The Nevers is about a group of people (mostly women, and a few men who whether oppression or are seen as misfits) living in Victorian London who gained supernatural abilities three years before the events of the series. They call themselves the “touched” and their powers manifest in many different ways. Some can see the future. Some are ten feet tall. Some communicate or see the world in supernatural ways too. The Nevers is not shy about being X-Men and Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets, like, Harlots. The protagonist of the series, Amalia True (Laura Donnelly), makes it a point to say that the touched do not consider themselves “afflicted.”

How do you dress characters for a period drama when it takes place in a period like none we’ve ever seen before? That was the challenge when it came to The Nevers, the new fantasy series that premiered April 11 on HBO. While the series – about a group of Victorian women blessed (or, perhaps, cursed) with uncanny abilities – takes place in the mid-1890s, it also has to contend with the kind of action (among heroes, villains, and every type in between) that might not always have a true-to-life historical precedent. For costume designer Michele Clapton, a veteran of The Crown and Game of Thrones, that was part of the appeal.

The Nevers Characters | Amelia True played by Laura Donnelly GALLERY | LAURA DONNELLY | THE NEVERS | THE TOUCHED Amelia True is the most…

The Nevers Characters | Maladie played by Amy Manson GALLERY | AMY MANSON | THE NEVERS | THE TOUCHED Committed by her husband (and genuinely…

The Nevers Characters | Declan Orrun/The Beggar King played by Nick Frost GALLERY | NICK FROST | THE NEVERS | Charismatic and brutal, Declan runs…

The Nevers Characters | Annie Carbey played by Rochelle Neil GALLERY | ROCHELLE NEIL | THE NEVERS | THE TOUCHED Annie Carbey, aka Bonfire, a…

The Nevers Characters | Dr Edmund Hague played by Denis O’Hare GALLERY | DENIS O’HARE | THE NEVERS Dr Edmund Hague is a gifted American…

HBO’s The Nevers arrives as a tough show to review for a few reasons: (1) The show lands with many of the (frankly appealing) pluses that one would expect from the showrunner of Firefly, Dollhouse, and the Buffy series; and (2) The series finds itself saddled with the baggage of the guy who created those same beloved series. Sadly, there’s no way to separate those two statements because Joss Whedon’s particular quirks, his sensibilities, and his favorite tropes run throughout the first four episodes screened for critics.