Misfits (2009) Review: Superpowers for the Wrong Kids

Is Misfits worth watching?

Yes, with reservations. Misfits is one of the most inventive British genre shows ever made, a crude, hilarious and surprisingly moving take on superheroes that gives powers to exactly the wrong people. Its first two series are close to perfect, mixing sharp comedy, real danger and a gang of misfits whose bickering hides genuine loyalty. The reservation is that the show lost most of its original cast over its run, and the later series never fully recapture the spark.

What is Misfits about?

Five young offenders are serving community service at a grim council estate community centre when a freak electrical storm hits. Afterwards, each discovers an unexpected power, often one that cruelly reflects their insecurities or desires, and their first day of picking up litter in orange jumpsuits turns into a desperate effort to keep their new abilities, and some serious mistakes, secret. The original gang is loud, rude and defensive, with no interest in saving the world.

The later series bring new characters into the community-service group, played by Joseph Gilgun, Karla Crome, Nathan McMullen, Matt Stokoe and Natasha O’Keeffe, with Shaun Dooley as the group’s probation worker.

Misfits was created and written by Howard Overman for E4, part of the Channel 4 family. It is a British series in English, and this review covers all five series and 37 episodes broadcast between 2009 and 2013. The show has ended.

The anti-superhero show done right

Misfits takes the superhero premise and grounds it in a very specific British reality: housing estates, dead-end prospects, petty crime and the boredom of community service. The powers are wittily chosen and often more burden than gift, and the show uses them to explore its characters’ anxieties about sex, identity, popularity and being ignored. It is also genuinely frightening at times, with other storm-affected people turning up with far more dangerous abilities.

Overman’s writing is fast, filthy and constantly surprising, with plots involving time travel, alternate realities and moral dilemmas that most bigger-budget superhero stories would never attempt. The show won a BAFTA for best drama series after its first run, and it deserved it.

A cast that made the show

The original ensemble, featuring Robert Sheehan, Iwan Rheon, Lauren Socha, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Antonia Thomas, was near-perfect. Sheehan’s motor-mouthed Nathan provides much of the comedy, with an endless stream of insults and inappropriate jokes, while Rheon’s shy, awkward Simon becomes the show’s emotional heart as his arc develops. Several of these actors went on to bigger careers, and it is easy to see why.

Joseph Gilgun, who joins later as Rudy, is the most successful of the replacements. He brings his own chaotic, crude and oddly vulnerable energy, and his character’s power is one of the show’s best comic ideas.

When the original gang moves on

The show’s decline is a matter of cast turnover. As the original characters leave one by one, the new arrivals struggle to earn the same attachment, and the later series feel more like a different show wearing the same jumpsuits. Storylines become more episodic and less emotionally grounded, and the balance of comedy and danger tips towards shock. There are still strong episodes in the final series, but viewers attached to the original five may feel diminishing returns.

Who should watch Misfits?

It is ideal for fans of dark, crude British comedy, subversive superhero stories and youth drama with an edge. Thirty-seven episodes across five series is manageable, and many viewers find the first two series stand on their own. It is strictly adult viewing, with strong sexual content, drug use, violence and constant swearing.

If you enjoy its irreverent energy, try these next:

• Utopia, another cult Channel 4 series that mixes dark humour, violence and conspiracy with bold style.
• Derry Girls for a very different, but equally foul-mouthed and affectionate, portrait of teenage misfits.

The verdict

Misfits is a hilarious, audacious and unexpectedly moving superhero series that gave British television some of its most memorable young characters. The later series lose momentum without the original cast, but the first two alone make it essential viewing for anyone who likes their genre television rough around the edges.

Rating: 4/5