runaways

Some may have been perplexed when it was announced that the new series ‘Runaways’ would be housed at Netflix’s rival Hulu, when Netflix has already hosted successful Marvel shows, ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Luke Cage’ as well as the upcoming ‘The Punisher’.  Also, Marvel Entertainment, which produces all of the Marvel shows is owned by Disney which owns ABC (home of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’) and Freeform (which will be the home of ‘Clock & Dagger’).  Why partner with a new outlet for a show which apparently will connect with the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb explained:

“What we do with every show is we look at where the best place is. We absolutely had a lot on our plate at Netflix, but wasn’t the reason for it. We were very excited about the possibility of joining a network that was young and growing in the same way that when we went to Netflix it was young and growing on the original side. It really feels like we’re in the right place at the right time with the right show.”

The recent Emmy’s wins for Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ have solidified their decision:

The fact that as we’re coming around the clubhouse turn with Handmaid’s Tale erupting and becoming part of the culture is huge. People who previously might have been going ‘what is Hulu?’ are now going ‘I have Hulu’.”

Though he doesn’t come out and say it, it’s very possible that ‘Runaways’ isn’t quite the right fit for the grittier Netflix shows, which don’t shy away from violence and the seedier side of crime.  Though the ‘Runaways’ comic was dark, it still tended to focus on the camaraderie between the young cast.  That still brings into question why they didn’t go with Freeform, which is aimed at a younger audience, but perhaps it was a question of whether Freeform perhaps didn’t want to take a risk on another Marvel show before ‘Cloak & Dagger’ had even premiered.  Or maybe there wasn’t room in their schedule.  As for ABC, its Marvel shows tend to skew older, though not as adult as the Netflix shows.  And it hasn’t had the best of luck with them.  Even ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ has never been a huge ratings hit, although it has done well enough to last four seasons.

Based on the comic book series by Brian K. Vaughn and Adrian Alphona, ‘Runaways’ follows a group of teens who discover their parents are a supervillain cabal known as The Pride.

The show stars Gregg Sulkin, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Rhenzy Feliz, Ariela Barer and Allegra Acosta with Brigid Branagh, Kevin Weisman, James Marsters, Ryan Sands, Ever Carradine, Angel Parker, Annie Wersching, James Yaegashi and Brittany Ishibashi.  The show premieres on Hulu on November 21st.