Misfits
Created by: Howard Overman
Starring; Iwan Rheon, Robert Sheehan, Lauren Socha, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Antonia Thomas
The first series started broadcasting on 12 November 2009 on E4, and was produced by Clerkenwell Films, filming for the second series began on 24 May 2010, next to Southmere Lake.
Each series had 6 standard episodes, with the second series including a christmas special, as the third series has been confirmed this shows how successful the programme has been seeing as many programmes barely last a season. Due to its great success, Misfits (both series’s) and it’s writer, Howard Overman were nominated for RTS Awards in March 2010. The series also won the 2010 BAFTA television award for Best Drama Series.
At it’s peak the show raked in 1,698,000 views (this was for the Christmas special). The success of its viewing figures owed great thanks to the marketing used for the show. Very cleverly, Misfits captured their perfect target audience by using the characters for viral marketing. This took place through social networking sites such as twitter and facebook. The characters would have their own accounts and by the writers, Sam Liefer and Ben Edwards under the direction of lead writer Howard Overman and executive producer Petra Fried. ‘Statuses’ and ‘tweets’ would be left during the transmissions of the programme, allowing them to seem more realistic. Other strategic marketing came from online games and youtube video’s.
‘The Times’ rated it 4 out of 5 stars and named it “a new union — salty British street humour with whizz-bang special effects" which should "keep E4's core audience happy.”
‘The Guardian’ said that it is “confident enough to operate in its own universe and set up something new" and that it was aimed at showing us "real people" rather than the stereotype of the "ASBO teenager".
‘The Daily Telegraph’ said about Howard Overmans script, "it sparkled from the off, introducing his posse of social outcasts as a bunch of total losers, but each one distinctively and memorably so."
All three reviews from the toughest of critics were surprisingly very positive for such a risque programme. Usually teen shows involving sex and violence would strike negative reviews, (like ‘Skins’).
The thing that allows Misfits to stand out from other teen interrogating series, is that with the already well stereotyped teen ‘goings-on’ is the added super hero effect. This not only allows for more exciting visual effects, but also allows the storylines to be more imaginative.
The twist on this tale though is that, although as children we grew up wanting to be superheroes, and to have super powers, in this series the powers are seen more as a burden.
This idea is quite unheard of in the world of television and gives us a completely different insight on the world of superheroes; it captures the young with the attractive characters, the humor, and the effects, but also the adults by humoring their children, presenting age-old ideas of super heroes and just by giving enjoyable visual effects.
