User reviews

I really enjoyed this show. The first episode was kind of boring, and I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to change the channel. As it went deeper into the story line, boring it was NOT! I started to get the feel of the characters -- and I really enjoyed it. Even my boyfriend (who hardly ever "likes" any show or movie) liked the show. So, what I will say to you is .. give it a try!! It was a lot better than I expected. There is a lot of nude scenes, which I'm okay with.. but I wouldn't watch it as a family.

I already have a lot of questions that I can not wait to get the answers to. I just hope the writers/producers do not ruin it, which there are always ways to do. Keep up the good work.. you found a fan in me!! I will be watching each and every Friday night 'till season end!

I have now watched all 7 episodes of this new series. My initial reaction to the first episode was that it was good but not compelling. This proved to be deceptive. By the end of the 2nd episode I was hooked. The shows strength is the juxtaposition of the control that Ike Evans, the shows clever lead character, exerts over himself while trying to "do good" by others, against the always simmering and ready to boil passion of the truly bad guy "Ben Diamond". The shows other characters are properly developed to provide fodder for the main characters' growth, confrontation and destruction. The setting in 1959 Miami is great and all the necessary detail to buildings, cars and props was made. I give the show a solid "9" but not quite a ten because it does for very short periods in most episodes come up a little short in a hard to describe way. Perhaps the clichés are a little to frequent, with all of the characters being a little too easily pigeonholed. But I digress, I enthusiastically recommend the show to and adult audience as very entertaining. Since the 2nd episode I have always made sure that I am in front of the TV at 10 PM Friday nights to see the next installment. Bravo to the show!!!

This show caught my attention, and held it from start to finish. It moves at a slow, but steady pace, as if mimicking the slightly slower speed people adjust to when in the tropics. The pace is perfect though, as nothing is rushed, and the story seems to move at an appropriate speed without bogging itself down.

The acting is good, the characters quickly defined with a touch of slight touch of cliché personalities, but I think it helps to make the story move along by quickly separating the good from the bad and the mysterious.

Great period shots of cars, fashion, and the era of smoking abound, giving those of us old enough to remember a nostalgic look at a period that was wonderful, tumultuous, and tragic all at once. This show has the right cast, and it's future depends solely on where it's writers take it. Definitely worth a watch.

As an author of several books I can declare with absolute certainty all movies, TV shows, plays, etc., start with the writing. These venues either have good writing or they don't. The good writers are able to draw memorable characters and plots. The STARZ presentation of MAGIC CITY was a show that had the best writing on TV. The writing was consistently good. In essence the writers wrote a movie that ran about 24 hours (run over two seasons). This is nearly an impossible task, yet the writers of MAGIC CITY did so with great creative craft and skill. They maintained consistency in the storyline and the character development. The incredibly gifted actors who gave life to the written words were a compilation of some of the greatest acting on television. The acting top to bottom was great: Jeffrey Dean Morton, Danny Houston, Steven Straight, and all the rest was a dream cast. Unfortunately, television is a great wasteland. So when a great show like MAGIC CITY gets canceled the wasteland becomes even more barren. But let's get to the real point of the matter. The viewer ship for MAGIC CITY (as well as other shows like BOSS) is not down because the show(s) was not good. The viewer ship for MAGIC CITY as well as all premium cable stations is low because the cost of subscriptions is too damn high. The economic struggles of people in America are deeper than the empty talking heads of CNN, CNBC and FOX are permitted to talk about. The proof is premium channel viewer ship since 1984 is down 58%. Compounding the issue is the viewer base is going more toward shopping and music channels. Consequently, it's no wonder great written shows like MAGIC CITY are lost to poor tastes of viewers and the inability of STARZ executives to know how to grow viewer ship for a great show like MAGIC CITY. All this is very unfortunate, primarily because the executives of STARZ originally had the intelligence and good taste to allow MAGIC CITY on the channel. Is it too much to expect then that the executives have the courage to continue to air it and see the show through to its proper conclusion? On the other hand, what should I really expect from people who are, in reality, only bean counters? You show me a great show, I get drawn into a wonderfully written drama with brilliant characters, and outstanding performances and then you close down production. Why then should I invest my time, and money, in any programing STARZ offers? The decrease of premium cable viewer ship is not lost on companies such as Viacom, MGM and Lionsgate. That's why those companies eased out of their cable network projects. I know there's no changing the minds of STARZ executives; MAGIC CITY will be canceled. How terribly unfortunate for those of us who knew we were watching entertainment at it's best. And those discerning, loyal fans of MAGIC CITY are thankful that for two brief seasons we were given. We shared in the great pleasure to hear the written words of the writers of MAGIC CITY spoken by the great cast. I wish all the actors on MAGIC CITY the best success in any future endeavors. For a brief time you were my best source of entertainment on television. And to some degree you all became people I cared about. For that I am grateful. All the best. P.S. now that MAGIC CITY is canceled there's no reason for me to scribe to STARZ.

