The Nevers cast: who stars in new Joss Whedon sci-fi drama with Laura Donnelly and Ann Skelly on Sky Atlantic?

A fantastical six-part drama set in Victorian England and created by Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly) blasted off this week on Sky Atlantic, and is available to stream exclusively on Now TV.

Whedon, who also penned The Avengers and Avengers: Age Of Ultron, has previously said: “The Nevers is maybe the most ambitious narrative I’ve created. It’s been too long since I created an entirely new fictional world.”

The series follows in the footsteps of Whedon’s most famous TV series, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and is described by US broadcaster HBO as “a fantastical story featuring powerful female characters”.

The channel – where The Nevers is broadcast in the US – has said the show is an “epic science fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies, and a mission that might change the world.”

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is The Nevers about?

The Nevers is set towards the end of the 19th century, as an eclipse bestows otherworldly powers on some of the denizens of London – predominantly young women – who become known as The Touched.

Feared by men in power, these women are forced to live in the shadows and some congregate at an orphanage run by Amalia True, who can glimpse into the future.

Supported by wealthy patron Lavinia Bidlow, Amalia offers sanctuary to other gifted humans including best friend Penance Adair, Annie Carbey, Myrtle Haplisch, and hulking child, Primrose Chattoway.

However, dangers lurk in the shadows and when one emotionally unstable member of The Touched, Maladie , embarks on a killing spree, the consequences are dire.

Who stars in it?

Star of the show is Northern Irish actress Laura Donnelly, who plays Amalia True, one of The Touched with the ability to see glimpses of the future.

The Belfast-born actress, who recently starred in The Ferryman in the West End, is best known for her roles in The Fall and Outlander. Donnelly made her on-screen debut in 2005 in the Channel 4 drama Sugar Rush, and has also had roles in Casualty, Merlin and the Sky Atlantic series Britannia, as well as the upcoming biopic, Tolkien.

Ireland’s Ann Skelly (Vikings, Death and Nightingales) stars alongside her as Penance Adair, Amalia's best friend and a Touched with the power of 'seeing' electrical energy patterns and a skill for inventing, while Olivia Williams (The Crown, Counterpart) is Lavinia Bidlow, the patron of the Orphanage where many of the main characters live.

James Norton (The Trial of Christine Keeler, Grantchester) plays Hugo Swann – a pansexual aristocratic young man, who owns a private club and specialises in extortion – and Tom Riley (Dark Heart, Ill Behaviour) is Augustus "Augie" Bidlow, a kind gentleman bird watcher and Lavinia's brother.

Elsewhere, Pip Torrens (The Crown, Preacher) is Lord Gilbert Massen, a former military man and strong supporter of the British Empire who is skeptical towards people with extraordinary powers; Denis O'Hare (American Horror Story, American Gods) is brutal American surgeon Dr. Edmund Hague; Rochelle Neil (Guilt, Das Boot) is a criminal with the ability to generate balls of flame named Bonfire; and Amy Manson (Once Upon a Time, Atlantis) plays Maladie, an unstable member of The Touched on a killing spree.

Also on the cast are Zackary Momoh (Death in Paradise, No Offence), Eleanor Tomlinson (The War of the Worlds, Poldark), Nick Frost (Truth Seekers, Into the Badlands), Elizabeth Berrington (Sanditon, Vanity Fair), and Viola Prettejohn (The Witcher).

When can I watch it?

The Nevers began broadcasting in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Monday 17 May.

All episodes are available to stream now through Now TV.

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