Tonight the third season of The Magicians kicks off on Syfy. As the second season came to a close, Penny learned that he had “cancer plus” and was dying and only had three weeks to live. Meanwhile, in Fillory, Eliot and Margo started to execute their plan to take back their kingdom. However, in exchange for helping her re-enter Fillory, the Queen of Fairies took Margo’s right eye. Eliot and Margo threw a party to lure brother gods Umber and Ember into their trap. After Ember killed his own brother, Quentin, with Julia’s help, used a sword to kill Ember. They believed they had saved magic, but when Alice heard the news, she was concerned that Ember and Umber’s parents, the creators of the universe, would send something to avenge the death of their children. Sure enough, the literal plumber of the gods cut off the supply of magic to Brakebills, the library, and Fillory.

In Fillory, the fairies used this lack of magic as their opportunity to forcibly seize and occupy the castle. At Brakebills, Dean Fogg resorted to teaching his students magical theory, in hopes that magic might still return. Meanwhile, Julia sneaked onto campus and showed Quentin that she could still create a small spark, which gave him hope. Finally, Joseph the monk appeared to Alice, warning her that The Lamprey was coming after her.

Will the group find a way to restore magic to Brakebills, Fillory, and the rest of the world? Can Julia’s spark of magical ability be harnessed into more? How long can Penny survive by staying in the library, immune from the passage of time? And will magic return in time to find a cure for his cancer? What is after Alice, what does it want, and can it be stopped? And how are Eliot and Margo going to take back Fillory from the Queen of Faries? I’ve already checked out tonight’s wonderful season premiere. I had forgotten how much I had missed this show’s great mix of humor, sarcasm, action and drama—there is an especially fun scene between Eliot and Margo that made the TV fan in me so giddy. The premiere sets up several interesting quests for the characters that are sure to intersect over the next few weeks. It looks like we are in store for another thoroughly entertaining and magical season!

This past summer I got the opportunity to talk with some of the cast/creators of the series at San Diego Comic-Con. Check out my press room Q&A videos.

In tonight’s premiere, “The Tales of the Seven Keys”, Quentin tries to find someone who can bring magic back; Julia explores her small, but significant, gift; Eliot and Margo struggle under the hostile fairy occupation; Kady searches for a way to heal Penny.

Tonight I’ll also be watching The Goldbergs, Modern Family, American Housewife, Match Game, The Amazing Race, The Blacklist, The X-Files, 9-1-1, Happy!, and The Librarians.

For additional suggestions on what to check out tonight, including Happy! and 9-1-1, check out the If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/10/18 post at TVisMyPacifier.com.