Magic City is as addicting as any TV show can possibly get. If you think it's going to be the same old crime drama, or a Miami Beach version of the Soprano's, you may be right...but only about the latter. And only because this show is just as good.

Magic City's characters are so good and so well acted, you find yourself rooting for everyone in the show. You feel connected to each one. Even the Butcher, Ben Diamond. You may not 'root' for The Butcher, but in his almighty evilness lies an extremely flawed human being. You don't even need to know his back story, you just know the man has issues.

I live in Fort Lauderdale and travel to Miami Beach often. Magic City accurately depicts what Mimai Beach looks like minus 54 years. The shows creative team are true to their 1950's early 60's version of Miami. No anachronisms to bust the mood. This as authentic as they get.

To the un-seen viewers: Take a few hours on the couch and relax. Watch a few episodes in a row, and you will go back in time. If you are having any personal difficulties in life; this is the heroin that will allow you a few hours respite. You will become a fly on the wall at the Miramar Hotel in Miami Beach in 1959. I doubt you will think of anything other than whats happening on the screen. You will however, want more.

This is five star stuff.

Mike I am just a normal no one that loves a good series. You will too.

Well I feel this show has everything good TV should bring to the screen.

The cast is excellent and acting is all on form all round. The sets and wardrobes are top notch and the attention to detail is as good as any period show on TV at the moment.

Its great to see the likes of Kelly Lynch in such a good role again at last.

Danny Huston delivers a hauntingly brilliant villain and Jef Morgan is possibly at his career best yet.

As for the women in the show, well need I say anything...

I'm happily addicted to the show and lets hope this one stays around for some time

I cannot believe some of the comments. One star, two star ratings and animal cruelty?! Please be serious, did you watch this for artistic value? It's the time, the cars, the mob and the women. That's it, no more. Sometimes it's is fun to just watch mindless, cool and dumb for just that. Jeez, stop spending so much of your time seeing everything through a modern lens. Or simply don't watch.

This show is one of the best shows i've ever seen, right now i only watch 2 shows dexter and this one. I started watching it because of the lead actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan i've always loved his acting, so i started watching it and it was very easy to get obsessed with it. Now I don't understand how 7.1 on IMDb almost 5/5 in almost all episodes of starz is low rated!! How can they cancel this show so fast? a lot of people like me love this show and its one of the best shows out. Canceling it its a really bad mistake they are making, they should try changing the schedule or something not canceling it! I'm really disappointed with that WRONG decision STARZ made. Please starz change your minds! I'm sure you are going to lose a lot of viewers if you do it.

After hearing that there was going to be a show about the 1960s Miami this TV Series caught my attention. Myself as a Retro fan was pretty happy that shows like these are getting more common after Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire which were and still are amazing series.

First off its not possible to rate a whole TV Series off the first Episode so this will be about the first episode and how it is in my Opinion.

