Powers (American TV series)


Powers is an American online streaming series adaptation of the Powers comic book series published by Marvel Comics under their Icon Comics imprint. Marking PlayStation Network's first venture into scripted original programming, the series premiered on March 10, 2015. The first two episodes of the series were written by Charlie Huston and directed by David Slade. The first three episodes,, were released on March 10, 2015, on the PlayStation Network. The pilot episode is available for free for people in the USA on YouTube and the entire first season was available on Crackle until May 3, 2016. On May 6, 2015, Powers was renewed for a second season, which premiered on May 31, 2016. It was announced on August 3, 2016 that Powers had been canceled.

Plot

In a world where humans and superheroes called "Powers" co-exist, a former Power, Christian Walker, has reinvented himself as a homicide detective after his own powers were taken from him. He and his partner Deena Pilgrim work for the Powers Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, investigating crimes involving superhumans, who are at once crimefighting heroes and pop celebrities managed by specialized advertising agencies.

Cast

Main

had optioned the series for film production in 2001. In 2009, Brian Michael Bendis, creator of the comic book, confirmed plans to develop a Powers television show on FX as well as his involvement as the writer of the pilot for the show. In February 2011, a greenlit pilot of the show scripted by Charles H. Eglee was announced as a co-production by Sony Pictures Television and FX Networks. Charles S. Dutton became the first cast member in May 2011 when he signed on to play Captain Cross. Imminent filming in Chicago within weeks was announced in June 2011. The following week, Lucy Punch was cast as Deena Pilgrim. Katee Sackhoff had campaigned for the part. Although FX was rumored to be courting Kyle Chandler for the part of Walker, the next day Jason Patric was cast in the part. Later in June, Carly Foulkes was cast as RetroGirl and Bailee Madison was cast as Calista.
Filming began in Chicago in early July 2011 and ended in early August. In November 2011, FX announced that it would retool and reshoot the Powers pilot. Bendis tweeted that "the reshoots are planned for January and are all about tone and clarity". In April 2012, more scripts were ordered and writing continued, but reshoots and recasting were being discussed by the network.
On March 19, 2014, it was announced that Powers would become the first original television series on the PlayStation Network, to stream exclusively on PlayStation consoles and potentially stream in December 2014. On July 16, 2014, Susan Heyward, Max Fowler and Adam Godley were cast as Deena Pilgrim, Krispin Stockley and Captain Cross. On August 15, 2014, Deadline Hollywood reported that Eddie Izzard, Noah Taylor and Olesya Rulin were cast in the roles of "Big Bad" Wolfe, Johnny Royalle and Calista. On August 18, 2014, Sharlto Copley was announced to star as Christian Walker and Michelle Forbes is cast as RetroGirl. Mario Lopez guest stars in the pilot episode as the host of Extra wondering about Walker's current whereabouts.
On October 11, 2014, a trailer for Powers was premiered at New York Comic-Con.

Reception

The first season has received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 48% based on 23 critic reviews, with an average score of 5.48/10. The critical consensus reads "The interplay between the characters lacks spark, but the detailed world-building of Powers shows potential." On Metacritic, it received a score of 51 out of 100, and a user score of 6.5 out of 10, indicating "mixed or average reviews."