The Nevers, HBO’s upcoming “Victorian ladies with superpowers” series, has released its first trailer chockful of the aforementioned ladies, some fun 19th-century fight scenes, and what seems to be just a dash of steampunk.
What it doesn’t contain is a lot of clarity on what’s going on, other than “The Touched” — or “The Afflicted,” if you’re being nasty about it — dealing with a male-dominated society that is quite uneasy about all these women having real, literal power (although there are a few Touched who are male). See for yourself:
The extremely large cast of characters seen in the trailer certainly gives the show an epic feel, even if the plots that will constitute that epicness are left almost entirely vague. Here’s the official description, which doesn’t reveal much else:
In the last years of Victoria’s reign, London is beset by the “Touched”: people – mostly women – who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities – some charming, some very disturbing. Among them are Amalia True (Laura Donnelly), a mysterious, quick-fisted widow, and Penance Adair (Ann Skelly), a brilliant young inventor. They are the champions of this new underclass, making a home for the Touched, while fighting the forces of… well, pretty much all the forces – to make room for those whom history as we know it has no place.
What is clear, however, is how much Amalia is a snarky, badass female protagonist in the classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer vein, which is of course because the Joss Whedon created the show. If you’ll recall, he left the show back in November of last year, basically citing how exhausting it was making the show during the pandemic, which is perfectly valid. Whether the departure of the creator of Buffy and allegedly abusive director of Justice League bodes good or ill for the show remains to be seen, but filming was finished back in October, so it’s unlikely how much new showrunner Philippa Goslett has been able to steer the ship.
The show was scheduled to have 10 episodes, but the pandemic cut the first season down to six; they’ll arrive on HBO Max in April.
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