Superheroes in the Victorian era: Period drama meets science fiction

As television genres go, two of the most popular ones as of late are science fiction and period drama. While they may seem like an odd pairing, a new series combines elements of both, and it has TV fans talking.

In Victorian London in 1896, a supernatural event leaves some people, many of them women, with unusual abilities in the premiere of “The Nevers,” airing Sunday, April 11, on HBO. Laura Donnelly (“Outlander”) leads the ensemble cast as “quick-fisted” widow Amalia True, who works alongside young inventor Penance Adair (Ann Skelly, “Kissing Candice,” 2017) to protect their fellow gifted “orphans.”

As the story unfolds, viewers will meet a variety of characters with powers — some of them amazing and some disturbing. All the while, there are those who rail against such people, who are referred to as “touched.” True and Adair become champions for their kind and fight against those who would rather they didn’t exist.

Created by Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), “The Nevers” has been in the works for a few years. HBO faced some stiff competition from other media giants like Netflix, who also wanted to nab the rights to the project, but came out on top and gave the show a straight-to-series order in 2018. When the project was announced in July of that year, HBO executive Casey Bloys expressed his excitement about the series.

“We look forward to meeting the strange, multifaceted characters of ‘The Nevers,’ to learn their stories, see them in action and share them with our viewers,” Bloys said in a statement at the time.

However, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the show. Whedon had originally been tapped to write and direct, among other things, but he has since left the project. He has been the subject of much criticism lately as a number of stars have come forward with allegations of misconduct on sets, notably actors Ray Fisher (“Justice League,” 2017) and Charisma Carpenter (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”).while Whedon was the subject of an investigation by Warnermedia (HBO’S parent company) stemming from Fisher’s allegations, the writer cited other reasons for leaving “The Nevers” in an official statement.