The Gifted is a Sci-fi fiction television show developed for American TV Network Fox. The series, created by Matt Nix, is based on X-Men properties: the comics from Marvel. It is, moreover, heavily connected to the X-Men series set in a different timeline where the X-Men are no longer in existence. In association with Marvel Television, the series is produced by 20th Century Television with Nix Matt being the show runner. The television show features Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker who act as ordinary parents taking their children on the run after they find out that the children have mutant capabilities. The two parents are trying to run from the government and join a community of mutants who have to fight constantly in order to survive. At the end, several members of the mutant community leave in order to join the Inner Circle.
The Second Season involves serious conflict between these groups as well other groups that are trying to impose their own ideologies. The show earned a pilot plot commitment after the X-Men series did not go on at the television network in 2016; in May 2017, the series was first ordered. In the first season, the Gifted aired from October 2017 to January 2018, and it had about 13 episodes. The show received positive viewership and reviews from both critics and fans. In January 2018, as it was expected then, the series was renewed for another season, which was aired from September 2018. The Gifted’s second season has just come to an end, but most fans are already wondering if the show will continue in the future and if they can expect a third chapter. The Sci-fi superhero show is an X-Men spinoff, and following the cancellation of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Daredevil, and the emergence of Disney +, Disney’s streaming service, the future of Marvel shows, such as Gifted, is quite wobbly at this moment in time.
Here are the top ten improvements that the show should seriously consider if it hopes to stay on air.
1. How about a wider fan base? Online Streaming Maybe
According to TV line, the Gifted is the lowest rated and least watched drama aired by Fox. While this statistic might seem extreme, it is not far from the truth. The show’s creator, Matt Nixx, acknowledged recently in an interview that they have quite a solid fan base, however, it is quite small for the broadcast network. Moreover, he explained that they do well in streaming, so there may be hope that something might work out in that area. Basically, The Gifted has to focus on the online streaming market if it hopes to continue being relevant. Its current viewership, however loyal, is too small for worthy investment by Fox.
2. Improve your Ratings
The Gifted, unfortunately, happens to be the lowest rated TV series aired by Fox. Matt Nix admitted this problem recently once he proclaimed that they would like it if their ratings would increase to fit the bill of a primetime network show. However, all is not lost. While speaking to Slash Film, Matt Nix insisted that if they come back, they will have to do it in a more creative way. Nix and his crew should consider changing the characters or the whole plot altogether, since as he put it: “our fans are big fans”. Once more creativity is pumped into the show, the ratings will surely improve.
3. Change the Plot
The current plot is quite mundane:
- The mutants discover their unique abilities
- They flee from persecution or suffer from depression
- They accept their powers as strength
- Come back to act accordingly and impose their strength.
Well most viewers, seemingly, have had enough of such plots.
Nix said that all he wants to explore is a world where humans and mutants are living separately. However, once the mutants move to one side of the divide, how will they police themselves? It would be so nice to explore a situation where all mutants, where individuals of different powers and different agendas, can live on one side. They do not have a moral obligation over normal people after all, do they?
4. Some More Creativity
On the creative side, I think most people wonder: Can the Gifted ever compete with X-Men for viewership. We, surely, do not follow the Avengers or X-Men movies for the quiet conversations or the weird talks over morality, but mainly to get some of the exaggerated showdowns. The Gifted, in all honesty, mainly centers on close shootouts: boring!
5. Think about Comic Books
Well, most shows competing against The Gifted kind of echo something that has already been mentioned in the comics. While thinking about the third season, if they are lucky, the idea is Matt Nix and his crew should consider borrowing most things from the comics. Other people have done it before, it works.
6. Script is King
Nix described the show as coming at mutants from the outside. Most comics and films generally start with the mutants who encountered the world, but the show hopes to unravel the world of people who do not know that they are X-Men, and they do not understand their world just yet. According to Nix, such an approach would tell a better story. Clearly not. Nix has a good starting point, but why would you move from something that has proven to work?
7. Filming
The series is produced in Dallas, Texas from March through April. A good part of the first season was not filmed in Texas due to tax rebates. Consequently, the film’s production moved to Atlanta Georgia. The show’s setting was, therefore, changed from Texas to Georgia, which also impacts the nature of the show considerably. Filming is an intricate detail. Would you imagine a show where the setting changes overnight? Well, if the show hopes to continue airing, the whole cast must think of an appropriate area to base their story on: such changes impact the show’s plot considerably.
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