Miami Beach, 1959.

As Ike Evans rings in the New Year at his luxurious Miramar Playa Hotel, Havana falls to Castro’s rebels. It’s a turbulent time in Miami, but it’s THE place to be. The Kennedys, the mob and the CIA all hold court here. And Ike, he’s the star of his hotel.

But everything comes at a price.

To finance his dream, he sold his soul to mob boss Ben “The Butcher” Diamond. Ike’s wife Vera, a former showgirl, and his three kids think he’s an honorable man, but he can’t break his pact with the devil. His life is a façade.

In fact, nothing at the Miramar Playa is what it seems. By day, it’s diving clowns and cha-cha lessons. By night, escorts have secret liaisons with husbands in the family cabanas, while Miami’s seedier residents and the law drift together to hear legendary singers, musicians and comics.

As Ike’s world threatens to implode, he fights for his family, and the Miramar Playa, in Magic City.

On March 20, 2012 Starz announced that 'Magic City' was renewed for a second season.

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The writing is strong, the acting stronger and the amount of distracting nudity strongest. While Magic City is not yet top-tier television, its ambition is clear. Glazer has a passion for this story, and the premise and setting are unique. Starz, with the cultish Spartacus and the acclaimed Boss, might have another building block. The question is whether viewers will stick around to find out. The good news, however, is that Magic City already has been renewed for a second season, so feel free to invest until there's a payoff.

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Starz will preview the pilot episode of new period drama Magic City after the season finale of Spartacus: Vengeance on March 30. That will be followed by a massive sampling campaign for Magic City ahead of its April 6. The first three episodes of the show starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan will be available on a slew of platforms, including starz.com, Comcast’s Xfinity TV, DIRECTV, DISH, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, AT&T U-verse TV, making the episodes available to some 76 million viewers.

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RatskyWatsky said:

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These are the main players in a show full of complicated characters involved in intertwining, engrossing story lines, and the combination of those elements with Morgan’s stellar performance makes this series one that I’m looking forward to following.

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Ashhong said:

Wasn't a huge fan of Olga in Quantum of Solace (that was her right?) but will watch this for Papa Winchester.

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My mom already has a girl crush on Lily.

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eravulgaris said:

Will watch this! I fucking love that period.

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985boi said:

Starz has put up the first 3 episodes on their website for streaming.

http://www.starz.com/originals/MagicCity/Videos#/episode-1

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985boi said:

Starz has put up the first 3 episodes on their website for streaming.

http://www.starz.com/originals/MagicCity/Videos#/episode-1

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While it doesn’t have the most original setup, “Magic City” does enough during the first three episodes to make it an interesting, if somewhat bland, show.

The sets and wardrobes are well-crafted, and Morgan displays a steady confidence as Ike. Ike’s young wife, Vera (Olga Kurylenko), is stunning and also has a few moments of subtle character work. My biggest gripe is Huston’s somewhat rote gangster, and Ike’s oldest son Stevie is too much of a cliche bad boy.

“Magic City” is a decent throwback series that could become something special if creator/writer Mitch Glazer can incorporate the fine nuance that makes “Mad Men” an inimitable success.

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I've seen three episodes of "Magic City." I spent the first hour being impressed by the production values and mostly bored by anything the characters were doing or saying, and spent the second struggling to make it through to the end because the plot felt so creaky and the characters kept speaking in clichés. The third episode, which spends a lot of time on Kelly Lynch as the sister of Ike's late first wife, and also gives Kurylenko a lot more to do, perks up a bit, but the batting average on the whole is very weak to start out.

Like Ike Evans with his chilly lobby, Mitch Glazer is clearly someone who wants to sell a dream, in this case one of yesteryear. And there's ample material in this period, particularly when you factor in the locale. Maybe the improvement in the third episode will continue, but what I've seen so far of "Magic City" seems less dreamlike than sleepy.

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Fans who have a taste for blood and betrayal under the glitz and glamor of 1959 Miami will find Magic City spellbinding.

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ezekial45 said:

Starz can't seem to catch a break when it comes to original programming. Save for Spartacus and Crash (which ended after Hopper passed), their original programming can't get the viewership it needs. I hope this show is able to succeed and get an audience.

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At this point, I’m on the fence about the series, though I'm intrigued enough to stick with it. The first few episodes sold me somewhat on a drama with potential, with a story that feels a bit familiar but is shined up well by the glamorous setting. And there’s also the pay-cable flexibility, which allows the series to show a slightly more risqué side to the era (expect some nudity and sexual content). The story just needs a bit more edge to build some intrigue. Much like Boss, with time to develop and build some momentum, Magic City could grow into something really good.

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Through it all, there isn't a plot twist you won't see coming, or a character you ever want to see again — never more so than when we're delving into the Mob story.

It may be possible that, after The Sopranos, the Godfather films and the collected works of Martin Scorsese, there is still more to say about mobsters. But nothing in Magic City would lead you to believe that's true.

Looks good, though. If only that were magic enough.

