By Ed Fortune
With superhero movies being pretty much the default, it’s no surprise that superhero parody has also become commonplace. This means that Disney+’s new super-powered comedy show, Extraordinary, can go in deep with its high-concept premise without alienating its audience.
Extraordinary is a decidedly British show, not just because it’s set in London but also because of its down-to-earth and sardonic tone. The central idea is that superpowers are very common – almost everyone has one, and as a rule, they aren’t that useful. Super-strength makes it easy to break stuff, being able to control technology is worthless if you don’t understand it, flight is tiring, and so on. However, our main character, the twenty-something Jen, wouldn’t know, because her power never manifested.
Yes, it’s a comedy metaphor for feeling like a failure in your mid-twenties. Jen still lives with Carrie, her childhood best friend, and like most comedy protagonists, is neither very bright nor very kind. Though the central drama is predictable ‘slice of life’ stuff, the show stays fresh thanks to its ridiculous world-building. This is a place where you can’t even adopt a pet without worrying it might have superpowers, after all.
Extraordinary doesn’t really stand out from similar takes on the same idea; 2008’s No Heroics had more slapstick and Neil Gaiman’s Temps had better worldbuilding, for example. But as a silly British comedy show to watch while you’re waiting for the next Marvel TV series to appear, it does the job pretty well.
