British TV show Misfits voted 'Upstarts of the Year'

As part of the Independent's television review of the year, E4's "ASBO superhero" drama, Misfits, has been named "Upstarts of the Year".

Misfits – which is produced for Channel 4 by Clerkenwell Productions and became a surprise hit in 2009 – returned for a second series in 2010. The first series won the BAFTA Best Drama Award, and the series and its creator/writer, Howard Overman (Merlin), were nominated for the RTS Awards. Now, in Robert Epstein's Television 2010, in the Independent, the latest series has been awarded "Upstarts of the Year". Epstein says: "Every episode of Misfits has been a mini-epic, every character sharply drawn. And Robert Sheehan, as Nathan, had the best lines of 2010. (Let's hope rumours that he is leaving before a third series are unfounded.) Outrageously magnificent. Or, as the young offenders themselves would say, 'Whatever, yeah.' " In November, as series 2 of Misfits began in the UK, signs were already emerging that a third series had been commissioned and that a US version was being considered. That series came to a close just before Christmas – with a spectacular season finale and an extended Christmas special – and fans were rewarded with confirmation that a third series is already in development. Furthermore, Overman hinted that the Misfits universe could be expanded a la Doctor Who, with a spin-off series is being considered. Epstein – who writes for the Independent on Sunday (IoS) – counters, in his TV review of the year for the Independent, the oft-heard comment that far from nothing worth watching being on television, there's plenty to choose from. " 'There's nothing on.' This is repeated on a weekly basis by whomsoever is scheduled to write the TV review [in the IoS office], primarily to make the task seem Herculean: that's right, I'm going to create something extraordinary from a black hole of nothingness. This is nonsense. There's always something on – and a lot of it has been pretty darn good . . ." Misfits stars Iwan Rheon (Grandma's House) as Simon, Robert Sheehan (Song for a Raggy Boy) as Nathan, Lauren Socha (Five Daughters) as Kelly, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Money) as Curtis and Antonia Thomas (Stanley Park) as Alisha. Before finding fame with Misfits, Overman worked as a jobbing writer on a number of series, including the BBC dramas Merlin and Hustle. He recently created and wrote Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency for BBC Four, which is based on and inspired by the Douglas Adams novel of the same name.