…
Bummer. I was really looking forward to seeing The Magicians up on the small screen. Here’s to hoping that someone else will take an interest!
What are we, a bunch of moping mopers? The show must go on! What are the Potter Puppet Pals people doing these days?
BOOOOOOOOOOOO.
But hopefully this just opens the door for bigger and better Magicians-related news in the future.
(Plus, still a fucking great book.)
As someone who doesn’t watch a lot of TV (although I certainly would have watched this if it had gone forward) I am content just knowing that there will be another Magicians book. I look forward to that very much.
Not being on network television is the best thing that could ever happen, so instead of being bummed out, rejoice in your luck. Now, try to tempt the BBC, ITV, or a hungry cable channel into your plans, integrity intact. No good comes from network television.
That sucks. But television is finicky, especially network television. I hope the work that’s gone into the project so far can be reused at a later time.
On to better and brighter things.
Go bother HBO or Starz or something, a much better fit than Fox in my opinion.
Sorry to hear the news. Us fans will always have the books. Feeling overcome with even more of an eagerness to share them with more friends. To work!
seriously, i dont want to see this on Fox. i want to see this on AMC or HBO. maybe FX.
Perhaps the issue was that there weren’t enough acceraptors? Wedge some in there and pitch it again.
(Also: bummer.)
I agree 100% with Jon… This should go to HBO… think True Blood on fox… Seriously… Everything happen for a reason… And this time the reason is that The Magicians is too good for Fox… Lev, you are too good for fox… BIG FYI
Out of every bad comes a good. Something bigger and better is waiting for you ….
I’m sorry to hear the news, Lev. Here’s hoping you can get it done somewhere else, as you’re trying to do.
I agree 100% with Jon… This should go to HBO… imagine True Blood on fox… Seriously… Everything happen for a reason… And this time the reason is that The Magicians is too good for Fox… Lev, you are too good for fox… BIG FYI
Sorry to hear this news. Chin up, and all that.
Let me be the nth commenter to say this is a blessing in disguise. I’m a huge fan of the books, but they always struck me as being more properly suited to a mini-series or movies than an ongoing TV series.
the way i’ve been seeing it
and i’ve been seeing it this way a lot lately
is that i have all my arms and legs
yeah’s that’s pretty much enough
you could always get another tv show but its really hard to regrown an arm
(i also have a t-shirt that says you’re not dead yet – you should get this one http://store.printliberation.com/product/my-life-rocks-pl-classics-collection)
I’m going to agree with the main sentiment here — I’m disappointed that they didn’t pick it up (because something you love being rejected, in any form, never feels particularly good), but Fox doesn’t deserve something of this caliber anyways. Remember what they did with Firefly? Blasphemy. The show should save itself for a platform that is much more worthy (a network/cable channel that’s willing to bring it flowers for no reason other than the fact that it’s awesomely awesome).
What a graceful post, and thank you for giving us a peek into the ups and downs.
Well, it seems like Fox is continuing its trend of cancelling good shows. In fact, it’s taken it a step further and is preemtively cancelled a good one.
Best of luck pitching to other networks. Hopefully this will now get to be done right.
I believe this is a blessing in disguise and not a set back. As a TV show I believe a good percentage of fans wanted a HBO series or something of that nature. In addition, maybe a couple of movies will prove to be more fun. Fox seems to be a rushed move…things will work out.
So much disappointment! I was looking forward to this more than any other show. But I agree, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. Perhaps better networks will want it. I bet it’ll come out to coincide with the release of the next book.
The folks who killed Firefly didn’t appreciate The Magicians enough to green light it. Astonishing!
Sorry Bud
Hi Lev, I’m a huge fan of the magicians and it has inspired me in my own writing pursuits. Don’t give ukp i agree it sounded a little over Foxes head so hey, maybe this happend for a reason. I’m usually saddened by what happens to novel to show/movie translations but I had hope for this one. you’ll “Make it work”
CA-BLE.
CA-BLE.
CA-BLE.