Magic City looks and feels authentic in many ways. The Quality of the set is really great some improvements could be made here and there but overall it looks fine. The story looks promising with hopefully a lot of future depth in it. I hope what i saw in the first Episode is the tip of the Iceberg. Another plus is that the music of the show is truly great and was picked carefully so it fitted to most of the parts. The important thing is to keep the music as a feature and not to overuse it.

Considering that the actors here are not that well known they are acting in a great manner that makes them look like professionals at times. So a big bravo to the Cast. One of the other points i liked is that the series took good care about the date it was set in showing the affects of real occurrences on the story minorly.

The Effects sometimes did look a bit too weak compared to the rest of the show. These can be improved of course but this doesn't change the fact that it looked a bit off and unrealistic. There were some scenes where the camera angles and the look of a room in a scene wasn't that well done compared to the other great rooms or environments they had showed beforehand.

So Overall. A good watch with a few mistakes here and there on the first episode. Hoping to see the true potential of the storyline and depth out of the following episodes.

If you didn't watch it check it out and see for yourself

8/10

The 60's genre is always appealing. People always associate that time period with great fashion, good times, and free spirits. Although this show tries to portray all the glitz and glam of this era, it ends up being a poor mans Mad Men in all senses. You'll see right through the bells and whistles, leaving only weak story telling at the most.

I really wanted to like this show but unfortunately, it doesn't have what it takes to be a great show. I don't see this one going passed 2 seasons but I'll give it a chance again if it does.

I gave it a 6 because of the genre and attention to detail in that sense but other than that, it'd get a 4 from me.

"Magic City" would be a wonderful addition to any networks show line up. It is a clever story line that is well written. In addition to that the acting is superb, with great chemistry between the actors. The characters are quite realistic. For example, "the butcher" - he does seem like a very intimidating and scary guy! This was a good idea that the Starz channel had. Unfortunately, the reality is many more people watch HBO and Showtime than watch Starz. I really believe that if this show had aired on either of those larger networks it would be running for many more seasons. This is a very captivating show that absolutely deserves a second chance.

That era of Miami Beach is a fantastic treasure trove of visuals and stories of all kinds of incredible characters. I grew up in it a few years closer to those years than Mitch Glazer, so maybe I just remember it better. Hey, he got the series made, whereas I've just had this stuff in my head for 50 years, so I'll definitely give him some credit for portraying the atmosphere. Unfortunately though, he's just objectively inaccurate on a number of points where he really didn't need to be. Those are probably things that only a nitpicker like me would care about, but, to me and other Miami Beach people of the era, those things might matter. The worst part, though, is just that the characters and the story are boring, just the opposite of the reality.

So, I watched episodes 1 & 2 and then chucked it after the beginning of episode 3 which showed the girls at the 1959 beauty pageant dancing The Twist. Unfortunately, no one danced The Twist until mid-1960 when Hank Ballard's original version came out, and then it really became big with the Chubby Checker #1 version later in 1960. I spent a whole lot of time working on picking up tourist girls in teen dances in those hotels, and I screwed up my back twisting too much at one hotel bar mitzvah and had to miss a day of school. Also, my father had the first rock and roll club on The Beach, so maybe I'm a bit sensitive about the music stuff.

That's another thing- they talk about "Miami" in Magic City. Sorry, but people said "Miami Beach", not Miami. I'm serious, because Miami was this place across the water somewhere in the South of the US. It was another universe that people only visited for sports events. Miami Beach was its own world, and New York was really the next stop in those years before freeway exits. No big thing, but it just irked me, as did a bunch of things in the earlier episodes.

In episode 1, the restaurant in the hotel can't function pre-New Years 1958-59 because all of the Cuban kitchen staff are preoccupied with the events in Havana. Sorry, but the staff would definitely have been black, not Cuban, as hardly any Cubans had come across yet. I remember in 1958 when the first Cuban came into our school wearing a white suit, and I became his first friend. I used to go over to his house, one of the last houses still on the beach, and they had all kinds of weapons and adults arguing in Spanish. Although no one will ever know, his father, Eladio del Valle, was most likely key in the Kennedy assassination. He was found in his car with a bullet in his head on the same day as David Ferrie was found dead in New Orleans.

