Kiran Sonia Sawar (Pure, Brexit: The Uncivil War), Elizabeth Berrington (In Bruges, Naked) Ella Smith (Ray & Liz, Kill Your Friends), Viola Prettejohn (Counterpart, The Witcher) Anna Devlin (All the Money in the World, Hanna) are set as series regulars and Martyn Ford (The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud, The Marine: Close Quarters) will recur in The Nevers’ HBO’s straight-to-series drama from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator and The Avengers writer-director Joss Whedon.

Co-written by Whedon and Buffy alums Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie and directed by Whedon, The Nevers is an epic science fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies, and a mission that might change the world.

The six actors join lead Laura Donnelly along with previously cast Olivia Williams, James Norton, Tom Riley, Ann Skelly, Ben Chaplin, Pip Torrens, Zackary Momoh, Amy Manson, Nick Frost, Rochelle Neil, Eleanor Tomlinson and Denis O’Hare.

Sawar will play Harriet Kaur. A young Scottish Sikh, Harriet lives with the Orphans, but is accepted by both her family and her betrothed. Optimistic without being naive, Harriet is determined to live her life as she planned, despite its increasing weirdness.

Berrington is Lucy Best. Dirt poor, adaptive, streetwise. There’s nothing delicate about Lucy, though she’s given up thieving to live with the Orphans. Her quick-wit and high spirits mask the pain of a tragic past.

Smith will portray Desirée Blodgett. A whore, and an increasingly popular one: her power makes men tell her everything on their minds, and they come away relieved in more than one sense. Unfortunately, what she’s heard may get her killed, even though she honestly doesn’t listen to most of it. She’s devoted to her six year old son, who, bless him, never speaks.

Prettejohn will play Myrtle Haplisch. A middle-class girl rescued from a family who cannot understand her – literally, as she can no longer speak English, or anything resembling speech. She’s thrilled to be living at the orphanage, where she’s everyone’s favorite weird little mascot.

Devlin is Primrose Chattoway. All 16-year-old Primrose wants is to be a proper, ordinary girl, and not take up too much space. Which, at ten feet tall, is hard. Most everything is either dreamy, unfair, or too embarrassing to live through.

2019 HBO Pilots & Series Orders

Ford will play Nicolas Perbal, aka Odium – The quintessential henchman. He looks as unpleasant as he smells – a side-effect if his rather surprising “turn”. Will do any kind of work for anybody’s money.

Whedon, who serves as showrunner and also directs, executive produces with Espenson, Petrie and Bernie Caulfield.

Sawar and Berrington are repped by United Agents. Smith is represented by Wishlab and Gersh in the U.S. and Independent Talent Group in the UK. Prettejohn is repped by Waring and McKenna. Devlin is repped by Olivia Bell. Ford is repped by The BWH Agency in the UK.