'The Nevers' Featurette: Discover HBO's Genre-Bending Sci-Fi Fantasy Series

Right now, HBO's upcoming series The Nevers is best known for what happened behind the scenes: namely that it was meant to be the big return to television for creator and original showrunner Joss Whedon, only for him to step away from the show in late 2020. But once audiences get a chance to actually see the show instead of just reading about its production, I expect it will be able to carve out a reputation of its own outside of Whedon's involvement.

The premium cable channel has released a The Nevers featurette which introduces us to "The Touched," a group of women in Victorian England who have mysteriously been imbued with distinct superpowers. Check out the footage below.

As you can see, Whedon's name is not mentioned at all in this featurette – probably because HBO may think it wise to avoid any link with him in the wake of the allegations and accusations that have surfaced over the past few months about his behavior on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (not to mention Cyborg actor Ray Fisher's continued crusade to get justice for what he sees as murky inappropriate behavior from Whedon during reshoots of Justice League). But showrunner Philippa Goslett (Mary Magdalene, How to Talk to Girls at Parties) is now in charge of the series, and it sounds like she's inherited a show with some intriguing characters at its center and a phenomenal sense of world-building built around them.

Here's the official synopsis of the show:

August, 1896. Victorian London is rocked to its foundations by a supernatural event which gives certain people – mostly women – abnormal abilities, from the wondrous to the disturbing. But no matter their particular "turns," all who belong to this new underclass are in grave danger. It falls to mysterious, quick-fisted widow Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) and brilliant young inventor Penance Adair (Ann Skelly) to protect and shelter these gifted "orphans." To do so, they will have to face the brutal forces determined to annihilate their kind.

Olivia Williams, James Norton, Tom Riley, Rochelle Neil, Eleanor Tomlinson, Nick Frost, Amy Manson, Pip Torrens, Denis O'Hare, Zackary Momoh, Elizabeth Berrington, Kiran Sawar, Anna Devlin, Viola Prettejohn, and Ella Smith round out the cast.

If you're interested in some early reactions from folks who have already seen a bit of the show, check those out here. The Nevers debuts on HBO this Sunday, April 11, 2021.