The owner's son, Stevie, has a build that only comes from weight-room workouts, and weight rooms didn't exist then. The only gyms then were places that boxers worked out, like the 5th Street Gym where I'd go to watch Cassius Clay. When my father took me to the spa at the Fontainebleau, there was no place to work out. The guys got a rubdown while getting their nails done with clear polish. The closest thing to exercise was walking into the steam room. No one in those pre-steroid, pre-workout days, except for a few very odd muscle guys, had developed lats or triceps. Even pro football players didn't use weights, as they thought that it would make you "musclebound".

The owner's wife talks about "stress". Not a concept yet. The Eames Management chairs in his office weren't commercially available yet. More importantly, Frank Sinatra opened cold, no warm-up act or big build-up! I remember sneaking into the Boom Boom Room to see Sinatra, and it just wasn't like that. Actually, when someone asks me where I grew up, I still often say, "The Boom Boom Room".

In episode 2, the guy orders "extra-lean corned beef"!! Heresy! Now, maybe Glazer was just intending that to be some kind of joke, as the guy ordering wasn't Jewish? However, I don't think that anyone ordered extra-lean anything in those days, and especially not corned beef. Then they make a big thing about the daughter's bas mitzvah, and she says, "Everybody I know has her bas mitzvah!" Absolutely wrong. Not in 1959. I doubt if one Jewish girl in a hundred had a bas mitzvah. Then, grandpa tells the daughter that he'll take her on the rides at Fun Fair. Sorry, no rides at Fun Fair other than the mechanical horsie for 3-year-olds.

A somewhat less nitpicky thing is that the big mob guys didn't live in big mansions! Meyer Lansky and "Trigger Mike" Copolla, the Italian boss at the time, both lived in modest homes without gates. As I remember, Copolla's did have bullet-proof glass in the living room that faced the street right across from our junior high school, but it was just a normal 50's house. Miami Beach definitely had big fancy houses and cars, but the mob guys kept a low profile, although everyone knew who they were. My "fraternity", Knights, had the sons of the of some of those mob guys. The dads were nice enough to me, though they did things worse than anything shown in Magic City. My friends died early.

Well, enough of my kvetching for now. Maybe I will watch the rest of the season, just because it's playing in my head whether I watch it or not.

Yep you will see me as one of Castro's henchmen coming in on a boat from cuba helping Jeffrey out with the Chicago Gang and bankrupting them, Yeah I am in the hanger with 7 other men with red bags making illegal sure bets. Now I have to say Jeffrey was a joy to work with, some grade A actors get on and do not care for the back ground or anyone else but themselves, they are there for the paycheck and are just focusing on there lines but Jeffrey? nope! Jeffrey is hilarious off the camera as much as on the camera! He plays himself in every movie or TV show that he makes except he tweaked it to a darker self in Walking dead, God it was hard for me to see him act that evil in Walking Dead but man did he do very well. I remember Jeffrey bringing every Coffee and Donuts from Dunkin Donuts! He did not have to do that because we already had a catering truck taking care of us but Jeffrey insisted and he ast down and ate with us as equals. My love goes out to you Jeffrey as the best of human being on the planet that shares there love for what they like to do. Truly an honor to be in the presence of a good person!

I loved the period aura, the clothes, the cars, the projection of opulence with a hint of malevolence. All that, I'm sure was targeted by the writers and producers of the show. I congratulate them on their creation and its entertainment quotient. They succeeded on those obvious levels.

That said, and because I'm fascinated by the history of this period and that rotation of the earth that was the Cuban Revolution, as well as the history of Florida in general, I'm hoping that, going forward, the show concentrates a bit more on the actual history of the epoch weaving into the plot line those elements of change which impacted our country politically and culturally. If the creators and producers of the show do that, this show has the potential for real societal relevance. I have the feeling that historical relevance mixed with period accuracy in terms of setting, costumes, props, and dialog have the ability to make this show stand out as significant. At the end of the day, if it's only entertaining there will be an opportunity cost to be paid in sad coinage. In my opinion, that would be too bad.