1. You are awesome for being so forthcoming about the entire process. And also, you know, the books.
2. I am somewhat relieved that I can back to hating on Fox, that’s territory I’m familiar and comfortable with.
3. Aren’t Janet’s parents entertainment lawyers or something? Surely they can litigate this into happening somewhere.
The truly great shows never make it past the first season on network anyway. And, apparently, the even greater shows don’t even make it that far.
Knowing that the networks are stupid doesn’t make it any easier to take in that first flush of disappointment.
Also, I second the appreciation for being kept in the loop. No apologies necessary.
Keep rocking.
At the risk of sounding overly pollyanna-ish (but then, magic is also pollyanna-ish, isn’t it?), Napoleon Hill wrote: “Every adversity carries the
seed of an equal or greater benefit.” In that regard, I am optimistic that this will lead to an even better film production of The Magicians down
the road. Looking forward to it! Good luck!
My friend and I were actually talking about this last nite, oddly enough- he didn’t know a show was in talks, and he said, I really can’t see anyone but HBO doing the story justice. And I said, look what happened to The Dresden Files, such a poor, poor tv adaptation of such rich material. o I think it’s better to still be in talks, than to have a show being made that misrepresents the material, in a way? Even though rejection feels foul, I definitely think your guardian angel has other plans, & is steering your story toward a better opportunity
Oh, Lev, I’m sorry to read that you’re disappointed. But I don’t think I would trust anyone in TV-land to do The Magicians justice. They’re the morons who cancelled Firefly.
I’m happy reading and re-re-re-reading the books. Just keep writing the stories for us. That’s all we need.
Oooh, unless Joss Whedon wants to do a for-web-only production. Neil Patrick Harris as Richard! xo
The Magicians is a great book. The story will be told, and the show will get green lit somewhere very soon. And then your first world problems will transform into first world parties, and we can all re-visit this blog post with hazy eyes and talk about the time with the bad news.
In all seriousness, I think that sometimes being shot down remind us that we aren’t bulletproof. And that’s a good thing. Because then we get batman armor and try again.
Damn, damn, damn. Damn! And blast. Damn and blast!
[...] The Magicians show, based on Lev Grossman’s book, was not greenlit. [...]
I have to second the sentiments expressed above. This show needs better than FOX. It needs HBO, Showtime, something that can give it the treatment it deserves – good budget, good actors, good production value.
I think it’s unfair to place The Magicians in the same category as Terra Nova. Terra Nova didn’t do badly because it was genre. It did badly because it was poorly written, poorly acted, and had subpar production values. The fact that FOX executives misunderstood why Terra Nova failed suggests that The Magicians might be better placed elsewhere.
[...] author and book critic Lev Grossman revealed that Fox decided to pass on the television pilot script based on his novel, The [...]
Good luck taking the pilot elsewhere. Any chance we get to see it, if it doesn’t get green-lit?
I suspect you got doomed by business conditions. GoT did well on HBO, but the ratings weren’t exactly stratospheric.
Very sorry to hear about this…I was dreadfully excited for this show. Good luck with bringing it elsewhere!
Oh Lev, I’m so sorry to hear this. I know how excited you were and I was so excited to see it on TV!
I hate motivational cliches (and as a social worker, we see them a lot), but I was at a client’s house doing an assessment during the hardest part of my divorce and she had this thing on her refrigerator that said, “It all works out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, then it’s not the end yet.” And I barked a laugh when I read it because yeah, when we’re DEAD it’s the end and of course then everything has all worked out one way or another. But, I found it helpful at the time because I’m not dead yet, so it’s not the end and it all still has a chance to work out.
So, Lev? This will work out. It hasn’t worked out and that just means it’s not the end yet. Because you know… when God closes a door, He opens a window and everything happens for a reason and you just gotta HANG IN THERE and take it one day at a time and hope that someone will carry you across the beach when things get hard.
Adapt it to a graphic novel. Then an anime.
Certainly no one holds you responsible for the incomprehensibility of network television’s decisions. I agree with those above who said that HBO and Showtime might be the places to look.
[...] News: The Magicians did not get picked up by Fox. [...]
Tell them all to go to hell and turn it into a movie.