With shooting having started in May according to the show’s official Facebook page, series three of Misfits is now a third of the way through production – if star Iwan Rheon’s July tweet is accurate, that is. Robert Sheehan is to leave the show This is the biggie, and much of it we already covered when the news first broke. In short, it seems pretty clear that this was a last minute decision, as Nathan’s departure is to take place in an online special set in Vegas rather than in a full episode. You’d have to be the most humourless creature alive to not see that this move is going to be a loss for the show. New character Rudy (Joseph Gilgun) will join the ASBO Five Being a This Is England fan, I like Joe Gilgun, and look forward to seeing him in a new role. Rudy has been described as a “classic Overman creation”, so it’s likely he’ll be as oddball and offensive as any of the main cast. The online episode will be set in Vegas Here’s hoping this won’t just be Carry On Abroad with superpowers. The trip to Vegas has been built up as an important point in Alisha and Simon’s relationship, though with Nathan’s exit and Rudy’s intro to deal with, it’s possible that this could be pushed into the background. It would be sad to see the writers undermine one of the most surprising relationships of the series in exchange for wacky hijinks abroad, but bear in mind that these will be Howard Overman hijinks. Expect to see all manner of foul, politically incorrect humour. Villain Seth, the power dealer, is to make a return This is a move I find very interesting as, up until now, all the villains have been disposable storm-freaks with the life-expectancy of a lemming. Seth, however, was a very durable villain, as chilling and unique as any of the others, but set apart by his motivation. He wasn’t a megalomaniac, a proselyte or a psychopath, he was a businessman. All the characters will have new powers Last year’s season Christmas special ended with ASBO Five having sold their powers but (largely due to their own criminality) they were able to purchase any new power from Seth’s stockpile. It’s a move that is likely to be the most dramatic of all, given how much each power reflected each character. However, this will have advantages for the characters whose development was somewhat limited. While in season one Alisha actually had a strong look into how shallow and empty her life of constant sex really was, her character didn’t develop further. Likewise, once Curtis learnt his obligatory lesson about not messing with the nature of time and so forth, the writers didn’t seem to know what to do with him, other than to repeatedly use him as a deus ex machina. They’ll be back in jumpsuits This isn’t so much a dramatic change as a dramatic case of keeping things the way we like them. While the ASBO Five completed their community service at the end of season two, it’s hard to deny that the garish orange jumpsuits of the Payback Scheme have become an iconic motif of the show. The question, though, is how to you get the rest of the characters back into community service without it feeling like a contrivance. It’s something that is likely to be resolved through Rudy, as press releases have confirmed that we’ll see him forced into the Payback Scheme, so it’s likely he’ll serve as the link. Over the past two seasons, Misfits has established itself well as a show that takes conventional storylines and conventional characters, and does some very unconventional things with them. While on the surface the characters may be stock (the smart-arse, the nerdy kid, and so on), in execution, they are far from it, which leaves one wondering where the show can go in series three. One thing promises to be certain, though: season three will almost certainly be the most unpredictable yet.
