Never Have I Ever

I’m of two minds about “The Nevers.” One mind is all, oooh, another female empowerment/superhero story – but this time old-timey. And the other mind is all, eeeh, another female empowerment/superhero story – but this time from Joss Whedon. Yeah, that hits different now. A lot different.

But before all that, let me back up. The new series for HBO Max was created by Joss in 2018, but in 2020 he stepped away citing, I dunno, a challenging year and the pandemic and shit. Anyway he was replaced by female showrunner Philippa Goslett (whose other credits include “Mary Magdalene” and “How to Talk to Girls at Parties”) and the project proceeded without him.

The series is another in a long line of mutant persecution dramas (see: “X-Men,” “The Umbrella Academy,” et al) because persecuting people for their differences never seems to get old for society on screen or in real life. The twist, if you will, on this familiar story is that the mutants in question live in Victorian England and are mostly all women. Yes, I know, sorta like old-timey Buffy with more ability to throw fire and whatnot.

Since Joss dropped out of the project, HBO Max has wasted no time disappearing all mention of him. You’d never know he was involved from the trailer – which, honestly, is for the best. I have absolutely no idea whether this series will be any good in the end. But let’s hope it does more than performative smashing of the patriarchy.

ETA: For those who aren't regular readers, I already addressed Joss's great failings last week. Regular readers will also note I always put pertinents archival posts in links within post. So, you know, click the links.