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“Magic City” offers a rich and seductive evocation of the late 1950s that is a little too enthralled by its own good looks. The narrative is all mystique and not enough mystery, a moody melodrama that leaves no cliché of the mobster genre untouched, or improved. The best shows tug at expectations and turn them upside down. “The Sopranos” gave a New Jersey mob boss panic attacks, a suburban lawn and a therapist. “Mad Men” also drills deep into the weird, neurotic core of characters who are stock figures of the period.

But this series is a triumph of music, set design and lighting, not imagination. It has film noir aspirations, but “Magic City” is closer to a nighttime soap opera — “Dynasty,” with none of the campy self-awareness. The story is engrossing but it isn’t really very interesting.

Miami Beach in the 1950s was unforgettable. This glossy tribute is enjoyable; it is just not memorable.

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If "Magic City" had done one thing consistently, it's managed to make smoking, drinking, sex, mobsters, criminal activity and carousing kind of flat and listless. There are sidelong glances at the anti-Semitism, sexism and racism of the times, but those things aren't examined with the kind of skeptical, relentless intelligence that "Mad Men" displays. Everything about "Magic City" shows a lack of depth, and the pacing is almost glacial.

Cool shades, though.

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I'm inclined to give "Magic City" a few more episodes to deepen or darken or make me care, or even to establish itself as a very pretty, happily artificial melodrama that opts for sensation over sense and just wants to show you a good time.

But as it stands, the fate of Ike's hotel, and Ike, and everybody else here holds no sway or suspense. Glazer has built a beautiful edifice here, but he still needs to get some life into the place.

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HERE’S WHAT to remember if you start watching “Magic City” and you think, “This is moving really slowly.”

It’s worth it.

After an episode or two, when you sort out the characters and how their lives bang together in the dark, elegant shadows of late-1950s Miami Beach, you’ll find rich drama, well written and beautifully styled.

It sounds soapish on paper, but creator Mitch Glazer puts it together in a way that pokes into a lot of truths about the way people think and behave, now and then.

Slow? Yeah, maybe, like a good late-’50s lounge ballad. Once you click into the rhythm, you won't even think about it.

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GraveRobberX said:

That Beach Sex scene was crazy, I was like damn that is an epic way to do it

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Pachterballs said:

going out the way of panam and that playboy tv show (can't even remember its name now).

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Pachterballs said:

going out the way of panam and that playboy tv show (can't even remember its name now).

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Clevinger said:

It's already been renewed for a second season and it's not terrible (even if it's not great) like those shows, so I'm not seeing the connection here.

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Pachterballs said:

throwback stylin; madman echoing; probably won't find an audience.

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Clevinger said:

God damn people are lazy saying every single period show is copying Mad Men. I'll give you the "probably won't find an audience" part though.

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PhiLonius said:

Kurylenko?

Will check this out.

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MasterAJ22 said:

I'ma bartender/server in the background in episodes two and three. This was a good show to work for.

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Blackface said:

The first 3 episodes have been better then this season of Mad Men by far.

Plot is predictable but the show has so much potential.

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In its official premiere at 10 PM on Friday, Starz’s new period drama Magic City drew only 295,000 viewers, well below the network’s most recent series premiere of Boss (659,000) and far off the debuts of Spartacus: Gods Of The Arena, (1.098 million), Camelot (1.125 million) and Torchwood: Miracle Day (819,000). For the 10 and 11 PM airings on Friday, the Magic City premiere averaged a combined 423,000 viewers vs. 1.05 million for Boss, and 965,000 for the weekend vs. 1.72 million for Boss.

There were two mitigating factors: first, Magic City‘s premiere fell on Good Friday when fewer people were watching TV, and secondly, it had already run on Starz the week before. Just like the first episode of HBO’s Luck aired a preview behind the season finale of Boardwalk Empire before officially premiering it a month later, the Magic City opener aired behind the Spartacus finale the previous week when it did better, drawing 730,000 viewers in Live+3. Starz says that the pilot episode of Magic City has been seen by 2.5 million Showtime viewers to date, including 670,000 on-demand views. Of course, Magic City‘s fate doesn’t depend on ratings: the series starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan was renewed for a second season ahead of its premiere.

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RatskyWatsky said:

Did anyone watch episode 2?

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Ratings for Starz’s new period drama Magic City are still low but they are moving in the right direction. In its second week, the period drama drew 370,000 total viewers in its premiere airing at 10 PM on Friday. That was up 25% from the series’ official debut the previous Friday. For the night, Magic City’s second episode averaged 556,000 viewers over two airings in Live+same day, up 31%. This was Episode 2′s first run on Starz (the pilot episode had been previewed behind the season finale of Spartacus before its official premiere) but, along with Episodes 1 and 3, it has been available for free sampling through cable and satellite providers. Starz estimates that the first episode has received 3.5 million views to date. Episode 2′s current tally is 1.75 million.

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CyReN said:

Wonder if them having it up early had anything to do with it. Like the show personally.

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