# The Imperfects

The Imperfects is a Canadian superhero science fiction television series created by Dennis Heaton and Shelley Eriksen that premiered on Netflix on September 8, 2022. Promoted as a "coming of rage" story, it follows three young adults pursuing the mad scientist who tampered with their DNA, resulting in disruptive superpowers. In November 2022, the series was canceled after one season.

## Synopsis

Three Seattle-based adults, Abbi, a scientist, Juan, a comic book artist, and Tilda, a singer, are turned into monsters after undergoing an experimental gene therapy. The trio subsequently decides to hunt down the scientist responsible for their transformation, Dr. Alex Sarkov, and force him to make them human again. They are joined by Dr. Sydney Burke, a scientist who assists them in their quest.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Italia Ricci as Dr. Sydney Burke, a scientist and the estranged former partner of Dr. Sarkov; the two worked on a synthetic stem cell project together.
* Morgan Taylor Campbell as Tilda Weber, the lead vocalist in a punk rock band who develops enhanced hearing and the powers of a banshee through sonic screams.
* Rhianna Jagpal as Abbi Singh, a genetics student who develops the powers of a succubus through pheromones that cause people to be uncontrollably attracted to and easily influenced by her.
* Iñaki Godoy as Juan Ruiz, a comic book artist who develops the powers of a werewolf-esque chupacabra by temporarily shapeshifting.
* Kyra Zagorsky as Isabel Finch, a mysterious woman with a grudge against Dr. Sarkov. She is also Burke's Hyde-like alter ego.
* Jedidiah Goodacre as P.J., the lead guitarist in Tilda's punk rock band and her boyfriend.
* Rhys Nicholson as Dr. Alex Sarkov, a rogue scientist who unethically experimented on his patients with synthetic stem cell therapy, leading to many of them developing powers as side effects.
** Nicholson also portrays Dr. Hallenbeck, a mysterious figure connected to Dr. Sarkov.
* Celina Martin as Hannah Moore, a barista and former "failed experiment" of Dr. Sarkov who didn't develop powers like the other patients.

### Recurring

* Junnicia Lagoutin as Darcy Cobourg, Juan's girlfriend
* Ron Selmour as Jim Sponson, a high-ranking operative for Flux tasked with hunting down Sarkov's former patients.
* Rekha Sharma as Dr. Dominique Crain, chief science officer for the secret government organization known as Flux.

### Guest

* Max Lloyd-Jones as Doug, one of Dr. Sarkov's former patients whose side effect power is rapid regenerative healing. He is tasked with surveilling Sarkov's other patients.
* Ben Francis as Simon, the drummer in Tilda's punk rock band
* Veronica Long as Rose, the rhythm guitarist and backup singer in Tilda's punk rock band
* John Cassini as Dr. Brian Yake, an estranged former colleague of Dr. Burke
* Kai Bradbury as Dr. Nathaniel Lang, the leader of a trio of biohackers who hunt Sarkov's former patients
* Louriza Tronco as Qamara, a biohacker working with Nathaniel
* Naika Toussaint as Melanie, a biohacker working with Nathaniel
* Wesley MacInnes as Owen Schultz, one of Dr. Sarkov's former patients whose side effect power makes his skin invulnerable. He is also a self-declared "superhero".
* Jennifer Cheon as Sonja Benning, an operative for Flux who impersonates a law enforcement agent
* Diego Stredel as Alejandro Ruiz, Juan's estranged older brother and Paloma's father
* Danika Athenea Williston as Paloma, Juan's precocious niece and Alejandro and Renata's daughter
* Michelle Morgan as Betsy, Zoe's mother, who is searching for her missing daughter.
* MaeMae Renfrow as Zoe, one of Dr. Sarkov's former patients whose side effect power is electrokinesis. She is unable to control her abilities, which results in the deaths of multiple people.
* Siddhartha Minhas as Ben Singh, Abbi's younger brother
* Kandyse McClure as Dr. Monday, a roboticist who develops a new advanced form of nanorobotics.
* Manuela Sosa as Renata, Alejandro's wife and Paloma's mother

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Sarkov's Children" | Mathias Herndl | Shelley Eriksen & Dennis Heaton | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| 2 | "Doug of the Dead" | Mathias Herndl | Shelley Eriksen & Dennis Heaton | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| 3 | "Portland Warehouse Massacre" | Julien Christian Lutz | LA Smith | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| 4 | "One of Us" | Julien Christian Lutz | Steve Cochrane | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| 5 | "Zoe Must Be Destroyed" | Mark Chow | Kor Adana | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| 6 | "Lest Ye Become a Monster" | Mark Chow | Kim Garland | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| 7 | "Cure All" | Nimisha Mukerji | Gorrman Lee | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| 8 | "The Devil You Know" | Nimisha Mukerji | Gorrman Lee | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| 9 | "All Monsters Attack" | Dennis Heaton | Dennis Heaton | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| 10 | "Destroy All Monsters" | Dennis Heaton | Dennis Heaton | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |

## Production
### Development

On April 16, 2021, Netflix gave production a straight-to-series order consisting of ten episodes. The show is created by Dennis Heaton and Shelley Eriksen, who are expected to executive produce alongside Chad Oakes and Michael Frislev. Nomadic Pictures is the company involved with producing the series. The show bases the main characters' powers on those of legendary creatures, such as the banshee, succubus, and chupacabra. Filming took place in Vancouver. The series premiered on September 8, 2022. On November 8, 2022, Netflix canceled the series after one season.

### Casting

Upon series-order announcement, Italia Ricci, Morgan Taylor Campbell, Rhianna Jagpal, Iñaki Godoy, Rhys Nicholson, Celina Martin, and Kyra Zagorsky were cast to star.

## Reception

The Imperfects received positive reviews from critics and audiences.
Liz Kocan of Decider called this show "fine." She praised the story as "decent" and noted that the show reminds of a "mashup of X-Men, Fringe, and Riverdale, in that it blends the plot devices of genetically modified mutant youths, supernatural beings, and dark, sometimes dangerous teen angst into one show." Stephanie Morgan of Common Sense Media gave the show three stars out of five, describing it as "Fast-paced anti-hero monster action; language and gore."