Most critics like Misfits, and the praise gathers around the writing. The reviews describe the script as sharp, self-aware and funny, dark and chilling where it needs to be, and confident enough to make a preposterous premise (a group of young social outcasts gain superpowers after a storm) feel plausible on a small budget. The young ensemble draws steady approval, with more than one critic noting that the characters have few redeeming features and are engaging anyway.
The reservations belong to the later years. The Times finds the second series opener leaning on a standard science-fiction plot, and The Independent thinks series two slightly misses the oddball charm of the first. Digital Spy judges the series four premiere over-clever in its flashbacks, though promising in its new characters. The AV Club, reviewing a premiere without Nathan, calls the plotting serviceable rather than special. The spread is narrow: no critic dislikes it, and the doubts are about sustaining the early energy through cast changes.