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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 9, 2021 4 By Kyla Brewer TV Media A s television genres go, two of the most popular ones as of late are sci- ence fiction and period drama. While they may seem like an odd pairing, a new series com- bines elements of both, and it has TV fans talking. In Victorian London in 1896, a supernatural event leaves some people, many of them women, with unusual abilities in the premiere of "The Nev- ers," airing Sunday, April 11, on HBO. Laura Donnelly ("Out- lander") leads the ensemble cast as "quick-fisted" widow Amalia True, who works along- side young inventor Penance Adair (Ann Skelly, "Kissing Candice," 2017) to protect their fellow gifted "orphans." As the story unfolds, view- ers will meet a variety of char- acters with powers — some of them amazing and some disturbing. All the while, there are those who rail against such people, who are referred to as "touched." True and Adair become champions for their kind and fight against those who would rather they didn't exist. Created by Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), "The Nevers" has been in the works for a few years. HBO faced some stiff competition from other media giants like Netflix, who also wanted to nab the rights to the project, but came out on top and gave the show a straight-to-series order in 2018. When the proj- ect was announced in July of that year, HBO executive Casey Bloys expressed his excitement about the series. "We look forward to meet- ing the strange, multifaceted characters of 'The Nevers,' to learn their stories, see them in action and share them with our viewers," Bloys said in a state- ment at the time. However, it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for the show. Whedon had originally been tapped to write and di- rect, among other things, but he has since left the project. He has been the subject of much criticism lately as a number of stars have come forward with allegations of misconduct on sets, notably actors Ray Fisher ("Justice League," 2017) and Charisma Carpenter ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). While Whedon was the subject of an investigation by WarnerMedia (HBO's parent company) stem- ming from Fisher's allegations, the writer cited other reasons for leaving "The Nevers" in an official statement. "I realize that the level of the commitment required moving forward, combined with the physical challenges of making such a huge show dur- ing a global pandemic, is more than I can handle without the work beginning to suffer," Whedon said, according to Va- riety, when HBO announced his departure in November 2020. Luckily, "The Nevers" landed in the very capable hands of screenwriter Philippa Goslett ("Little Ashes," 2008), who will serve as the new showrunner and an executive producer. This will be her first gig as a show- runner, but she has made a name for herself, thanks to her work on many other projects, including "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" (2017) and "Mary Magdalene" (2018). Goslett now finds herself at the helm of one of TV's most anticipated new series, one poised to capti- vate viewers with its feminist message and decidedly steam- punk vibe — also thanks to its Victorian-era period aesthetic and supernatural fantasy plot. "The Nevers" features a di- verse cast of characters striving to bring the story to light. In addition to True and Adair, the allies of the so-called "touched" include rich spinster Lavinia Bidlow, played by Oliv- ia Williams ("Dollhouse"). She runs The Orphanage where many of the main characters reside. Tom Riley ("Da Vinci's Demons") appears as Lavinia's geeky brother, Augie. Zackary Momoh ("Seven Seconds") portrays West Indian physician Dr. Horatio Cousens. Other characters include James Norton ("Happy Val- ley") as Hugo Swann, a pan- sexual young aristocrat who runs a posh secret club; Pip Tor- rens ("The Crown") as Lord Massen, a former military man who's skeptical of people with powers; Nick Frost ("Hot Fuzz," 2007) as Declan Orrun, aka The Beggar King, a low- level criminal kingpin; English actor Ben Chaplin ("Snowden," 2016) as Det. Frank Mundi, a policeman with strong morals and a penchant for heavy drinking; and Eleanor Tomlison ("Poldark") as failed singer Mary Brighton. Elsewhere in the cast of leading characters, Amy Man- son ("Once Upon a Time") plays Maladie, the dangerous and unstable leader of a band of renegades, while Rochelle Neil ("Terminator: Dark Fate" (2019) stars as Annie Carbey, aka Bonfire, a criminal with the ability to control fire. Dennis O'Hare ("True Blood") rounds out the main cast as brutal American surgeon Dr. Edmund Hague. Recurring cast members in- clude Elizabeth Berrington ("Stella") as Lucy, Kiran Sonia Sawar ("Murdered by My Fa- ther") as Harriet and Ella Smith ("Hoff the Record") as Desirée. Although "The Nevers" started filming before the glob- al spread of COVID-19, it was not unscathed by the pandem- ic. Originally commissioned for 10 episodes, just five had been shot before the pandemic shut things down. Filming resumed in the fall and wrapped in Oc- tober, but HBO has only six epi- sodes ready to go at this time. According to ew.com, Goslett is working on more episodes, but it is not known how many there will be or when they will be released. For now, viewers will have to be satisfied with the first six episodes of the science-fiction period drama. Watch as True and Adair use their newfound powers to fight for the new un- derclass in "The Nevers," pre- miering Sunday, April 11, on HBO. coverstory Elizabeth Berrington as seen in "The Nevers" Superheroes in the Victorian era: Period drama meets science fiction By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: We just discovered the Jesse Stone movies and we love them! Are any more going to come out? A: There is another Jesse Stone movie in the works — it has a title, a pair of writers, a network and very little else at the mo- ment. The last two bits are somewhat old news. In 2015, a while after CBS decided to stop making Jesse Stone movies, Hall- mark picked it up, announcing a deal to release at least two new ones on its Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel. That channel had already been rerunning the heck out of the CBS movies, so producing new ones seemed to make perfect sense. Hallmark acted pretty quickly, releasing "Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise" in October 2015. And that was the last we heard of the troubled Massachusetts sleuth — until recently, that is. In an interview with venerable mystery magazine The Strand late last year, Michael Brandman, who co-wrote all of the movies so far, said he and star Tom Selleck ("Blue Bloods") are hard at work on the second film in the Hallmark deal. He also, in passing, announced the title: "Collateral Damage." That means that, like the last one, this one won't be based on a novel. However, after Stone author Robert B. Parker died, Brandman got the blessing of his estate to continue writing Stone novels, so we know he has a handle on the character. Of course, it helps that Selleck is once again co-writing this one — after nine films in the role, it's safe to say he has a han- dle on the man as well. Q: A friend told me that Hunter S. Thompson came up with the idea for "Nash Bridges." Is that true? A: Your friend must be a Seth Meyers fan. Thompson didn't get a producer credit, but if you listen to Don Johnson (who did get a producer credit, as well as, you know, the "starring" credit) then, yes, famed journalist and '70s icon Hunter S. Thompson did help conceive the '90s cop show "Nash Bridges." In a recent interview on "Late Night With Seth Meyers," Johnson said he and Thompson were neighbors for a time, and very good friends. Thompson was over at Johnson's house one day, "complaining that he didn't have any money." "I said, 'Well, hey, I have this commitment on CBS for 22 epi- sodes, let's just come up with something,'" Johnson remi- nisced on "Late Night." He continued: "We did come up with something. It was terrible. But he was there — he was in the room so he got a royalty. And I took the germ of the idea that we came up with and I turned it into 'Nash Bridges.'" Though he didn't get a producer credit, he does get a couple of writing credits. Eagle-eyed viewers (or those who poke around deep in the subpages of IMDb) will know that Thomp- son was credited as a writer for two late episodes — one in Season 4 and one in Season 6. It's not clear if those were remnants of this original, late- night brainstorm, or whether Johnson went back to the famed weirdo (author of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "The Rum Diary" and many other landmark pieces) for ideas. Another fun fact: Thompson also appeared, uncredited, as a restaurant piano player in the first two episodes of the show. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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