The upcoming HBO drama series The Nevers will not have writer and director Joss Whedon (The Cabin in the Woods, Firefly, Toy Story) onboard any longer, via Deadline. Whedon, who directed The Avengers, was set to be on the writing team for the upcoming HBO program in addition to directing an undisclosed amount of episodes. His involvement with The Nevers would act as his first foray into television since his creation of the long-running ABC superhero series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, Whedon has departed the series production citing the heavy workload during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year of unprecedented challenges has impacted my life and perspective in ways I could never have imagined, and while developing and producing The Nevers has been a joyful experience, I realize that the level of commitment required moving forward, combined with the physical challenges of making such a huge show during a global pandemic, is more than I can handle without the work beginning to suffer,” Whedon said, via Deadline.
The upcoming HBO drama The Nevers is aimed to premiere in the summer of 2021 that would follow a Victorian gang of women that possess supernatural abilities in a science fiction period program. This series hails from Whedon as a creator along with Doug Petrie (American Horror Story, Daredevil) and Jane Espenson (Game of Thrones, Jessica Jones), both of whom worked with Whedon the previous series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Petrie and Espenson also join Bernadette Caulfield (The X-Files, Game of Thrones) as executive producers on the series.
The Nevers cast includes the likes of Laura Donnelly (Outlander, Sugar Rush), Tom Riley (Da Vinci’s Demons), James Norton (Happy Valley), Olivia Williams (Counterpart), Amy Manson (Once Upon a Time), Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead), Denis O’Hare (True Blood, American Horror Story), Ann Skelly (Little Women), and many others.
Currently, there is no exact premiere date nor a trailer for the upcoming drama, The Nevers.