Marvel's Runaways Is a 2017 Teen Dream of a TV Show

If you haven't yet checked out the Hulu hit, what are you waiting for?

By Lauren Piester Dec 12, 2017 3:00 PMTags
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Between Riverdale and Runaways, teen TV is doing great here at the end of 2017—especially teen TV based on comics, and teen TV that you can easily call a mixture of something plus a Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage show.

Schwartz and Savage are actually the brains behind Hulu's Marvel's Runaways, which comes from the comic book written by Brian K. Vaughan. There's some of The O.C., there's hints of Gossip Girl (and perhaps a bit of Chuck), and there's also a whole lot of Marvel fun.

What's struck us the most in the six episodes that have been released so far is that despite (or with help from) the super powers and evil parents in some kind of creepy cult, Runaways feels like a true 2017 teenage dream.

It stars several actual teens, and most of them are girls! It's beautifully diverse! Plus, it's bright and hopeful even in the face of some seriously devastating s—t. 

"It's a very diverse cast. [It's] Los Angeles, it's 2017, it takes place now," star Rhenzy Feliz (who plays Alex) pointed out to E! News at the show's premiere. "It feels great to be a part of a show that is so relevant, that's happening right now and it's encouraging youth to kind of take a voice against whatever they feel is wrong and unjust, to take a voice and do whatever they feel is right."

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Allegra Acosta, who's the show's youngest star at 14 and plays its youngest character, Molly, was particularly thrilled to be a part of a show she didn't have as a kid.

"Growing up, I never really had a Latina superhero to look up to, and hopefully one little girl who's watching this can be like oh my god, she looks like me, she's the same color as me," she said. "I'm so excited just for them to be able to say that."

"I feel like right now, in 2017, it's a political message that we need to be sending too, about unity and about diversity and how every single character brings something different to the table," said Virgina Gardner, who plays Karolina."I think that it's the superheroes that 2017 needs."

Most of the cast will immediately credit Schwartz and Savage with the best parts of the series, especially considering their track record with shows aimed at younger audiences.

"They're completely innovative," Ariela Barer, who plays Gert, gushed. "There's always some new thing that heightens everything they do, and I think they're just kind of brilliant about it. The OC was revolutionary in its time, Gossip Girl was in its time, and I hope Runaways is the successor to all of those."

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Barer also pointed out that because we're living in what some would call a dark time, many other shows currently aimed at teens, like Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why, have a darkness to them that Runaways doesn't have (at least not yet).

"Something I draw comparisons to all the time is sort of the evolution of the teen drama and how it's very reflective of our time right now, how dark and brooding it's all gotten, because it feels like a dark time for a lot of young people, moreso than in just a personal sense—political, and social, and in every sort of way," Barer explained. "I feel like the tone of these shows are now reflecting that, and I think Josh and Stephanie do have a tendency to elevate the genre, and so to put it in a superhero setting where the underdogs get a voice and some power, it's exactly where it needed to go."

In six episodes so far, the Runaways haven't yet run away, but it's pretty easy to figure out why they're going to want to. Their parents are all part of a secret organization—creepy robes and all—that appears to ritualistically murder young people, and many of them have superpowers or some pretty super mad scientist skills.

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In this week's episode, the kids really start to take things into their own hands, both in terms of figuring out the truth about their parents and in figuring out their own identities away from their possibly/probably evil parents. And while running away from a murderous cult of affluent parents might not be a priority for most kids, some of the cast still hopes there's some real-life inspiration to be found in the show.

"I think it's all like an act of rebellion, of whatever kind it is," Gardner said. "And I hope it'll inspire a younger generation to maybe question their authority and make their own decisions and stand up for what they believe in."

New episodes of Runaways stream Tuesdays on Hulu.