THE NEVERS cancelled at HBO

In not-entirely surprising news, HBO has cancelled its Victorian supernatural drama series The Nevers. However, it has more surprisingly made the move ahead of the broadcast of its second batch of episodes.

The Nevers was created by Joss Whedon and was in development at HBO for some considerable time before it entered production in 2019. However, its development and production were overshadowed by accusations of bullying and unpleasant behaviour by Joss Whedon on the set of the film Justice League (2017), for which Whedon oversaw extensive reshoots. Warner Brothers initially sided with Whedon, but this became less tenable as more actors came forwards with stories of improper behaviour. Whedon abruptly resigned from working on The Nevers after principle photography on the first half of the first season (hugely complicated by the COVID pandemic) was completed but before it was edited.

The first half of the first season aired in May 2021 to a generally positive critical response, although again it was overshadowed by a second wave of allegations about Whedon, this time stemming from his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel from 1996 to 2004, where again he was accused of bullying and toxic behaviour.

The critical and commercial reception to The Nevers - the show enjoyed reasonable first-season ratings on HBO - meant that HBO did undertake a salvage operation on the series, appointing Philippa Goslett as the new showrunner and teeing up ideas for a second full season. It appears that the original plan was to let the second half of the season air and then see if it had legs to go on without Whedon's influence. However, the recent merger of Warner Brothers and Discovery has led to many shows, some of them bigger than The Nevers, being cancelled for finance and business reasons rather than popularity ones. It's somewhat unsurprising that The Nevers was deemed much more expendable in this new environment.

Production of the second batch of episodes was fully completed and apparently news of the cancellation came early enough that they were able to craft the season finale into a full series finale. The second batch of episodes should air in 2023, although it's not entirely clear where: the existing episodes have been pulled from HBO Max (alongside those of Westworld). It looks like the episodes may resurface as part of the new ad-supported streaming service that Warner Brothers is reportedly developing.

The Nevers: Season 1 (Part 1)

London, 1899. The city has been changed by the advent of the "Touched," gifted people (predominantly women, but a few men) with unusual abilities. The government is conflicted over what to do with the Touched, but noblewoman Lavinia Bidlow hits on the idea of opening an "orphanage" where they can feel safe and protected. The combative and resourceful Amalia True, who has visions of the future, is placed in charge of the orphanage and is aided by her friend Penance Adair, whose "turn" allows her to see electrical connections and create wonderful new inventions. The reputation of the Touched is marred when one of their number, Maladie, becomes the worst serial killer since Jack the Ripper, forcing the Touched to try to track her down whilst protecting themselves...and finding out what happened three years earlier to suddenly awaken their powers.

The Nevers mixes science fiction with a period Victorian drama, an intriguing new direction for HBO as it looks for the next big-budget, cross-genre show with mass appeal that can continue in the vein from Game of Thrones and Watchmen. Based on this initial batch of six episodes - another six episodes, delayed by the COVID19 pandemic, follows next year - HBO's faith may have been rewarded: The Nevers is epic in scope with a relentless pace, an intriguing story and terrific actors. Indeed, if it were not for behind the scenes drama* revolving around now-departed showrunner Joss Whedon, the show would have likely been hailed as a success. Instead, its critical reception has been muted, with many reviews focusing more on the behind-the-scenes situation than on the show on its own merits.

In terms of the show itself, the first (half) season is a tightly-wound and intricately constructed narrative structure, working backwards and forwards in time. Rewatching the season immediately after completing the sixth episode will result in a somewhat different experience. The Nevers is both a story and an illusion obscuring what the story is really about. This isn't too astounding - it's only six episodes, not completely revamping what the entire series is about a full season or two into its run - but it shows the degree of narrative daring and experimentation that we used to expect from HBO. In some respects, the show feels like a warmer and more approachable version of the network's clever-but-cold masterpieces The Leftovers and Watchmen, which also experimented with storytelling ideas whilst telling an interesting story.

