Making Originals Out of Adaptations: The Case of Fox's <i>The Gifted</i>

ABSTRACT American network television is based on an advertiser‐supported economic model that mandates the production of series that target a broad range of demographics and at the same time refrain from developing characters and storylines that could potentially deter advertisers. These production conditions inform the adaptation process of comic‐book properties. This article examines the Fox network's The Gifted (2017–2019), a live‐action superhero television series based on Marvel Comics' X‐Men properties. It foregrounds the changes made to such properties to address the network's diversity ambitions by offering representations that could potentially reflect their heterogeneous audience, adequately satisfy advertisers, and simultaneously reinforce the network's edgy identity. The study illustrates how the economic, audience, and contract commitment factors are reflected in the narrative elements of the show, informing the selection of particular source material mutants and facilitating the development of original X‐Men characters on television.