It’s telling when the Inhumans trailer at San Diego Comic-Con was met with a tepid response from an audience that is typically salivating for the next big superhero thing coming out of Hollywood. Inhumans just seemed off to fans, so when ABC took to the stage at the Television Critics Association press tour, the defensive stance made by most of the creatives and executives involved might’ve been more interesting than the show they were discussing. But first, some solid info on ABC’s next Marvel show.
Jeph Loeb said that Inhumans takes place in Agents of SHIELD continuity, and the royal family is aware of the Inhumans stuff from that show, but they want this to feel like something you can watch without having seen anything else in ABC’s Marvel universe.
From there, things started to go a little pear-shaped. When a reporter asked actor Anson Mount a question suggesting the show’s not good, he said: “You’re making me feel like Ben Affleck right now,” then he mentioned Simon and Garfunkel. Somewhere, the “Sound of Silence” was playing.
To the reporters in attendance, it seemed like the panel went over as well as the pilot:
https://twitter.com/ErikMAdams/status/894318363912019968
https://twitter.com/sepinwall/status/894316803022659584
https://twitter.com/TheFienPrint/status/894311198660845568
https://twitter.com/midwestspitfire/status/894311603335708672
"It was the only way that they were going to let a redneck play a superhero," Mount jokes about having no dialogue on #Inhumans #TCA17
— Danielle Turchiano (@danielletbd) August 6, 2017
The odd thing about Marvel people is they seem eternally surprised that some critics think their ABC shows are terrible. Which they are.
— Robert Bianco (@BiancoRobert) August 6, 2017
That #Inhumans panel was like a live table read on #CurbYourEnthusiasm
— Tim Goodman (@BastardMachine) August 6, 2017
A smart, well-framed question from @Deggans gets pushed aside from Loeb with, basically, “We’re Marvel, we do what we do"
— Tim Goodman (@BastardMachine) August 6, 2017
We’re now watching Anson Mount scroll through something on his phone. #Inhumans #TCA17
— Jason Lynch 🇺🇦 (@jasonlynch) August 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/tvoti/status/894313754116014080
Our senior TV critic Alan Sepinwall tried to discuss the convoluted exposition of the Inhumans pilot, but was unsatisfied with the response he received:
https://twitter.com/sepinwall/status/894315164782047232
https://twitter.com/sepinwall/status/894315330566111232
https://twitter.com/sepinwall/status/894315549341003776
And the kicker:
ABC is cutting this Inhumans panel off a few minutes early. #TCA17
— Jason Lynch 🇺🇦 (@jasonlynch) August 6, 2017
Of course, a weak trailer doesn’t make for a guaranteed bad show, but this certainly has evolved into a strange, grand drama, hasn’t it?