In other respects, this is Whedon: The Greatest Hits, which can be distracting if you have more than a passing familiarity with his body of work. Character archetypes, ideas and story arcs from his earlier series (from Buffy right through to Dollhouse) have been recycled with near glee, resulting sometimes in intriguing ideas emerging from mashing together old ones, but a few too many times in predictability. The series finale should be - and in some cases, has been - hailed as one of the most interesting and accomplished episodes of television of the year, a bold right-hand turn in storytelling that completely rewrites the show's backstory, mythology and future direction through a masterclass of suspense and acting (Laura Donnelly should be nominated for an Emmy for her performance in this episode alone). It's just that Whedon lifted a huge amount of the ideas and tropes for the episode from one of his earlier shows, almost wholesale. For those who have less familiarity with his work, it's much less of an issue, and will probably be far more impressive as a result.

The cast is uniformly excellent: Donnelly's MVP credentials are established early on and is ably supported by Ann Skelly's turn as genius engineer Penance Adair (one of the most enjoyable "womances" - if that's a thing - of recent years). Olivia Williams is one of Britain's best actresses and is hugely impressive in her role as the Touched's benefactor, Lavinia Bidlow (being a wheelchair user is probably a nod at Professor X, The Nevers never being afraid to lean into its occasionally X-Men-ish inspirations). Pip Torrens is outstanding as charismatic maybe-villain Lord Gilbert Massen, a British patriot filled with loathing for the Touched after his daughter was killed on the day they gained their powers. Amy Manson is outstanding as the unhinged (or is she?) Maladie, with Rochelle Neil being highly impressive as Bonfire Annie, a criminal with the ability to create and manipulate fire. Ben Chaplin is particularly excellent as gruff policeman Frank Mundi, whose investigation into the various strange goings-on in London proceeds in parallel to the Touched, making him at times a co-protagonist with True and Adair.

There's also some outstanding action sequences, the highlight being a fight scene in the third episode which involves combat both above and below water, and Amalia having to desperately come up with a way of defeating a Touched whose power seems to render him unstoppable in this particular environment; her finding a way of turning his power against him in a logical manner is a magic system delight that I can imagine Brandon Sanderson nodding approvingly over. As another plus, the musical score of the series is absolutely stellar, with both the first and third episodes ending with striking musical pieces.

The basic premise, though, is wholly unoriginal: the first episode reveals that the Touched's powers came from some kind of alien entity that appeared in the skies over the city, which is less "inspired by" and "directly lifted from" George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards anthology series. The X-Men parallels are too numerous to concisely list, and of course "badass women kicking backside whilst quipping quippily" is pretty much the defining through-line of Whedon's career, from Buffy and Faith through Zoe to Black Widow and Wonder Woman (whom Whedon penned a spectacularly bad script for before directing on Justice League). The Nevers never pretends to originality but does execute its at-times overly-familiar story with gusto and enthusiasm.

There are some other, odd negatives. The effects work is strangely variable, with at times flawless depictions of late 19th Century London standing alongside blatantly obvious greenscreens, and I'm not sure why they needed to build iffy 3D models of the Houses of Parliament and St. Paul's Cathedral for establishing shots, given both still exist. HBO has also failed to learn from its "direwolf" mistake on Game of Thrones, where the inability of the CG team to convincing scale up ordinary wolves to huge size eventually became so embarrassing that they were ejected from the story altogether; on The Nevers a recurring character is over ten feet tall, and CGI is obviously used to sell this illusion. But unfortunately the character never sits well in the frame and never convinces the audience that she's actually there. This feels both bafflingly amateur for a TV show airing in 2021 (twenty years after a whole battery of techniques were used to far more convincingly sell the similar size difference between humans and hobbits) and distracts from the actress's fine performance in a challenging role.

