The Buzz Building Up for The Gifted

Despite what appears to be a limited marketing campaign for Fox’s “The Gifted,” with only a handful of videos through its YouTube channel published in the last few weeks, the show has managed to build up some degree of anticipation. According to a TV Line poll conducted in June, “The Gifted” ranked as the most anticipated Fall TV premiere ahead of “Marvel’s Inhumans” and “The Good Doctor.” A Civic Science poll also saw “The Gifted” rank right under “Seal Team” and numerous sites have posted it on their most anticipated lists for Fall TV shows.

And for the limited marketing on YouTube lately, the debut trailer in May has accumulated almost fourteen million views through the show’s own channel and was ranked by E! Online as the fifth best trailer of the Fall TV premieres. However, the Comic Con trailer only managed to garner just over one million views, showing a potential concern for its ratings.

This concern is reflected in some of the early reviews, despite positive feedback for the show itself. TV Line gave a very positive first impression of the show, praising the dynamic of the actors and how quickly the pilot grips the audience from the get-go. However, they acknowledge that while pairing it up with “Lucifer” may help bolster both shows’ numbers, the competition with “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Voice” will surely hurt it. E! Online criticized the lack of familiar “X-Men” characters, but praised the pilot for its entertainment and intrigue value. And the Globe and Mail ranked it among the ten shows that matter in the fall season, praising the show’s heart, emotional heft and thriller elements.

There seems to be a feeling that the show’s word of mouth may carry it past the hurdle of ratings competition from its 9 P.M. time slot. Here’s hoping that they can push these good reviews in their campaign, as many people I talk to are not even aware the show is premiering, let alone that it is an X-Men show.