Warner Bros. Discovery's recent cancellation of Batgirl has left many fans worried about the fates of their favorite DC properties. If executives are willing to scrap a mostly finished $90 million movie, is anything safe? CEO David Zaslav has stated that the studio has a ten-year plan for a DC film and television universe, but the details of that plan are still unclear. No one can yet say for certain what place, if any, existing movies and shows will have in this future. High on this list of feared casualties are the HBO Max series Doom Patrol and Titans.
Both of these shows have built dedicated fan bases over their three respective seasons. However, the fact that neither one connects in any meaningful way to an outside continuity could mean imminent cancellation. Such a fate would be a mixed bag. One of these shows is consistently among the most creative, fun and interesting series on television. The other is Titans.
Doom Patrol and Titans both deal with dark subject matter and can, at times, be brutal and graphically violent. Outside these similarities, the shows couldn't be more different from each other. Doom Patrol lets its characters and their experiences inform the overall tone of the series. Bleak things happen, but the writers retain their senses of humor and never lose sight of the joyful absurdity of a robot, a cyborg, a stretchy woman, a man merged with sentient negative energy and a woman playing host to dozens of personalities living and going on adventures together. This balance allows a character like Cliff Steele to simultaneously exist as the product of great tragedy and as the comedic and emotional center of much of the series.
Titans, on the other hand, allows an arbitrarily dark tone to make historically sunnier characters miserable. Rather than allowing Dick Grayson to be the widely respected figure who learned to connect with people in a way his mentor never could, as in the comics, the series introduces him with a “Fuck Batman!” and turns him into a sulking, ultra-violent vigilante. Conner Kent, a reckless teenaged clone turned worthy Superman successor in the comics, kills multiple people upon his arrival on Titans. Even Dove, the ostensibly more peace-oriented half of Hawk and Dove, rarely seems less eager to engage in violence than her partner. They aren't the Titans so much as generic stand-ins for a teenaged edgelord's power fantasy.
These fundamental character changes might have been interesting if the Titans writers had used them to say something meaningful about violence or the wisdom of teaching children to fight crime, but they did nothing of the kind. Instead, they proved that making something dark and gritty doesn't make it sophisticated or intelligent. Dark and gritty just means dark and gritty. Quality comes from good writing, consistent characters and specific choices.
The basic premise of Doom Patrol is a familiar one. Like the X-Men — whom the Doom Patrol actually predate — they are a group of superpowered misfits who live together in a mansion and learn to use their abilities for the greater good. However, despite the basic nature of this premise, vibrant characterization, specific choices and ambitious storytelling make Doom Patrol feel unique unto itself. The victims and protégés of Niles Caulder are complex and real, and their emotions are believable. No one is just one thing. Rita Farr is imperious and insecure. Jane is disaffected and deeply feeling. Larry is brave and afraid of facing himself. This grounded humanity, in turn, gives viewers a solid foothold for the show's more bizarre plot elements. The creators of Doom Patrol earn whatever darkness and grittiness they achieve, and they have the good sense to balance those qualities with humor and narrative invention.
As of this moment, there is no concrete indication that either Titans or Doom Patrol is in danger. Both series are slated to air their respective fourth seasons in the not-too-distant future. Then again, recent history shows that executives at Warner Bros. Discovery aren't afraid to make bold cancellation decisions. Should the studio cast a wary eye toward DC's live-action streaming properties, here's hoping they spare Doom Patrol and ax Titans.