Development On July 13, 2018, it was announced that
HBO had given the production a straight-to-series order.
Joss Whedon would serve as a writer, director, executive producer, and showrunner for the series. The series landed at HBO after a
bidding war with other networks and streaming services including
Netflix. Whedon explained the title at Comic-Con 2018:
Cast and crew In April 2019,
Laura Donnelly was cast in the starring role of Amalia True. Executive producers include
Bernadette Caulfield,
Jane Espenson, and
Doug Petrie. Espenson and Petrie, who worked with Whedon on
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, served as writers.
Laurie Penny is also part of the series' writing staff.
Gemma Jackson serves as production designer.
Academy Award winner
Christine Blundell served as the hair and makeup designer. She said that inspiration came from modern-day
punk in order to help with the visual world of the series. In June 2021, HBO announced that
Andrew Bernstein had joined the series as an executive producer and director.
Filming On July 4, 2019, Whedon announced that principal photography had started, with filming occurring in
London. In July 2019, it was reported that scenes had been filmed at
Trinity Church Square, and in the
New Wimbledon Theatre area. In August 2019, scenes were filmed at
Chatham Historic Dockyard in
Kent. In late January 2020, shooting took place at
Joyce Grove, an
Oxfordshire country house estate in the
Jacobean style. The building will double as
The Orphanage. Due to the lack of available studio space in
London, HBO worked with Adrian Wootton, CEO of
Film London and the British Film Commission, to find
warehouse spaces and old industrial spaces in which they could base the production. The series completed production on the first five of its ten-episode order before production was shut down due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Filming resumed in September and production was completed by the end of October. In February 2021, Bloys confirmed that the first season would consist of 10 episodes that would be broken into two airing blocks, due to the production shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The season's episode count was then extended to 12 episodes. Production on the final six episodes of the first season began in June 2021 in the UK with filming completed by December 2021.
Writing Speaking to the break in the release schedule between episodes six and seven due to production issues, HBO and
HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys stated, "And there was kind of a natural narrative break at six. So that was the thought then was to air six episodes. So at least we had something to put out there for subscribers and fans." Bloys also said that Goslett and her team of writers are working through the second batch of scripts now and "we'll get a better sense of timing" when those will air as "the weeks go on."
Whedon's departure On November 25, 2020, Whedon announced that he was stepping down from the series citing various reasons for his decision in "this year of unprecedented challenges." In a released statement, he explained that the taxing nature of working on such a project during the coronavirus pandemic had taken a toll on his energy levels and confirmed rumors that he would be officially exiting the series. On January 28, 2021, British screenwriter
Philippa Goslett was announced as the new showrunner. In response to the
accusations of workplace harassment against Whedon on his prior projects, Bloys stated, "We had no complaints or no reports of inappropriate behavior" regarding his work on
The Nevers. Afterwards, series regular
Denis O'Hare, who portrays Doctor Edmund Hague, noted that he was unaware of the misconduct allegations aimed at Whedon at the time and said that the whole cast was worried about the continued filming of the first season. O'Hare did praise Goslett, calling the new showrunner "the exact right choice" and saying, "I think there's some writing staff that's remaining the same. Whenever they're changing a writer, let alone a showrunner, you don't know what's going to happen to your character."
Cancellation On December 12, 2022, HBO canceled the series after one season and announced it would be pulled from the HBO Max library. It was also reported that the series, including the remaining six unaired episodes, may stream on another platform.
Deadline reported that the storyline was "crafted in a way that it concludes with Season 1B". In January 2023, it was confirmed that all 12 episodes would be available on
Warner Bros. Discovery's
FAST channel on
Tubi beginning that year, later specified to be February 13 for episodes 1–5, February 14 for episodes 6–9, and February 15 for episodes 10–12. == Broadcast ==