There's also some distinct underuse of accomplished actors: James Norton has little to do but drape himself caddishly over sets and utter swinish remarks whilst sleeping with everyone and everything in his debauched sight. Nick Frost has even less to do as the "Beggar King," a high-ranking member of London's criminal underground. With Frost seeking more dramatic and more challenging roles in recent years (in the likes of Into the Badlands and Truth Seekers), and generally nailing them, it's a shame to see him so underutilised here; hopefully he'll have a larger role in the second half of the season.

The Nevers' first half-season (***½) has a lot going on, good and mediocre, but emerges as a mostly-qualified success. The actors are outstanding, the action scenes are great, the worldbuilding accomplished, the soundtrack excellent and the story is interesting, with great pacing and an oddly endearing, almost 1990s approach of giving each episode its own storyline whilst also furthering the overall arc (a structure that more modern shows should use, rather than trying to make "twelve hour movies"). In the sixth episode, the series pulls off a major revision of everything you thought was going on with success. Balanced against that is a distinct lack of originality (worsened by familiarity with Whedon's earlier work), some ropey effects work and under-development of a few characters. And of course your enjoyment of the half-season will likely depend hugely on if you can separate the art from the artist (remembering that a lot more artists worked on this show than just one man, and he's since departed).

* The Nevers has been afflicted by behind-the-scenes controversy that should be acknowledged; creator and showrunner Joss Whedon left the show after the first six episodes had been filmed, a presumed spill-over from his controversial period overseeing reshoots on Zack Snyder's 2017 movie Justice League (produced by HBO's parent company, Warner Brothers) which had resulted in claims of bullying and harassment being levelled against him by multiple castmembers on that film. Subsequent to that, numerous actors and crew from multiple previous Whedon projects had come forward with their own tales of inappropriate behaviour. The Whedon "brand," which had previously driven shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) to mass success and Firefly (2002) to immortal cultdom, has become toxic and it is highly questionable if he will ever work in Hollywood again.

With regards to The Nevers, Whedon wrote the first episode and directed the first and fifth; it is presumed, as showrunner and executive producer, he also had a hand in rewrites on the other episodes. Whedon also commissioned the scripts for the next four episodes of the series and may written one of them himself; HBO later expanded the order to twelve episodes in total after Whedon's departure, so the last two episodes will have no input from Whedon at all, and I suspect all six have been heavily rewritten. Philippa Goslett has taken over as showrunner for the second batch of episodes and any future seasons should they be commissioned. The show's other initial writers, including long-term Whedon collaborators Doug Petrie and Jane Espenson, remain involved in the project.

HBO airs first trailer for THE NEVERS

HBO has aired the first trailer for The Nevers, its new period supernatural show from Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon.

Set in London in the (apparently late) 19th Century, during the Victorian era, the show focuses on Amalia True (Laura Donnelly), an irresponsible drunk who becomes one of a number of women to gain supernatural powers. Some in society regard such people as a threat, others as an opportunity to gain power and influence.

The show also stars Olivia Williams, James Norton, Tom Riley, Ann Skelly, Ben Chaplin, Amy Manson, Eleanor Tomlinson and Nick Frost.

The show is Whedon's first solo-developed project for television since Dollhouse (2009-10) and his first TV work since directing the pilot of Agents of SHIELD in 2013. However, Whedon left the project shortly after the conclusion of principle photography. Whedon cited scheduling conflicts and problems caused by the delays in filming due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for his departure, but some have noted that the departure coincided with accusations of bullying by actor Ray Fisher during his reshoots on Zack Snyder's Justice League (2017) (Warner Brothers, which produced Justice League, owns HBO). However, Warner Brothers have stood by the other producers and executives named in Fisher's complaints and Whedon's departure had been rumoured for months, since he was reportedly in talks with Disney about developing new projects for them.

Philippa Goslett has taken over as showrunner on The Nevers in the event a second season is greenlit. Season 1 will begin airing on HBO and HBO Max in April this year.

