The second and final season of the American

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

'' The Gifted'' is based on

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

' ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...

'' properties, and follows ordinary parents who take their family on the run after they discover their children's

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

abilities. The season is connected to the ''X-Men'' film series, set in an alternate timeline where the X-Men have disappeared. It was produced by

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Co ...

in association with

Marvel Television Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affi ...

, with

Matt Nix Matthew E. Nix (born September 4, 1971) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for creating the USA Network television series ''Burn Notice'', the Fox series '' The Good Guys'', and more recently the Fox series '' The G ...

serving as showrunner. Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker star as the parents, alongside Sean Teale,

Natalie Alyn Lind Natalie Alyn Lind (born 1999/2000) is an American actress. She is known for her television series appearances, such as her recurring roles as Dana Caldwell in '' The Goldbergs'' and Silver St. Cloud in '' Gotham'', and for her starring role as ...

, Percy Hynes White, Coby Bell,

Jamie Chung Jamie Jilynn Chung (born April 10, 1983) is an American actress and former reality television personality. She began her career in 2004 as a cast member on the MTV reality series '' The Real World: San Diego'' and subsequently through her app ...

Blair Redford David Blair Redford (born July 27, 1983) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Scotty Grainger on ''The Young and the Restless'', Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald on '' Passions'', Ethan Whitehorse on '' The Lying Game'', Tyl ...

, and

Emma Dumont Emma Dumont is an American actress, model, and dancer. She is known for her roles as Melanie Segal in the ABC Family series ''Bunheads'', as Emma Karn in the NBC series ''Aquarius'', and as Lorna Dane/Polaris in the FOX series '' The Gifted''. ...

. They are joined by

Skyler Samuels Skyler Rose Samuels (born April 14, 1994) is an American actress and model, known for her roles in the television series ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', ''The Gates'', ''The Nine Lives of Chloe King'', '' Scream Queens'' and '' The Gifted''. Early ...

, promoted from a recurring guest role in the first season, and

Grace Byers Grace Byers (née Gealey; born July 26, 1984) Note: While some sources give her birthplace as the Cayman Island, Gealey says she was born in Butler, Pennsylvania. See interview in LumiereMagazine.com, below. is a Caymanian actress, known for her r ...

. A second season was ordered in January 2018, and began filming that June. It depicts the different approaches to the fight for mutant civil rights that are taken by the Mutant Underground and the

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, r ...

, and also introduces the

Morlocks Morlocks are a fictional species created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel,''The Time Machine'', and are the main antagonists. Since their creation by H. G. Wells, the Morlocks have appeared in many other works such as sequels, films, televis ...

and further explores the Purifiers—all groups originating in the comics. The season aired between September 25, 2018 and February 26, 2019, and consisted of 16 episodes.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

* Stephen Moyer as Reed Strucker * Amy Acker as Caitlin Strucker * Sean Teale as Marcos Diaz / Eclipse *

as Lauren Strucker * Percy Hynes White as Andy Strucker * Coby Bell as Jace Turner *

as Clarice Fong / Blink *

as John Proudstar / Thunderbird *

as Lorna Dane / Polaris *

as the Frost Sisters *

as Reeva Payge

Recurring

* Hayley Lovitt as

Sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

Michael Luwoye Michael Luwoye (; born December 19, 1990) is an American actor of Nigerian descent, known for playing the title role in the Broadway musical ''Hamilton''. In 2022, was nominated for the Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice Perfor ...

Erg The erg is a unit of energy equal to 10−7joules (100 nJ). It originated in the Centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS). It has the symbol ''erg''. The erg is not an SI unit. Its name is derived from (), a Greek word meaning 'work' o ...

* Anjelica Bette Fellini as Rebecca Hoover / Twist *

Jeff Daniel Phillips Jeffrey Daniel Phillips is an American actor and filmmaker. Career He is best known for playing a caveman in a popular series of GEICO commercials. He played the part of Maurice in the short-lived ''Cavemen'' sitcom on ABC. Other credits to him ...

as Fade * Tom O'Keefe as Officer Ted Wilson *

Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series '' The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, recu ...

as Benedict Ryan *

James Carpinello James Anthony Carpinello (born August 13, 1975) is an American actor who came to national attention with his appearances in Tori Spelling's VH1 sitcom ''So Notorious''. He also portrayed Stacee Jaxx in the Broadway production of the musical ''R ...

as Max

Notable guests

* Ray Campbell as William * Erinn Ruth as

Evangeline ''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during t ...

