Joss Whedon is returning to television.

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum has landed a straight-to-series order at HBO for Victorian drama The Nevers. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the drama landed at the premium cable network amid a competitive situation with multiple bidders, including streaming giant Netflix. An episode count and premiere date have not yet been determined.

The Nevers is described as an epic science fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies and a mission that might change the world. Whedon will serve as writer, director, exec producer and showrunner on The Nevers.

"I honestly couldn't be more excited. The Nevers is maybe the most ambitious narrative I’ve created, and I can’t imagine a better home for it than HBO," Whedon said. "Not only are they the masters of cinematic longform, but their instant understanding of my odd, intimate epic was as emotional as it was incisive. It's been too long since I created an entirely new fictional world, and the HBO team offer not just scope and experience, not just 'prestige,' but a passionate collaboration. I could go on, but — I’m impatiently grateful to say — I have work to do."

The Nevers marks Whedon's return to the small screen and the first show he has created since Fox's Dollhouse. His credits include Firefly, Buffy spinoff Angel and serving as an exec producer on ABC's Marvel drama Agents of SHIELD, which is showrun by his brother, Jed Whedon, and sister-in-law, Maurissa Tancharoen. The news comes as the trio are poised to appear at San Diego Comic-Con for a massive 10-year reunion for their original web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in Hall H.

The Whedon show comes a day after Netflix snapped HBO's 18-year streak as the most-nominated outlet at the Emmys and as new corporate parent AT&T is eyeing a larger and broader expansion to better compete with media behemoths including Netflix, Apple and Amazon, among others. HBO will now have the first original series from genre favorites Whedon and J.J. Abrams. The latter has HBO sci-fi drama Demimonde, which is the first show he's written since Alias. The cabler is also developing Alan Moore's beloved graphic novel Watchmen with Damon Lindelof with the pilot fully expected to be picked up to series.

"We have long been fans of the incredibly talented and prolific Joss Whedon and we can’t think of a better project than The Nevers with which to welcome him to the HBO family," HBO programming president Casey Bloys said. "We look forward to meeting the strange, multifaceted characters of The Nevers, to learn their stories, see them in action and share them with our viewers. We’re honored that Joss chose HBO as the place to build his ambitious new world and we are excited to get started."

While a premiere date remains unclear, HBO has a stacked 2019 with the returns of Big Little Lies, True Detective and Veep joining a slate that includes the final season of Game of Thrones, J.J. Abrams' new show Demimonde and Lovecraft Country (from Jordan Peele), Westworld, Barry, Ballers, Crashing, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Deuce, Insecure, Silicon Valley, Succession, Camping and Nicole Kidman's The Undoing.

Whedon, repped by CAA and Ziffren Brittenham, counts features including The Cabin in the Woods, The Avengers and sequel Age of Ultron.

EXCLUSIVE: Meet Joss Whedon’s next leading lady. Laura Donnelly (Outlander) is set as the lead in The Nevers, HBO’s straight-to-series drama from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator and The Avengers writer/director.

Co-written by Whedon and Buffy alums Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie and directed by Whedon, The Nevers is an epic science fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies, and a mission that might change the world.

UK actress Donnelly will play Amalia True, the most reckless, impulsive, emotionally damaged hero of her time. A menace to stuffy Victorian society, she would die for the cause and kill for a drink.

“Laura Donnelly has charisma, wisdom and an anarchic precision that not only captures Amalia but defines her,” said Whedon. “She’s fierce and she’s funny – and I need both for the journey ahead.”

Whedon, who serves as showrunner, executive produces with Espenson, Petrie and Bernie Caulfield.

Whedon is known for creating TV series with strong female protagonists, including Buffy the Vampire Slayers, headlined by Sarah Michelle Gellar and the cult sci-fi drama Dollhouse starring Eliza Dushku.

Donnelly, who hails from Northern Ireland, is probably best known in the U.S. for her recurring role as Jenny Fraser in Starz’s Outlander. Her series credits also include Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, Britannia and Missing.

She is an accomplished stage actress who won the Best Actress award at the 2018 Olivier Awards for her portrayal of Caitlin in Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes. Donnelly also starred in Butterworth’s play, The River at the Royal Court Theatre, alongside Dominic West, and reprised her role in the Broadway production alongside Hugh Jackman.

Donnelly, who will next be seen in a starring role in the Fox Searchlight feature Tolkien alongside Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins, is repped by Jonathan Arun in the UK and CAA in the U.S. and attorney Shelby Weiser.