Joss Whedon steps down as showrunner of HBO's THE NEVERS

Joss Whedon has stepped down as showrunner of HBO's upcoming historical fantasy series The Nevers. Whedon cites the workload and schedule conflicts brought about by delays to filming caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Whedon made his name in the 1990s as a writer on Roseanne and working on Hollywood movies including Toy Story, Twister and Alien: Resurrection, as well as his own original property Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Frustrated with how his scripts were constantly being changed by other people, he jumped at the chance to revamp Buffy as a TV series. The series aired between 1997 and 2003 and spawned a nearly-as-successful spin-off, Angel, which aired from 1999 to 2003. Whedon also produced the TV shows Firefly (2002) and Dollhouse (2009-10), along with a Firefly feature film spin-off, Serenity (2005), which marked his feature film writing/directing debut. Whedon also wrote and directed The Avengers (2012) and The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) for Marvel and Disney, as well as helping develop and launch the TV series Agents of SHIELD (2013-20). He also took over production of the film Justice League (2017) when director Zack Snyder had to step down following a family tragedy. The Nevers would have marked the first TV show he had completely helmed from start to finish in more than a decade.

Although Whedon cites other reasons for leaving, many commentators will be sceptical of his claims. In 2017, Whedon's ex-wife accused him of cheating on her with at least one and possibly more actresses in some of the shows he worked on, although specific accusations were not made. The news rocked Whedon's fanbase, which had previously praised him for his depiction of female empowerment in his work (although other critics had long held some of Whedon's writing to be problematic, particularly in Dollhouse and his alleged sidelining and then firing of actress Charisma Carpenter from Angel for becoming pregnant). The largest Whedon fansite shut down and his fans have been divided ever since.

In 2020 Whedon was accused of bullying and unacceptable behaviour on the set of Justice League by actor Ray Fisher. Initially Fisher's comments were not substantiated by other actors, but then Jason Momoa stepped forwards to back Fisher. Warner Brothers launched an investigation of Whedon's behaviour during production. Warner Brothers own HBO, meaning that this investigation would certainly have a bearing on Whedon's involvement on The Nevers.

The Nevers began shooting in July 2019 and completed production of five episodes prior to being shut down by the pandemic in March 2020. Filming resumed in September and was completed at the end of October. However, post-production and editing has only been partially completed.

Whedon's long-term writing and producing partners Jane Espenson and Douglas Petrie are also working on the show, along with Game of Thrones producer Bernadette Caulfield. It is assumed they will take over showrunner duties during the post-production phase and new plans will be made if HBO decides to renew the show for a second season.

Currently The Nevers is tentatively planned to air in the summer of 2021.

Joss Whedon's HBO show THE NEVERS won't air until 2021

At a PR event this week, HBO confirmed that Joss Whedon's forthcoming Victorian drama The Nevers won't air until (presumably early) 2021.

Whedon is shooting the drama in and around London right now, and has been for several months, with shooting set to conclude in the New Year. This led to speculation that the show could air in late 2020. However, HBO have a full schedule coming up - a result of being mandated to increase their number of original dramas to compete with Netflix - and it sounds like The Nevers has been slotted in later than expected to make up for it.

This leaves HBO with something of a dilemma, as if they wait to see if the show is a hit we may not see a second season until late 2023 or even early 2024 (based on the production schedule for Season 1). Modern premium dramas have been criticised for airing new seasons only every eighteen months to two years, a problem that Amazon Prime has overcome by commissioning two seasons of their new shows up front (so Season 2 is shooting when Season 1 airs, allowing them to decide to commission a third season or not and giving the show time to build an audience over two seasons). HBO has so far been happy to allow two years to elapse between seasons, but it's unclear if they will continue in this vein with the competition apparently taking steps to overcome the issue.

The Nevers is Joss Whedon's first TV series since Dollhouse debuted ten years ago and his first screen project since The Avengers: Age of Ultron was released in 2015.