* Frances Turner as Paula Turner * Sumalee Montano as Dr. Taylor * Kathryn Erbe as Aunt Dane * Kate Burton as Dr. Madeline Risman * Ken Kirby as Noah *

Jeffrey Nordling Jeffrey Richard Nordling (born March 11, 1962) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jake Manning in ''Once and Again'', Larry Moss in '' 24'', Nick Bolen in ''Desperate Housewives'', and Gordon Klein in '' Big Little Lies'', as wel ...

as Daniel

Production

Development

In October 2017, showrunner

said that he had planned "a couple of seasons, in broad strokes" for ''The Gifted'', and stated that he wanted "to be doing this show for a long time." On January 4, 2018, the series was renewed for a second season, of 16 episodes.

Writing

Following the end of the first season, Nix said that the second would further explore the

and the Purifiers, and would introduce the

. Following the destruction of the mutant underground's base, the second season sees them become more of a network rather than remain in a single location, and forces them to hide in plain sight and interact with other mutants out in the world. Nix thought this was both an interesting change and "thematically more resonant". Their situation is contrasted with the Hellfire Club also hiding in plain sight, but within "the halls of power". Nix continued that the season would show how these two factions go about helping mutants in different ways, and also how they come together at times due to the relationships between people in each group. He later expressed interest in also exploring the 7/15 incident that was mentioned in the first season, potentially through flashbacks, and said that such an exploration would take place over multiple episodes as "it’s kind of at the center of everything we’re doing." The second season features a new organization from the comics after the first featured Trask Industries. Nix noted that the story for the season had been broken before this decision was made, and then the writers looked through the comics to see which elements lines up with the direction they wanted to go.

Casting

Returning from the first season to star are Stephen Moyer as Reed Strucker, Amy Acker as Caitlin Strucker, Sean Teale as Marcos Diaz / Eclipse,

as Lauren Strucker, Percy Hynes White as Andy Strucker, Coby Bell as Jace Turner,

as Clarice Fong / Blink,

as John Proudstar / Thunderbird, and

as Lorna Dane / Polaris. By January 2018,

, who recurred as the Stepford Cuckoos in the first season, was being looked at to be promoted to series regular for the show's second season, and she stated that her characters would be appearing more in the second season than the first either way. She was confirmed to be doing so in June along with the announcement that

would also be joining the series as a series regular, in the role of Reeva Payge. Also returning from the first season are Ray Campbell as William, Hayley Lovitt as

as Fade, Erinn Ruth as

, and Francis Turner as Paula Turner. Additionally,

was announced to have been cast as

, the leader of the Morlocks, in August 2018. Nix also revealed at that time that an original mutant named Twist would have a "big role" in the season. Newcomer Anjelica Bette Fellini was soon announced as cast in the role, which was described as coming across as "a sweet wounded bird" who reveals herself to be "a sociopath who lives for chaos". In October,

was cast in the recurring role of Max, the undisciplined leader of a group of new recruits.

Filming

Filming for the season began on May 30, 2018.

Release

Broadcast

The season began airing in the United States on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

on September 25, 2018, and ran for 16 episodes.

Marketing

Nix, executive producer

Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series ''Smallville'' and ''Lost'', writer for the films '' Commando'' and ''Teen Wolf'', and a writer and ...

, and much of the cast promoted the season at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

2018, where the first trailer for the season debuted; it gave the season the subtitle ''Dawn of the Mutant Age''.

Reception

Ratings

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported an 83% approval rating, with an average rating of 6.83/10 based on 12 reviews. The website's consensus states, "''The Gifted'' continues to explore shades of grey, but with a more streamlined story that sets the show up for a stronger — if slightly more simplistic — sophomore season."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gifted (season 2), The 2018 American television seasons 2019 American television seasons 02