THE GIFTED
SEASON 2

SIXTEEN EPISODES AND A NEW SUBTITLE

HOW THE SECOND SEASON WAS MADE

Fox renewed the series on 4 January 2018 for a second season of 16 episodes, with Matt Nix as showrunner, and filming began on 30 May 2018. The first trailer at San Diego Comic-Con that July carried the subtitle Dawn of the Mutant Age. The premiere, “eMergence,” aired on 25 September 2018 and the finale, “oMens,” on 26 February 2019.

MUTANT AGAINST MUTANT

WHAT THE SEASON SETS UP

The season shows the different approaches to the fight for mutant civil rights taken by the Mutant Underground and the Hellfire Club’s Inner Circle, led by Reeva Payge, and it introduces the Morlocks and explores the Purifiers further. Nix said on 25 September 2018 that the Struckers are “not sidelined” but part of a bigger ensemble, and that the season gives each character a deep-dive episode. He described the new group’s outlook this way:

“They don’t see themselves as the bad guys.”

Matt Nix, 25 September 2018

THE STRUCKERS, THE UNDERGROUND AND REEVA

WHO IS IN THE CAST

Stephen Moyer plays Reed Strucker, with Amy Acker as Caitlin Strucker, Natalie Alyn Lind as Lauren Strucker, Percy Hynes White as Andy Strucker, Sean Teale as Marcos Diaz, Jamie Chung as Clarice Fong, Blair Redford as John Proudstar, Emma Dumont as Lorna Dane, Coby Bell as Jace Turner, Skyler Samuels as the Frost sisters and Grace Byers as Reeva Payge. Michael Luwoye appears as Erg and Peter Gallagher as Benedict Ryan.

A SMALL SAMPLE OF REVIEWS AND SLIDING RATINGS

WHAT CRITICS SAID AND HOW THE RATINGS FELL

Den of Geek’s Kayti Burt gave the premiere 2.5 stars out of 5 on 26 September 2018. Rotten Tomatoes lists an 83% critics’ score from only 12 reviews and a 66% audience score, and its consensus says the show “continues to explore shades of grey.”

The premiere drew 2.58 million live viewers and a 0.9 rating among adults 18 to 49, or 4.32 million viewers including delayed viewing, while the finale drew 1.61 million live viewers and a 0.4 rating. The first season had averaged 3.31 million viewers.

THE REWATCH

A CANCELLATION AFTER TWO SEASONS

Fox cancelled the series on 17 April 2019. Its studio, 20th Century Fox Television, had split from the network after the Disney acquisition, viewing had dropped notably year over year, and Fox was reported to earn money on the show only from live advertising.

In the Marvel Marathon it is classed as an X-Men series. It sits in the X-Men movies in order guide between Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and in the Marvel TV shows in order guide between Iron Fist Season 2 and Daredevil Season 3. It is not in the MCU guides.