Today must be the day that The Nevers finally gets some press coverage! Quite a few, mostly great reviews have started to appear online ahead of the premier on HBO this coming Sunday. Read them in full via the website links.
The new HBO drama, which follows a group of women who have been “touched” by some mysterious power that grants them extraordinary abilities, unabashedly embraces its cross-section of genres. It’s a historical drama awash in lush costuming and production design. It’s a sci-fi epic unraveling the mysteries of the universe. It’s a screwball comedy and Harlequin romance starring quick-witted heroines, surly detectives and devastatingly handsome heirs. Even when it errs towards the silly, it’s fun and twisty enough to be an engaging page-turner of a show that should grow its own fanbase without much trouble. Variety
For now, The Nevers might be the closest thing we’re getting to an actual X-Men series. With strong female leads and room to grow, this can provide a refreshing change of pace from all the bombastic male-dominated superhero shows out there. Kakuchopurei
The Nevers is more successful in its worldbuilding and creating a sense of place. The series looks fantastic with a Victorian-England-meets-steampunk aesthetic that feels specific to this world while also believably fitting into the time period when the action takes place. Meanwhile, the Touched are a not-so-subtle vehicle to bring up issues like the oppression of women and other minorities and the fear and prejudice that come with being different, important themes that are often underplayed here in favor of an emphasis on action and adventure. CBR
With Whedon at the helm, the pilot comes closest to fulfilling the show's potential. There are a couple (not enough) snort-out-loud lines of dialogue. The production values are as polished as you'd hope for with Seamus McGarvey (Atonement) as cinematographer, Gemma Jackson (Game of Thrones) on the period London production design, Jane Petrie (The Crown) on lavish costume design and more. The action scenes — which no subsequent director (including Whedon in the second episode) is able to match — expand on the idea that the "touched" are embodiments of modernity as the indefatigable Amalia dives away from explosions in slo-mo, falls from great heights landing in the trademark superhero kneel and executes martial arts-inspired fight maneuvers that have no connection to her power. Hollywood Reporter
The show does at least deliver on that visual dazzle. Everything is beautifully staged — a presumably enormous costume budget is matched by canny use of locations and solid effects — and there’s always fun in seeing superheroics out of their natural time, the combination of period dress and barmy effects still feeling fresher than the usual Lycra... ...If you can keep track of who’s who and what’s what amid the confusion and the corsets, there’s a lot of fun in the adventures of these extraordinary women. Empire
The Nevers can be seen on HBO this coming Sunday, 11th April from 9pm. Tom Riley fans can look forward to seeing him as Augustus Bidlow in the show.
