Syfy's 'The Magicians' series casts three roles

Syfy is casting its magicians for its adaptation of Lev Grossman’s trilogy, which follows a group of young people who attend Brakebills, a college for magic, and has been labeled “Harry Potter for adults.”

Though the pilot has yet to cast its protagonist, it has enlisted Hale Appleman to play Eliot, Quentin’s older, wine-loving friend, and Arjun Gupta to play Penny, a prickly, punk student. Stella Maeve, meanwhile, will play Julia, Quentin’s crush from his high school days before magic. Julia does not get into Brakebills but becomes plagued upon knowing that magic exists and she does not have access to it. Appleman, Gupta, and Maeve have recurred on Smash, How to Get Away with Murder, and Chicago PD, respectively.

In addition to Quentin, the show has yet to cast some other important players, including Eliot’s cohort Janet, and Alice, who eventually becomes Quentin’s girlfriend.

Fox attempted an adaptation of the novels in 2011, but it did not go forward. Mike Cahill, who helmed movies Another Earth and I Origins, is directing Syfy’s pilot.