High school is rough enough without discovering latent mutant powers, a dinosaur in the basement, and that your parents are part of an evil—and possibly supernatural—secret society. At least for the six friends who make up the core ensemble of Marvel’s Runaways on Hulu, a fun, teen-oriented superhero drama from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The show ran for 3 seasons and is available on Disney+ and Hulu.
Where To Watch: Runaways streams on Hulu and Disney+
How To Watch: Use this 30-day free trial to Hulu or sign up for Disney+ for $7.99 a month
What Marvel’s Runaways is All About
The series centers on the six teenagers, who grew up with a common childhood with the regular gathering of their parents’ charity, Pride, but have become very different teens: computer nerd Alex Wilder (Rhenzy Feliz), angry and lonely goth Nico Minoru (Lyrica Okano), beautiful and religious Karolina Dean (Virginia Gardner), lacrosse player Chase Stein (Gregg Sulkin), smart-mouthed riot grrl Gert Yorkes (Ariela Barer), and the younger, perky Molly Hernandez (Allegra Acosta), orphaned and raised as Gert’s adopted sister.
When the group stumbles upon a murderous ritual under the guise of the annual Pride meeting, they start digging deeper into their parents’ doings and find evil and conspiracy under the surface. As they band together to investigate, they begin to find they themselves have hidden talents and strange, possibly supernatural powers buried in the secrets the Pride kept from them.
While sharing continuity within the larger MCU (and including a season 1 cameo by the late Stan Lee), Marvel’s Runaways is primarily focused on the lives of the teens, giving a more serious treatment to younger characters than the majority of the larger franchise. The first season’s insular quality and ability to stand alone from the complexities of the bigger MCU is refreshing. Released in November 2017, Runaways has a heritage of teen and nerd TV behind it, created by Josh Schwartz (Chuck) and Stephanie Savage, co creators of Gossip Girl, who also serve as show runners. Season 1 held a solid 88% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and season 2 will launch December 21.
Despite the focus of the show on the group coming to terms with the dark doings of their parents, their own supernatural heritages, and the every day struggles of being, well, teenagers, the story doesn’t leave the adult Pride members as two-dimensional villains. As the teens work to uncover the truth, the audience is also slowly shown back story on how the organization came to be, and what promises of money, success, or power drew each couple into the conspiracy, and who is the mysterious Jonah (Julian McMahon) who links them. A line up of recognizable character and TV actors, including James Marsters, Kevin Weisman, Brigid Brannagh, Ever Carradine, Ryan Sands, Brittany Ishibashi, James Yaegashi, Angel Parker, Kip Pardue, and Annie Wersching, plays the parents.
