Marvel and ABC’s latest TV show has been off to a rough start—from a decidedly dodgy first look, to a trailer that even the director disliked, and then to a Comic-Con panel that didn’t do enough to lift people’s skepticism. That meant when Inhumans came to the Television Critics Association press tour this weekend, things got… awkward.
The press at the show’s panel yesterday—which included stars Anson Mount, Serinda Swan, Iwan Rheon, and Ellen Woglom, alongside showrunner Scott Buck and Executive Producer Jeph Loeb—found that their questions faced stony responses from the cast and crew, leading to a panel that has been widely panned by attendees as misfire for the show’s attempt to defend itself from heavy criticism:
https://twitter.com/embed/status/894311603335708672
That #Inhumans panel was like a live table read on #CurbYourEnthusiasm
— Tim Goodman (@BastardMachine) August 6, 2017
The odd thing about Marvel people is they seem eternally surprised that some critics think their ABC shows are terrible. Which they are.
— Robert Bianco (@BiancoRobert) August 6, 2017
At one point, a question directed to star Anson Mount about the reaction to the series lead to him claiming to feel like Ben Affleck in the now infamous Batman v Superman interview about critical reviews:
RETRACTION: The "You're making me feel like Ben Affleck right now" quote from the #Inhumans TCA panel was from Anson Mount, NOT Scott Buck.
— KSiteTV (@KSiteTV) August 7, 2017
Things then went very poorly from there, with an increasingly agitated Loeb dismissing complaints from the press—who have seen the pilot for the series ahead of its debut in IMAX theaters next month—for every question:
A smart, well-framed question from @Deggans gets pushed aside from Loeb with, basically, “We’re Marvel, we do what we do"
— Tim Goodman (@BastardMachine) August 6, 2017
Is it me, or is Jeph Loeb incredibly defensive about questions even slightly critical about the series Marvel’s Inhumans.
— Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) August 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/embed/status/894311581823025154
Jeph Loeb has apparently decided it's safer if he asks the questions for the #Inhumans panel. #TCA17
— Ellen Gray (@elgray) August 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/embed/status/894318363912019968
You get the picture. According to reports, it seems like any question press had for the team was ultimately dismissed as something they should wait and see the rest of the show to find out, or was just something attendees “didn’t get”:
Jeph Loeb says our questions about what’s going on in Inhumans will be answered when we see the whole thing. #TCA17
— Jason Lynch 🇺🇦 (@jasonlynch) August 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/embed/status/894315330566111232
https://twitter.com/embed/status/894315549341003776
And then, the chaser to all of this? The panel was abruptly cut short following the withering reactions:
ABC is cutting this Inhumans panel off a few minutes early. #TCA17
— Jason Lynch 🇺🇦 (@jasonlynch) August 6, 2017
Oh dear.