Joss Whedon's THE NEVERS announces cast

HBO has announced the cast list for The Nevers, it's first television collaboration with Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, The Avengers) and Whedon's first television series since Dollhouse ten years ago.

From left to right, Olivia Williams, Nick Frost and Ann Skelly.

The series is set in Victorian England and deals with the Touched, people with unusual abilities who are in danger of being exploited or destroyed for their powers. Whedon is the head writer, showrunner and director on the show, and has been joined by Buffy vets Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie, along with Melissa Iqbal (Humans), playwright Madhuri Shekar and journalist Laurie Penny on the writing team. Bernadette Caulfield (Game of Thrones) is handling much of the organisational side of production.

Laura Donnelly (Outlander) is playing protagonist Amalia True, "the most reckless, impulsive, emotionally damaged hero of her time."

Olivia Williams (Dollhouse) is playing Lavinia Bidlow, a wealther spinster and champion of the Touched. She is the founder of the Orphanage, where Amalia and many of the Touched live.

James Norton (Grantchester) as Hugo Swann, a club owner who collects information and intelligence. He is fascinated by the Touched and may or may not be an ally.

Tom Riley (Da Vinci's Demons) as Augustus Bidlow, Lavinia's younger brother, Hugo's best friend and keen ornithologist. He develops an infatuation with one of the Touched.

Ann Skelly (Little Women) as Penance Adair, Amalia's dearest friend and a fellow member of the Touched. She is a devout Irish Catholic, which guides her moral choices.

Ben Chaplin (Snowden) as Detective Frank Mundi, a police officer with a sense of morality but who is driven to drink by the moral quandaries he finds himself in. He runs afoul of the rich and powerful, who ignore the laws of the land, and becomes aware of the presence of the Touched in London.

Pip Torrens (The Crown) as Lord Massen. A former general in the British Army and now a Peer of the Realm, Massen fears that the Touched are a danger to the Empire.

Zackary Momoh (Seven Seconds) as Dr. Horation Cousens. Another of the Touched and an ally of Amalia. As a doctor with a wife and son, he has a respectable place in society.

Amy Manson (Being Human) as Maladie, another of the Touched but one who has been driven mad by its powers. She now lives underground and has been blamed for a murder spree.

Nick Frost (Into the Badlands, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) as Declan Orrun, the Beggar King. Charismatic but brutal, Declan runs most of the crime gangs in the city. He has been both an ally and an enemy of the Touched, as he is happy to back them in return for favours but also doesn't have a problem selling them out to a higher bidder.

Rochelle Neil (Episodes) as Annie Carbey, aka Bonfire, a career criminal and one of the Touched, with the power to manipulate fire. She is a lone operator and not interested in working with others.

Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark) as Mary Brighton, an aspiring singer.

Denis O'Hare (Big Little Lies) as Dr. Edmund Hague, a gifted American surgeon.

The Nevers started shooting last month in London and should air on HBO in mid-to-late 2020.

Joss Whedon's THE NEVERS casts lead role

Joss Whedon has cast the lead role in his new television series, The Nevers.

Laura Donnelly will play the role of Amalia True, a hell-razing Victorian woman who refuses to confirm to stereotypes and ends up in charge of a group of women with unusual powers. Donnelly is best-known for playing the role of Janet Fraser Murray on Starz's Outlander, and has also appeared in Merlin, Beowulf and Britannia.

The Nevers marks Whedon's first foray into television since the first season of Agents of SHIELD in 2013, and his first original drama series since Dollhouse in 2009. Whedon will write and direct for the show, and will co-showrun alongside Buffy the Vampire Slayer veteran Jane Espenson. Doug Petrie, also a veteran of Buffy, will also serve as writer and producer. Journalist Laurie Penny and playwright Madhuri Shekar will also act as writers on the series.

