The Nevers

Maybe this show had the misfortune of happening during the pandemic. It was one of the most inventive shows in the past several years. Really crisp, sharp writing, excellent acting, and a highly entertaining story. They never took the easy way out. Laura Donnelly, Ann Skelly, Olivia Williams, James Norton, Amy Manson... all brilliant. Maybe the show was too female-centric and too progressive for these times. Too many strong women in one show? Not enough men doing manly things for the wider audience? It's really a shame, because this was a stunningly good show. That they pulled it after six episodes, not even airing the full 12, is just a crime and doesn't bode well for other shows that aren't afraid to be this compelling with so many powerful women at the centre.

I was on the fence for the first episode but it quickly won me over. The finale was alright. Interesting idea, not totally sure what that looks like for season 2, if it gets renewed. Whedon has been outed for pretty deplorable behaviour, who knows what that means.

As is though, the Victorian super hero and Other narrative feels like it's well done. Clearly a lot of good casting and a pool of good writers to pull off something that's a bit tropey yet also niche and weird. I like having this in tandem with all the nihilistic "realistic" super hero shows lately. These questions are more interesting, imo.

Like s Victorian X-Men meets Penny Dreadful.

I absolutely love it. Can't wait to see how this plays out.

I am astonished at the negative "professional" reviews for this series. It's well-produced, well-written, well-acted, and overall a very engaging series. Four episodes in and I find myself looking forward to the next installment. All of the criticisms I've seen are petty and/or absurd. "The super powers are unrealistic." That is a near verbatim line. "All the bad guys are rich white men." Another near verbatim criticism from the same review. Irony levels of an Onion article.

My review: it's fresh, it's fun, and better in every category than 95% of the modern super-hero / sci-fi genre.

And the fact that it's headed up by Laura Donnelly just makes it all the better. She was awesome in Outlander, now she's awesome in this.

What a fascinating idea for a show. Interesting powers too. I can't wait to see what happens next. Please renew this for another season.