Superhero shows are a dime a dozen these days.
But Joe Pokaski, who created Freeform’s new series, “Cloak & Dagger,” says it stands out from the crowd for several reasons.
“The coolest thing about [protagonists] Tandy and Tyrone is their relationship,” says Pokaski, 43. “You have a lot of sidekicks and heroes, but this relationship is equal: two people who really need each other emotionally.”
Premiering June 7 (8 p.m.),“Cloak & Dagger” (also called “Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger”) follows Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph), teens who experience a linked tragedy as youngsters. When they reconnect years later, it activates complementary powers (Tandy can conjure daggers made of light; Tyrone can engulf people in darkness and teleport them into a dark dimension).
Pokaski is no stranger to the genre, having previously worked on NBC’s “Heroes” and “Daredevil” (Netflix). Another aspect of “Cloak & Dagger” he found unique was the fact that its heroes are a young woman and a young African-American man. “I grew up with a lot of superheroes that looked like me. I had Peter Parker, Reed Richards, Tony Stark, and on and on,” he says. “So one of the things that’s different is we have a young female superhero and a young black superhero … and the fact that the power is within their ability to work together … it feels like you can keep telling stories.”
The series is also set in New Orleans (even though the comic books take place in New York). “It felt like New York was pretty well-protected,” says Pokaski. “It had so many superheroes, whether it’s Spider-Man or all of the Defenders. We talked about New Orleans because it felt a little mystical … ‘Cloak & Dagger’ felt like the right vibe to slide into that.”
Unlike many other shows in the genre, (“Jessica Jones,” “The Flash”), “Cloak & Dagger” has no immediate villain, and Tandy and Tyrone don’t understand their powers in the first few episodes. Pokaski says he didn’t want to rush establishing the characters and their lives.
“What we’ve tried to do is really lean into the emotion, so we understand who these people are. We set out to have a different feel than you see not only on other superhero shows, but other Marvel shows,” he says. “We try to do what I call the ‘Sundance coming of age’ look and feel — it’s part of the reason we came after Gina [Prince-Blythewood] to direct the pilot. She does a handheld shaky camera feel, kind of like ‘Friday Night Lights’ or even ‘Battlestar Galactica.’”
Weaving superpowers together with real-world problems is part of why Pokaski likes working in the genre, he says. “Cloak & Dagger” doesn’t shy away from social issues like class, race, sexual assault or a parent with an addiction.
“Particularly with the superhero genre, it’s only as good as the real emotion it’s trying to platform,” he says. “I grew up as a ‘Buffy’ person, and it was exciting to see friends feel empowered by the character Sarah Michelle Gellar and Joss Whedon put together … the superhero genre, when it’s done right, can lead the way to changing the world in its own tiny little method.”