X-Men: ‘The Gifted’ Review Round-Up

Marvel TV had its turn to debut a new superhero series last week, and 20th Century Fox hopes to show-up the Inhumans with its next premiere. The Gifted is set to debut on Monday, October 2, and reviews for the X-Men series are more than favorable.

Sorry, Lockjaw.

With The Gifted premiering this week, critics have been able to share their early reviews of the show’s pilot. Sites like Variety and the New York Times are giving the show cautiously optimistic praise – but they aren’t the only ones. ComicBook is also feeling the cable newcomer.

“Marvel’s mutants are making the jump to television, and the attempt may be Fox’s best yet at tapping into what makes the X-Men so special,” ComicBook’s Jamie Lovett wrote about The Gifted in his recent review.

“By striking at the heart of the very concept of the X-Men and leaning into the idea that mutants are “feared and hated” to touch on themes like discrimination and immigration, The Gifted is the most exciting and relevant new superhero show this season.”

If you’re still deciding whether you should tune into The Gifted, then there are plenty of reviews out there to convince you to watch the premiere. You can read up on some of the show’s most recent reviews below:

The Gifted premieres Monday, October 2nd at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.

USA Today

“The Gifted is the kind of show you’d want to take with you on the run.

The new Fox series (Monday, 9 ET/PT, *** ½ out of four) is set in the X-Men universe and follows a family with two mutant teens, fleeing from the government forces that want to lock them away. It’s a gripping and savvy series that carves out its own space in the cluttered comic-book TV landscape.” – USA Today

Variety

“20th Century Fox makes use of its long-held rights to X-Men — and the very term “mutant” — with the tepid new drama “The Gifted,” a show about a family with two mutant children trying to escape the clutches of evil government forces. It’s nice to see the X-Men back on screen in some capacity — and Bryan Singer, the director behind the sturdy, successful films “X-Men” and “X2,” directs the pilot for “The Gifted” — but the new drama generally fails to impress.” – Variety

Slide 6

“The pilot does what a good pilot should, plant seeds that can grow. The Gifted can easily become another Lucifer or Gotham for Fox. It can become a show with a rabid fanbase that will eat up whatever crazy twist creator-showrunner Matt Nix wants to throw their way.

Based on the premiere, there’s every reason to believe The Gifted can become something big. A show that can spawn a dozen shows. Fox’s Arrow, in many respects. If this works, we could be looking at many more mutant-themed programs to come from the house Homer Simpson built.

Forbes

“The pilot does what a good pilot should, plant seeds that can grow. The Gifted can easily become another Lucifer or Gotham for Fox. It can become a show with a rabid fanbase that will eat up whatever crazy twist creator-showrunner Matt Nix wants to throw their way.

Based on the premiere, there’s every reason to believe The Gifted can become something big. A show that can spawn a dozen shows. Fox’s Arrow, in many respects. If this works, we could be looking at many more mutant-themed programs to come from the house Homer Simpson built.” – Forbes

New York Times

“”The Gifted” has a promising pedigree — it was created by Matt Nix (“Burn Notice”), who wrote the pilot. The Marvel veteran Bryan Singer was brought in to direct the pilot, presumably because of his extensive experience with the “X-Men” movies.

The show features an original story and new characters not taken from comic books, but it’s loosely situated in the “X-Men” continuum, with references to those more famous mutants having gone missing. Free of existing origin stories, the premise is simple: a young brother and sister manifest their powers, and their non-mutant parents take them on the run with the help of photogenic members of a mutant underground.” – New York Times

Entertainment Weekly

“Although The Gifted lacks the tongue-in-cheek humor of Netflix’s Jessica Jones or The Defenders, it stays afloat with quality special effects and surprisingly excellent performances across the large ensemble cast. It’s straightforward comic book fare with familiar beats, but with an earnestness and well-paced storyline that elevates it above the other gritty, supernatural fall TV choices. If you’re told to decide between Marvel’s Inhumans and The Gifted, choose The Gifted every time and then laugh whomever presented you with that choice out of your life forever.” – Entertainment Weekly

IGN

“The Gifted exists in the world of the X-Men, but don’t expect to see Wolverine or Jean Grey pop up. The X-Men have disappeared, along with the villainous Brotherhood, leaving the show to focus on an Underground Railroad-esque mutant resistance, the mutant-hunting agents of Sentinel Services, and a family caught in between. The pilot doesn’t try to do anything markedly new with the mutant metaphor, but it hits every beat of that formula so well that it’s a great time regardless.” – IGN