Between 2009 and 2010 Misfits was one of the smartest, most original shows on TV. Then for a couple of seasons after that it was pretty good—but we’ll forgive them for the dip because Nathan looked so great in an orange jumpsuit. The series followed the lives of several young offenders as they completed community service for a selection of minor crimes. The twist was a lightening storm in the first episode imbued them with superpowers they spent the rest of the show navigating, swapping, rejecting, accepting and largely misusing. It was an update of a familiar trope with characters who felt real and situations that were surprisingly relatable considering how much time travelling was involved.
Three years after it ended, it looks like it’s set to return, among the seemingly limitless recent reboots. This time it will be an American production headed up by Josh Schwartz—the man behind The O.C and Gossip Girl. Most of the time a US adaptation of a cult classic is cause for concern; with the exception of perhaps The Office they tend to struggle with translating other country’s cultural offerings. Added to that is the resume of Josh Schwartz, which despite being pretty impressive involves very few kids growing up on council estates. Sure, Ryan was from Compton, but lets be honest they didn’t spend too much time exploring the realities of urban poverty on The O.C.
An additional elephant in the room is the US Skins adaptation. The original took up a similar cultural space to Misfits, but when that equally beloved British youth offering was picked up by MTV for an American outing the results were laughably dire. Much of that failure was placed on the US producer’s unwillingness to replicate the original’s focus on sex and drugs. Considering one of the original Misfit’s powers was literally being impossibly sexy and desirable, we hope they’ve learnt their lesson.
The UK version has developed a considerable global following after being streamed on Netflix, so hopefully universally high expectations will be on our side. For now we’re going to be optimistic, after all anything to relive one of our favourite TV shows. We just have one request, please go easier on Simon and Alisha this time.
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