Welcome back to our TV Preview series! In this half of said series, Emily, Stephanie, Mandy C. and I will take a look at shows featured in our TV Preview: New Friends post, and let you know what we think you should—and shouldn’t—be watching.
Warning! Possible spoilers ahead.
The Gifted
Premiered: October 2 on FOX (Watch online.)
Twitter Pitch
A family with two teenage mutants (think X-Men) go on the run and into hiding with other mutant rebels, when a government agency comes after all of them.
Familiar Faces
Amy Acker as Kate Strucker
Stephen Moyer as Reed Strucker
Emma Dumont as Lorna Dane
Sean Teale as Marcos Diaz
Garret Dillahunt as Dr. Roderick Campbell
Faces That Might Become Familiar (If You Keep Watching)
Natalie Alyn Lind as Lauren Strucker
Percy Hines White as Andy Strucker
Redeeming Qualities
Mandy C.: I love everything X-Men, so I was excited when I realized that this was, in fact, an X-Men-adjacent show. (For a while, I thought it was just a show about people with mutant abilities that was going to be somewhat reminicent of X-Men stories.) The cast is great, and I'm interested to watch as Lauren and Andy learn to use their powers. Plus, I'm excited to see all of the other powers that the other mutants have. They're (almost) always so cool.
Kandis: I liked all the actors. The kids were particularly adept and believable, and I like how they were introduced as getting along, instead of stereotypical squabbling teenagers. I’m excited to see Amy Acker starring in something again (no, I didn't watch Person Of Interest), and I hope they give her more to do. And guys? Garret Dillahunt is on this show! Why on earth they didn’t put him in the pilot, I have no idea.
Stephanie: I enjoyed all of the actors (well, I’ve never been thrilled with Jamie Chung, she always seems like a weak link, but she wasn’t offensive or anything): Stephen Moyer was charming; Amy Acker was a caring and frightened mom (I saw somewhere someone said they wouldn’t be surprised if she had powers by the end of the season, as you don’t hire Amy Acker to just play a dutiful mom role); the teenagers actually looked like teenagers and had a cute/believable sibling relationship. Everyone’s mutant powers were cool (I was envious about a few of them). Overall, the pacing and plot, for being a pilot, were good! It had a more movie-quality feel than some shows. As I said in the preview post, I got a very strong season one Heroes vibes, and I’m digging it.
It's Not Me, It's You
Mandy C.: The levels of drams in the pilot episode, and the paralells to current political situations, was a little too real. I get that they're setting this more in the world of reality, rather than making it too-comicy, but I hope there's at least some levity in future episodes.
Kandis: The drama was ratcheted up from the get-go, and it barely let up. People were constantly escaping and on the run. If they don’t maintain that constant state of urgency, they might manage a little character development. Not being super familiar with the whole X-Men universe (those movie timelines are all over the place, y’all), I wouldn’t have minded a quick primer on how mutants were revealed to the world, and why they’re so hated. And how they found the awesome abandoned (not underground) library to hide out in.
Stephanie: Not really a detractor, but I don’t have a clue where this fits, timeline-wise, in the grand X-Men scheme. They mention during the pilot that the X-Men have disappeared. Okay, sure. I’m apparently a very casual X-Men fan, so if this is already a well-known plotline, I had no awareness of it. Maybe they will explain this more, maybe they won’t, but as of right now...I don’t think it much matters? I guess time (and more well-informed fans) will tell if this fits in with the current mythology.
It also feels too soon to know what else there is to this story. I hope it won’t be episode after episode of survival, running from place to place while they keep juuuust out of reach of the Sentinels. I want the Strucker family to have more of a use than that.
Let's Do This Again
Mandy C.: Yep. I definitely want to see how all of what happened in the pilot pans out, and I hope to learn more about the backstory of the world as we go along.
Kandis: Putting this family in danger and separating them is a good high stakes pilot. I’ll keep watching to see how everyone gets out of this mess, and to see if Moyer’s character caves under the pressure. And duh, I’ll keep watching because Garret Dillahunt.
Stephanie: Heck yes I’ll be back—that cliffhanger! IMDB was really unhelpful as I tried to go through actor episode counts to see who was staying and who wasn’t. I’m super interested in what comes next and I’ve already made this one of “My Shows” on Hulu.
Did you watch? If so, tell us what you thought in the comments!