Versatile Tom Riley tackles sci-fi fantasy in series ‘The Nevers’

Tom Riley’s career is humming along nicely and he takes another step into the spotlight this month in “The Nevers,” a gender-bending sci-fi fantasy series on HBO created by Joss Whedon.

Set in England in the 1890s, the show centers on a group of people who have mysteriously been imbued with distinct superpowers. Some can see the future, some grow 10-foot-tall, others can harness

electricity.

These people — the Victorians refer to them as “touched” — are a threat to the status quo. There is much fighting, cool special effects and social commentary — a sort of Victorian X-Men.

“It does defy definition and description in so many ways,” says Riley from his home in Los Angeles. “It just felt like something fresh and new. It made me realize just how long I’ve been without something like that.”

In the series, Riley plays Augie, a rather stiff member of the aristocracy who also happens to have been “touched.” His superpower is the ability to channel birds, a useful skill for reconnaissance.

“I think I could probably say this here in a way that makes more sense if I said it at home: He’s incredibly British — in

that everything is repressed and everything is tricky and difficult for him,” he says.

Co-executive producer Daniel Kaminsky says Riley brings sincerity and warmth to the role that elevates Augie’s occasional antics and makes him a very real and interesting character.

Whedon, responsible for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly” on the small screen and who directed the first two Marvel “Avengers” movies, has since left the series and been accused by actors on other projects of being abusive.

The first six episodes of “The Nevers” are done and start airing weekly on Sunday. The cast is due to return in June to finish the first season with British screenwriter Philippa Goslett taking over as showrunner.