I've watched the 1st three "teaser" episodes and liked them very much. Now I'm hoping this show can step into the heavyweight division. I think it is quite possible that it could.

Rick G. - California

The Season opener centers around a Miami Beach Hotel 1/2 owned by a Jewish Business man (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) his two sons, one who has eyes for anything in or out of a dress; including his stepmother (Olga Kurylenko) and Morgan's pre-teen daughter; just before New Year's eve 1958; through New Years morning 1959. I was hoping for a thicker plot; but the era was so appealing, I was satisfied with the visuals in the first episode to hold me tight to the screen. I was taken by Kurylenko's beauty, a different take on Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the era in general. I was disappointed with the choice of Danny Huston to play the Jewish Mob Boss; but now that I've seen three episodes, I've decided he's the only one who can act on the show, besides the Kid who plays Morgan's son Steve. I've waited three episodes for the Pace, Script, Acting and Plot to catch up to the visuals. I've all but forgiven them for so many era errors because I really wanted to love this Series. They've left the words:"Neat", "Keen" and "Cool" out of the show; perhaps because the show is none of those words. I'm sure the cast and crew is having a blast filming in Miami, chain smoking, and driving cars that look like Space Ships; however, for the viewer if that's all the show is capable of delivering, it will be a short lived visit back to the Glory Years.

I like the show, I LOVE the scenery, I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, I remember a lot of the places in Miami, my only issue is there is WAy TOO much Animal killing going on. The dog floating in the pool, shooting the sharks, Shooting the Shepard?? Really, is that necessary? I mean there is just so much animal abuse out there, it's just not necessary to write this stuff in, it gives the impression that it's a common thing that no one thinks twice about. I'd love to keep watching, but I just can't handle this stuff.There is a lot of violence, and that is typical of a show with Mob Involvement, that's fine, Jeffrey and his two sons are wonderful, and all the acting is wonderful too. They make it easy to hate the Mob Boss, I did in the first show. I would just love to have them stop writing in the Animal stuff, it would be a great show without it! Guess I'll have to pass on this one. Unless they can STOP writing it in the script!

Just like most new show the first episode was not overwhelming. It was hard to get used to the 60's and all the new characters. Personally, I didn't liked it so much but kept watching for Jeffrey Dean Morgan because of his phenomenal performance in Greys Anatomy. (Later on Jeffrey fades away and all the attention is on Steven Strait ;))

But back to Magic city: It's a lot like Sopranos, a guy who just wants to make a earning for his lovely family. Even if it means to kill sometime. It's a lot like Sopranos but it is not Sopranos. Why? Because it all takes place in the roaring 60's with Frank Sinatra, upcoming gambling and still a real class difference.

The first episodes aren't that great, aren't that bad. If you just want to have one hour fun, rent a movie. This series is really forming a plot from episode one to....? So with every episode the story gets better and better. It's got great potential to be the next great Sopranos.

if their were a television genie and i could grant 3 TV shows back to life after being canceled, magic city would be one. It still boggles my mine why Starz let this gem shut down far too soon when it was hitting its stride. After a magnificent first season the second improved vastly and focused more on the Chicago mob and having the casino vote in Ike Evans hotel. Stevie went under Ben Diamonds wing unaware that he watched atop the one-way glass atop the ceiling while he and Lilly slept with each other. Danny stayed in the DAs office while his father was still being investigated and Ike's wife went back to her roots dancing while jealous that Ike was getting closer to Meg claiming her using business as a excuse. James Caan was great as the Boss of the Chicago family sent to Miami with a nice back story tied to Ike's father. As much as i loved the casting for this show Ben diamond was perfectly casted and brilliantly acted. This show had the I cant wait for the next episode factor. Its entirely addicting and absolutely binge worthy. I wish it went on longer it truly was magic and beautiful TV and escapism.

