Christian Walker used to fly. Now he walks the streets of Los Angeles as a homicide detective, tracking down murders committed by people who can do almost anything else. Powers, the PlayStation Network series from Brian Michael Bendis and Charlie Huston, asks a simple question: what happens when the people with extraordinary abilities are not the ones saving the world. They are the ones causing trouble.
The show ran for two seasons, 20 episodes, and ended its run in 2016. It was a bold experiment in tone, mixing gritty police procedural with the absurdity of celebrity culture, and it mostly succeeds at its own strange ambitions. This is a review of the show, and it is a review of a show that knew exactly what it wanted to be.
Trailer, via IGN.
Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim
Sharlto Copley plays Christian Walker, a former hero whose powers were stripped away. He is cynical, sharp, and tired of the world he is supposed to protect. Susan Heyward plays Deena Pilgrim, his partner at the Powers Division of the LAPD, a woman who is smarter than she looks and willing to use any trick in the book to get answers. Together they investigate crimes committed by people who are both heroes and celebrities, managed by advertising agencies that treat their abilities as brand assets.
The relationship between Walker and Pilgrim is the engine of the show. Their banter is dry, their trust is fragile, and their shared history as partners carries the weight of every case they touch.
The World of Powers
In Powers, superhumans are not gods or avengers. They are performers, athletes, and media figures who happen to have abilities. The show sets its stories against the backdrop of a world where fame and power are interchangeable, and the people who have both are often more interested in endorsement deals than justice.
The show’s central premise is that having powers does not make a person better. It just gives them a bigger platform to be a jerk. That is a darkly funny idea, and the show leans into it without ever losing sight of the human cost.
The Supporting Cast
The supporting cast is a mix of interesting characters and one-note villains. Olesya Rulin plays Calista, a woman with a dangerous secret. Logan Browning plays Zora, a young investigator with a sharp mind. Adam Godley plays Emile Cross, a man whose role is small but memorable. Max Fowler plays Krispin Stockley, a figure who moves through the show’s second season with growing importance. Michael Madsen plays SuperShock, a villain who gets the kind of screen time a show this short deserves.
Not all of these performances land. Some feel like sketches rather than fully realized people. But the show is not really about any of them. It is about Walker and Pilgrim, and the world they are forced to navigate.
The Tone Problem
Powers is a show that wants to be a gritty cop drama and a satirical superhero story at the same time. That tension is the show’s strength and its weakness. The satire is sharp, but the drama is often too thin to support it. The result is a show that feels tonally unstable, jumping between grim realism and absurdist comedy without always landing the transition.
The show’s best episodes are the ones that commit to one mode or the other. When it settles into the darkness of Walker’s grief, it is powerful. When it turns to the ridiculousness of celebrity culture, it is hilarious. The middle ground is where the show stumbles.
The Second Season
The second season of Powers is shorter than the first, with ten episodes instead of the full slate of the first season. It picks up where the first season left off, with Walker and Pilgrim chasing a new threat that pushes them deeper into the corrupt world of the Powers Division.
The season is stronger than the first in some ways. It cuts away from the pilot’s exposition and lets the characters breathe. It also introduces new threads that tie back to Walker’s past, giving the show a sense of forward momentum that the first season sometimes lacked.
But the shorter runtime means the show has less room to develop its ideas. The finale, released on July 19, 2016, ends the series abruptly, leaving some threads unresolved. It is a satisfying ending for Walker and Pilgrim, but it leaves the larger world of Powers feeling unfinished.
The Technical Side
The show is shot with a sleek, modern look that fits its setting. The costumes are stylish, the action sequences are well-choreographed, and the production design captures a world that is both familiar and strange. The show’s budget is modest by network standards, but it makes the most of what it has.
The music is a mix of electronic and synth-driven scores that fit the show’s noir sensibility. It is not a show that relies on big set pieces, but the small ones are executed with care.
What Works
- The partnership between Walker and Pilgrim, which anchors every episode
- The satire of celebrity culture, which remains relevant years later
- The performance of Sharlto Copley, who makes Walker feel lived-in
- The second season’s tighter focus and stronger pacing
What Doesn’t Work
- The tonal instability between satire and drama
- Some secondary characters who feel underdeveloped
- The abrupt ending of the second season
- The show’s failure to fully resolve its central mystery
A Short Schedule
| Season | Episodes | Premiere | Final Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | March 10, 2015 | April 28, 2015 |
| 2 | 10 | May 31, 2016 | July 19, 2016 |
The Verdict
Powers is a flawed but fascinating show. It is a rare attempt to take the superhero genre seriously while still finding humor in it. The show’s ambition exceeds its execution in places, but its core idea is strong enough to carry the whole series.
The show is worth watching for anyone interested in a darker, more cynical take on the superhero mythos. It is not a perfect show, but it is a memorable one. The final episode leaves the door open for more, even though the series was canceled.
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