The Nevers will start shooting in June this year and run through to February 2020, shooting in and around London. It is expected to debut on HBO in late 2020.

Joss Whedon's THE NEVERS to start shooting in June for HBO

Joss Whedon is returning to television for the first time in a decade (bar his hands-off producing role on Agents of SHIELD). His new show is called The Nevers and is a period peace, set in Victorian London.

Intriguingly, this will also mark the first time that Whedon has worked for premium cable, in this case HBO. Whedon's previous shows (most famously Firefly but also Dollhouse and, to a lesser degree, both Buffy and Angel) all suffered a degree of network interference during their lifespans, as well as budget issues. With HBO, these should be less damning issues.

The Nevers revolves around a group of women who have unusual powers, the various shadowy forces trying to control them, and their own conflicts in what to do with their abilities.

Whedon will write and direct the first episode and possibly more episodes of the show. He is also working as co-showrunner alongside his long-term collaborator Jane Espenson.

The Nevers will shoot from June 2019 to February 2020 and will air on HBO later in 2020, one of the channel's line-up of new shows that they hope will help fill the void left behind by Game of Thrones' conclusion.

HBO greenlights new Joss Whedon TV show

HBO have given a straight-to-series order for a new Joss Whedon project called The Nevers. Like much of Whedon's output, the series will focus on a strong central cast of female characters (presumably the Nevers of the title), this time who develop unusual powers in Victorian England. Mayhem results as various forces try to get their hands on these women and their abilities.

Dubbing it his "most ambitious narrative yet," the series will mark Whedon's first foray into television as a showrunner since Dollhouse in 2009, although he has since executive produced and directed his brother Jed's show Agents of SHIELD and worked as a director and writer on individual episodes of shows such as The Office.

Whedon is, of course, best-known for creating, writing and directing Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the hit 1997-2003 fantasy show. This spawned a successful spin-off, Angel (which ran for five seasons), before he wrote and produced Firefly, a space opera show which founded a fevered cult following but only a small audience. It was cancelled after just 14 episodes were made. Despite vowing never to work with Fox Television again, he was later lured back to make a show called Dollhouse, which likewise was cancelled prematurely, although this time after at least making it to two seasons.

Whedon began working in film in the 1990s, working as a writer and script doctor on such movies as Toy Story, Twister, Speed and Alien: Resurrection. In 2005 he wrote and directed Serenity, a film sequel to the Firefly TV series, and in 2008 he made Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a musical comedy. He then joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe's creative team, initially as an advisor but then as writer and director on The Avengers (2012) and The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Expressing dissatisfaction with Marvel's creative interference in the latter project, he decamped to rivals DC, where he stepped in at short notice to complete the filming of Justice League when Zack Snyder had to drop out before filming was complete to deal with a family tragedy. Whedon was developing a Batgirl film script before concluding it wasn't going the way he wanted and leaving the company.

Last year, Whedon was rocked by a personal scandal when his ex-wife accused him of carrying out multiple affairs with younger female castmembers on several of his shows. Whedon has downplayed the allegations via legal representation, but the news shocked his fanbase who had previously praised him for his depiction of female empowerment in his media. The biggest Whedon fansite shut down in the wake of the allegations and his fans have been divided ever since.

It's been speculated for some time that Whedon would find a better home for his projects on cable TV, with him blaming network interference for problems on most of his projects. In particular, Whedon struggled with Fox's restrictions in dealing with more challenging material on Dollhouse and the network airing Firefly out of order and with insufficient advertising. HBO should give Whedon a lot more freedom to develop the project according to his own wishes.

The news also sees HBO doubling down on genre content, with Damon Lindelof's Watchmen pilot recently completed and expected to go to series, a third season of Westworld ordered, J.J. Abrams producing a new SF show called Demimonde and Jordan Peele developing Lovecraft Country. Game of Thrones will also air its final season next spring, with two spin-off in active development, one of which has already been ordered to pilot.