Did Alphas improve at some point? I watched the first three or so episodes and they were crap.
Oh yes. It definitely did. Season one started getting better at episode 4, I think, with the introduction of Anna, Red Flag and the actual beginnings of a plot. Between there and the finale, it steadily grew into a pretty decent superpower procedural with an overarching plot that's a bit reminiscent of X-men, regarding the whole politics and mutant question. The finale itself was pretty great, and set the scene perfectly for season 2, which became an alternating chain of increasingly depressing and ''holy shit what just happened'' moments as the plot kicks into full gear and there's no looking back.
As for the individual actors, Ryan Cartwright should definitely be praised for his performance as the autistic Gary, who can be both heartbreaking and heartwarming in the span of half an episode or less. David Strathairn is already an pretty good actor, but Rosen's development in season 2, where he shows that he is very much
not like the Xavier of this show (to keep the X-men comparison going for a little, since he does seem to fulfill the role of wise old man coaching a bunch of people about their mutant powers in season 1) becomes a focal point in why this show is so amazing. The rest of the team (Warren Christie as Cameron, Azita Ghanizada as Rachel, Laura Mennell as Nina, and Malik Yoba as Bill) each have their own highs and lows but on the whole the group has great chemistry once the show does get going.
I just really love the universe this show has built and how incredibly refreshing it was to see superpowers treated in a way where they're not comic-book perfect like Superman's...everything or the Green Lantern's capability to create literally everything with a thought. I mean, sure, those things are fun, I love superpowered beings, but Alphas take on it was new and felt more solid and therefore really exciting.