Hulu's 2-Part Series With Perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score Is The Best Modern Superhero TV Show

Those who love superhero shows but are experiencing genre fatigue must catch up with the aptly named Extraordinary. The British series quietly premiered on Hulu in 2023, and despite its impressive 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, Extraordinary was canceled after two seasons. However, it's still more than worth a watch.

It's become increasingly difficult for fans to find a good superhero TV show that isn't too dark or violent. While The Penguin was universally acclaimed, and The Boys season 5 promises to be another great installment, they don't exactly fit the bill for those wanting lighthearted comic book fun. That's where Extraordinary comes in.

Most superhero shows are about a particular individual gaining powers in a world where this is not common. However, Extraordinary is the reverse. It takes place in a world where everyone develops a superpower when they enter adulthood, typically around the age of 18. Everyone, that is, except for Jen (Máiréad Tyers).

Jen is a 25-year-old costume shop worker living in London, who's been waiting seven years for her powers to kick in, to no avail. This makes her insecure and bitter, particularly when her more successful younger half-sister, Andy (Safia Grace Oakley-Green), develops superstrength at her 18th birthday party in the pilot episode.

Not all superpowers are as impressive. Most are bizarre, hyper-specific, and more inconvenient than they are useful. One character is intermittently magnetic with no ability to control her power, while another sprays ink like a squid when she's scared. Gordon (Eros Vlahos), a suitor of Jen's, makes people orgasm from a single touch — an ability that may sound cool, but in reality, is actually quite isolating, as it prevents Gordon from experiencing regular physical contact.

Still, Jen feels like a loser for not having any powers. She's convinced that they will improve her life and give her the sense of identity she's so desperately lacking. Extraordinary is a quirky, whimsical coming-of-age series and a superhero show unlike any you've seen before.

It's a shame that Extraordinary wasn't more heavily marketed when it was on the air. When it premiered in 2023, it came at a time when superhero fatigue had officially set in. The MCU's best days were behind it, with post-Endgame entries releasing to diminished returns, and the franchise's TV shows feeling less like entertainment and more like homework for fans still wanting to follow the story.

The marketing campaign for Extraordinary writes itself, as the show turns MCU-like stories on their ear. Rather than a plot-first series featuring big, bombastic stakes like the end of the world, Extraordinary is character-driven and all the better for it. Jen's mission may be to find her powers, but the show is really about her finding herself. It's a journey of self-acceptance, not of glory.

This may not sound appealing to those craving blockbuster-scale explosions and CG-driven battle sequences — and if that's what you're looking for, Extraordinary ​​​​​will be a disappointment — but it also makes the show perhaps the most relatable series the superhero genre has ever seen. Everyone, at some point in their lives, has felt like Jen.

A warning: due to its premature cancellation, Extraordinary ends on a cliffhanger. But if you know that going in and are still intrigued, it really is a rewarding show. Jen may not come across as courageous and strong, but her story certainly is, because Extraordinary has the guts to do what few other superhero shows do — mix things up.