Joss Whedon is continuing to populate his new world of badass, supernatural Victorian women. (Yeah, you read that right.)

The Nevers, a new series coming to HBO, is described as an “epic science-fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies and a mission that might change the world.”

As previously reported, the series stars Outlander‘s Laura Donnelly as Amalia True, “the most reckless, impulsive, emotionally damaged hero of her time. A menace to stuffy Victorian society, she would die for the cause and kill for a drink.”

HBO on Tuesday revealed 12 new additions to the cast, complete with their official character descriptions. Let’s see who’s joining Amalia in the world of The Nevers:

* Olivia Williams (Counterpart) as Lavinia Bidlow, a “wealthy spinster and champion of the ‘Touched.’ Lavinia funds the Orphanage — where Amalia and many of the Touched live — through her vast family fortune. She is stern and old-fashioned, but as strong-willed and clever as anyone she confronts.”

* James Norton (McMafia) as Hugo Swann, a “pansexual posh boy whose charm has about five years left on its lease. He runs a secret club and a side trade in blackmail. He’s devoted to fulfilling everyone’s worst impression of him – and fascinated by the Touched.”

* Tom Riley (Da Vinci’s Demons) as Augustus “Augie” Bidlow, a “sweet, disarming nerd and Lavinia’s younger brother. A keen ornithologist, Augie is happy to let his older sister take the reins of the family fortune. He finds the Touched unnerving, but is drawn to them by his increasing infatuation with Miss Adair, and by the schemes of his nefarious best friend, Hugo.”

* Ann Skelly (Vikings) as Penance Adair, “Amalia’s dearest friend and one of the first women to join her cause. A devout — yet heretically progressive — Irish girl, Penance has genius for invention. She is delighted by her power, and her default is love and acceptance. But she’s firm in her moral sense, and will be guided by what’s right over what’s expedient every time.”

* Ben Chaplin (Cinderella) as Detective Frank Mundi. “Big, gruff, and deeply moral, Detective Mundi trusts no one, least of all himself: his reputation for sudden violence (and excessive drink) is not unwarranted. Frank finds himself caught between the powerful, who ignore the the laws of the land, and newly empowered, who ignore the laws of physics.”

* Pip Torrens (Polark) as Lord Massen. “Staunch, unflappable and merciless in his defense of the British Empire, this former General, now Peer, may be the only man who sees clearly what havoc these few strange people can wreak upon the established order — which he will protect, one way or another.”

* Zackary Momoh (Harriet) as Doctor Horatio Cousens, “one of the few successful West Indian physicians in London. Married with a young son, Horatio’s fortunes took a dark turn when he met Amalia and discovered his own ability. Now he works with her and the Beggar King, those who don’t care who is or isn’t ‘different.'”

* Amy Manson (Once Upon a Time) as Maladie. “Committed by her husband (and genuinely unstable), she’s been warped by a power she can’t understand, and tortured by doctors intent on finding its source. She now lives underground, runs a gang and is on an infamous murder spree. She affects a theatrical parody of a bedlam waif, but mad as she is, she’s a woman with a purpose.”

* Nick Frost (Into the Badlands) as Declan Orrun, aka The Beggar King. “Charismatic and brutal, Declan runs — or has a piece of — most of the low-level criminal activity in the city. He’s perfectly happy to help Amalia and her cause, and equally happy to sell them out. He backs winners, and the Touched are long odds.”

* Rochelle Neil (Episodes) as Annie Carbey, aka Bonfire. “Annie is a career criminal who landed the ability to control fire and is happy to hire it out. Came up rough, stayed that way, but she’s neither impulsive nor cruel — just looking out for herself. No matter who she works with or for, Annie trusts only Annie, and the fire.”

* Eleanor Tomlinson (The White Queen) as Mary Brighton. “Gentle but surprisingly resilient, Mary pursued her dream of singing on stage. A disappointing career and a broken engagement haven’t diminished her spirit. She’s going to be great. She’s going to be very surprised how.”

* Denis O’Hare (True Blood) as Dr. Edmund Hague, a “gifted American surgeon. He uses his skills in the coldest, most brutal way possible — but it’s all in the name of progress!”

Whedon will serve as showrunner, executive producer, writer and director. Additional EPs include Doug Petrie and Jane Espenson (both writing), as well as Bernie Caulfield (non-writing).