TV Madness 2019: Lucifer, The Gifted square off in first round
TV Madness 2019 is officially upon us! March is one of our favorite times of the year for many reasons — spring is in the air, the days are getting longer, and the idea of a bracket is a part of our pop-culture lexicon. TV Madness is CarterMatt’s version of March Madness, where a number of fantastic shows from across the map face off against each other. There are seedings, head-to-head showdowns, and the performance of each show is based entirely on you, the reader.
So what’s happening within this particular battle? Basically, you have a battle between two especially-strong comic-book adaptations — and shows that do have a little bit in common when it comes to their journeys. With Lucifer, you have an excellent show that was canceled by Fox last year but managed to find a new, loving home for itself over at Netflix. Meanwhile, with The Gifted you have another excellent show that could be canceled by Fox later this year, and from there, it could find itself in the same position. Both tell really great stories and are both worthy of advancing … but only one will.
If you’ve taken part in CarterMatt’s TV Madness before, you likely know how this works — we spotlight the two competitors and then, on the other side of it, give you a poll for you to commence your voting! The poll is located at the bottom of this article.
How voting works – Vote however often you would like! (Technical instructions for multiple voting can be found right above the poll.) We will keep this poll open until Saturday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time. From there, the victor will take on either SEAL Team or NCIS: Los Angeles, depending on who moves on there. No matter what happens, we could have a very interesting round two battle coming up…
You can see the full bracket (including start dates for each individual round) in the graphic at the top of this article.
The competitors
Lucifer (#2 seed) – Even though Lucifer competed in TV Madness last year and failed to make it past the top 16, we feel like we’ve moved into a different paradigm with Tom Ellis and the rest of the cast. Last March, this was not a show anyone expected to be canceled. Its fan base was out there, but by no means was it anywhere near as mobilized as it is now. The #SaveLucifer movement brought people together all over the world and produced one of the best results of any save-our-show campaign. There’s even a chance at a season 5 on the other side of this year!
Now, we’re in the midst of a holding pattern where Netflix likely knows when they want to bring the show on their service for season 4; they just have to announce it! While you’re in the process of waiting for that, why not give the show some votes here? We’ll see how far the Devil lasts…
The Gifted (#7 seed) – Clearly, The Gifted is the underdog of this matchup, but you can make the argument that there are a lot of heroes who know a thing or two already about being underdogs. This is a show that features lesser-known characters from the X-Men universe (at least to fans who don’t know the comics), and it has found a way to flesh some of them out and give them big, compelling personalities. It’s also developed a following full of people eager to cheer on and root for these characters — the base may be small, but they are mighty and they’re already out there fighting for a season 3.
While voting for The Gifted here likely does not mean much in terms of determining the show’s future, it certainly keeps it in the press a little bit longer! Sometimes, good press is one of the best ways to keep a movement going.