For sure, The Nevers is of a piece with Whedon’s kickass-girl-power oeuvre, which includes Buffy and Dollhouse, as well as elements in Angel, Firefly and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The period drama, which premieres Sunday (HBO, 9/8c) focuses on a (primarily female) group of 19th-century Londoners who have been mysteriously “touched” by a force that bestowed assorted powers upon them.

“The Nevers” is every bit a Whedon show. It’s got strong women protagonists who are curiously adept at fighting. It’s got quirks coming out of its ears. It’s got snappy dialogue (though not nearly as much as “Buffy,” which may be an attempt to make it more “mature”). It’s also got a lot going on, too much. That couples with a slightly cartoonish feel. In some of his shows, this works. In others, it doesn’t. “The Nevers” splits the difference right down the middle.

Set in Victorian London, The Nevers explores a world where few individuals — mostly women — awaken supernatural abilities, ranging from visions to annihilating power. However, these gifts leave them vulnerable to a white male-run society determined to eliminate their kind. Under the guidance and protection of seer Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) and steampunk inventor Penance Adair (Ann Skelly), the Touched form a collective to protect each other. But not all Touched ones find a benevolent way to process society’s persecution of them.

The new drama, about Victorian women granted extraordinary powers out of thin air, is engaging even as it leans heavily on Whedon’s go-to tropes.

The Nevers should be a triumphant TV homecoming for Joss Whedon. It’s the first series in more than a decade solely created by the man responsible for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. (He co-created Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. back in 2013 with brother Jed Whedon and sister-in-law Maurissa Tancheroen, and wasn’t really involved past the pilot episode.) It is his first dance with premium cable, after spending the earlier phase of his career working for broadcast networks with either low budgets or minimal faith in his ideas. After he spent much of the last 10 years directing comic-book movies, it’s a return to the medium that made him a creative superstar, with a premise – a host of superhuman women cause a stir in Victorian England – hearkening back to the familiar Buffy themes of female empowerment in a world run by bad men.

It’s a great show. It’s beautiful, expensive, in the great HBO tradition, in Victorian England with girls with superpowers. I play a sort of mad scientist. He’s not really crazy, but definitely got some interesting sadistic streaks. It’s a a great character, and an amazing look. Michele Clapton, who did Game of Thrones, did our clothes. I’m happy to get to shoot six more episodes in June.

When you’ve got close female friends it always feels very much like a sisterhood. [The show] was pitched to me very early on that this was like a female Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and I just loved that. I do think that there’s so much about Ann that is actually similar to Penance and the same with me and Amalia, so I think that our relationship with each other is not entirely dissimilar to the one that Penance and Amalia have – there’s genuine support, genuine love there, and we have a hell of a lot of fun together. Hopefully, that reads. The chemistry of these two characters together was kind of the most important element of starting off the show.

HBO Max have released a teaser reel of their upcoming shows for 2021, including The Nevers. Watch below:

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