In an era of lousy remakes of classic TV shows, bad reality shows and all others, at least I Found a real popcorn TV show with magic city, set in the 1950's about a Miami hotel filled with gangsters, swingers and smooth music, the performances are excellent, the production design and the HD look to it is so nice, the CGI is great, the writing is wonderful and the characters are so complex-ed you can almost relate to them, When I Saw this show on the internet, I Knew that this is gonna be wonderful and terrific and this show is great throughout, this is not only one of the very best TV shows of 2012, but also a candidate for the decades best show, I Truly hope this show goes on for a long time to come, this is one of the best shows since the sopranos, great show.

Overall, overacted & overdramatized 1950's American film noir. However, the best & most relatable role I've seen Olga Kurylenko play as of yet. My favorite role of Elena Satine's so far. Sherilyn Fenn was as beautiful and as sexy as ever. I'm a fan of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Danny Huston, and James Caan, however the show was written & directed far under the limits of each their specific talents & abilities.

Miami Beach in 1959, a gorgeous resort hotel, glamour, sub tropical weather, supper clubs, Sinatra, gangsters, the Kennedy era, the Cuban revolution, Danny Houston - what could go wrong? This show had the potential to be a memorable seven season fixture, but instead it missed the mark. Although they got the dresses and style right, everyone drank liquor at all hours of the day and smoked like chimneys, Playboy Magazine style, like many shows with period settings made by people who were not born then, the errors stood out and spoiled the mood. Just one example: I was in my 20's then and it was an exciting time, but I do not recall EVER hearing anyone using F___ and definitely not C___ in mixed company. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. It was absolutely not done, yet seems to crop up a lot in modern shows set in the mid 20th century. A woman using such language was fired from her job on the spot, deemed unfit company and ostracized from then on. Neither was sex ever talked about as frankly as depicted in today's shows. If it was discussed at all, and never in mixed company, euphemisms were used. In the era just before the contraceptive pill, unmarried couples were not very sexually active, but you would never guess that from today's TV.

Apart from that little gripe my biggest problem with the show is that it was boring and lacked humour. None of the one-note characters had any redeeming features which would have made them likable. It was one long depressing descent into depravity. Ike Evans was a shady character despite claiming to be straight. His wife eventually left him due to being disappointed with his shady side, but went to his son who was even worse. Ben Diamond was an unrelenting psychopath. Even Tony Soprano cracked a joke now and then and you felt sympathy for him. We never saw one one redeeming feature in Ben, no anonymous gift to a sick child whose mother could not afford life saving hospital treatment. Not one anonymous gift to an orphanage. Not even a pet cat or dog! Just an evil sexually perverted psychopath 24/7. Corny I know, but Danny Houston is an excellent actor and could have injected some sympathy for the devil. Everyone and his brother were corrupt and on the take, which is not the way it is in real life.

The other problem was that the show as a whole was too focused on the hotel at the cost of other juicy story lines. The Cuban revolution could have featured much more prominently as an ongoing secondary story line. Heck, it was THE major event of the decade with ongoing repercussions more than 50 years later, and we could have used scenes showing what led to the revolution, why it happened and why the new government was adamant that the gangsters running the casinos and corrupt businessmen would never be allowed back. To be sure American companies and gangsters were angered at the loss of their lucrative investments, but the Cuban people did not see it that way. We should have seen the revolution from both sides. The events in Cuba were briefly mentioned in passing, but that was it. The back story of Victor and Maria should have featured in at least two or three full episodes. All we got was a couple of sentences in passing and a brief night time scene of Maria's unsuccessful attempt to leave Cuba. Everyone's back story would have helped flesh out the characters. We could have learned a lot more about Vera and why she did not have the slightest Spanish accents despite being from Cuba. How did Victor end up in Miami Beach before the revolution? What had brought Judi Silver, the platinum blonde sex worker, to Miami Beach? Why did the hotel not have any black staff? Why were the staff predominantly Cuban BEFORE the exodus? So much wasted potential!