Inhumans (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The first two episodes totaled 75 minutes and premiered in Los Angeles at Universal CityWalk on August 28, 2017.
• The series was broadcast on CTV in Canada and on Sky in the United Kingdom.
• Mount reprised his role as an alternate version of Black Bolt in the Marvel Studios film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

Cast and characters

Anson Mount portrays Black Bolt, the Head of the Inhuman Royal Family and King of Attilan, whose voice can cause destruction with the slightest whisper. Showrunner Scott Buck described Black Bolt as enigmatic and fascinating, noting the difficulty of writing a character who does not speak but is the hero and center of the show. Buck ruled out voice-over, so Black Bolt communicates via sign language. Premiere director Roel Reiné told Mount to use only 15 or 16 signs, but Mount created his own sign system, borrowing the underlying rules of American Sign Language but ensuring no overlap. He studied orchestra conductors and developed a document for his language with over 50 pages, hoping it could become a full conlang equivalent to Klingon or Dothraki. Lofton Shaw portrays a young Black Bolt. Serinda Swan plays Medusa, the wife of Black Bolt and Queen of Attilan, who can control and move her hair. Swan described an immense codependence between Medusa and Black Bolt, with Medusa helping create his sign language. She took extra care to act alongside the character's hair as an additional appendage, before CGI augmented the 4 lb wig she wore. V.I.P. portrays a young Medusa. Ken Leung plays Karnak, Black Bolt's cousin and closest adviser, who can see the fault in all things. Executive producer Jeph Loeb explained that because of Karnak's ability, everything he sees is flawed, so nothing is good enough for him.

Production

A film based on the Inhumans was first mentioned in a March 2011 trade report, and in October 2014 Marvel Studios officially announced it as part of Phase Three with a November 2, 2018 release date. Producer Kevin Feige said the Inhumans could be a franchise or series of franchises. In December 2014, the Inhuman species was introduced during the second season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a storyline recurred moving forward. In April 2016, the film was taken off Marvel's release schedule but not outright canceled. After the cancellation, Jed Whedon noted that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had more freedom with the species. In May 2016, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said Marvel and ABC were looking at series beneficial to both brands. In November, Feige said Inhumans would happen for sure, possibly on television. Shortly after, Marvel Television and IMAX Corporation announced the eight-episode series Inhumans, produced with ABC Studios and airing on ABC. Marvel Studios decided the characters were better suited to television. The series was not a reworking of the planned film nor a spin-off from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but is set in the same shared universe. In December, Scott Buck, showrunner for the first season of Iron Fist, was revealed as executive producer and showrunner for Inhumans. Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory also executive produce.

Marketing

ABC, IMAX, and Marvel Television created a joint marketing and promotion plan across their proprietary media platforms, described by industry analysts as a can't-miss cross-platform push. A teaser for the series was released ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 IMAX screenings and online in early May 2017, following a cast photo. Dana Schwartz at Observer.com called the photo pretty lame, saying the royal family looked like a group that met on Craigslist to try to win a costume contest. James Whitbrook of Gizmodo said some costumes worked better than others, with Black Bolt coming out best and Medusa looking like low-budget cosplay. Marketing firm Amobee counted 27,000 tweets concerning the series between May 4 and 9, with 17 and 7 percent mentioning hair or wig, respectively. 35 percent of tweets were deemed negative, and 26 percent positive. Amobee principal brand analyst Jonathan Cohen said the high level of audience engagement was a double-edged sword.

Reception

The IMAX presentation of the first two episodes grossed $3.5 million worldwide, considered a disappointment by IMAX. Gelfond noted the poor reception was based on misalignment of customer expectations, who expected a mega-budget blockbuster movie rather than television pilots. In January 2018, Dungey stated the series did not perform at the level they wanted, and viewership numbers were less exciting than hoped. The series averaged 4.14 million total viewers, ranking 121st among network series in the 2017–18 season, with an average 18-49 rating of 1.2, ranking 80th. Rotten Tomatoes reported an 11% approval rating with an average rating of 3.70/10 based on 47 reviews, stating the series sets a new low standard for the MCU with unimaginative narrative, dull design, weak characters, and disengaging soapy melodrama. Metacritic assigned a score of 27 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, indicating generally unfavorable reviews. TVLine's Matt Webb Mitovich said if the pace and ingenuity continued to ramp up, Inhumans could prove a serviceable Marvel event series. Brian Lowry of CNN noted that if Inhumans failed, it could spotlight that Marvel had generally lagged behind Warner Bros. Television and DC Comics.