‘The Magicians’ Gets Commercial-Free Syfy Preview

Syfy is making the most of Childhood’s End.

The NBCUniversal-owned cable network will use the conclusion of the miniseries to preview upcoming drama series The Magicians.

The cabler announced Wednesday that it would debut its Jason Ralph starrer about the students at a school for magic on Wednesday, Dec. 16 — commercial free — starting at 10 p.m.

The drama based on Lev Grossman’s best-selling fantasy book series will preview more than a month before its planned Jan. 25 premiere date in a bid to get early sampling from the audience Syfy is expecting to tune in for Childhood’s End.

For its part, Childhood’s End is based on Arthur C. Clarke’s classic novel that was first published in 1953. The series explores a peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious “Overlords,” whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indirect alien rule at the cost of human identity and culture. It marks the first time the beloved property has been translated to the screen and stars Charles Dance (Game of Thrones).

Childhood’s End and The Magicians preview are part of a big week for Syfy, which will also debut the first two episodes of Thomas Jane starrer The Expanse. The move comes as Syfy has been doubling down on high-end scripted programming in a bid to bring more sci-fi fare back to the network.

Here’s a look at the key Syfy dates:

Childhood’s End: Monday, Dec. 14-Wednesday, Dec. 16 from 8-10 p.m.
The Expanse: episodes one and two, Monday, Dec. 14 and Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 10 p.m.

The Magicians: Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 10 p.m.

Watch the trailer for The Magicians, below: