*UPDATE* The good people at DC Universe would like us to clarify that the show is being cancelled after season one and you can still enjoy the doomed show though the shortened season. No shit Sherlock.
The DC Universe streaming service is in trouble. I am going to preface this by saying that I have been personally happy with the service. The original programming has been top-notch and the comic/media library is outstanding so I have no idea why Swamp Thing is being cancelled. Well of course I have several hunches but I still need someone from WB to personally come to my doorstep, get on their knees and explain this bullshit to me.
Let’s go back and take a look at what happened with Constantine. This was a show that ran for one season on NBC but ultimately failed because the WB execs did not understand how to properly promote a show that deals with more uncanny storytelling. People loved Constantine so much that Matt Ryan’s character made it’s way to The CW and has been a central part to several of the DC shows on there. There will be all sorts of bullshit reasons of why Swamp Thing was canceled floating around the interwebs but I’m going to tell you right now, BLAME THE EXECUTIVES. There are no solid reasons for budgeting issues I don’t care if North Carolina ran out of fudging “budget” money. WB should be THROWING money at James Wan after the success of Aquaman but once again WB has squandered it. Say the streaming service isn’t doing well, fine, then fold it into an a larger WB streaming service that will be able to somewhat compete with Disney +.
The show was in trouble even before it premiered on DC Universe, the show was cut to ten episodes from the originally planned thirteen. People keep saying that the studio wasn’t happy with the direction the show was headed. I’m not sure what the f*ck that even means because you have released two super-violent and dark shows with Titans and Doom Patrol. Swamp Thing, to me, seems like it fits perfectly in the line-up they have been presenting and the diversity of the shows was impressive to me from the beginning. Of course things are never good enough for WB who apparently does not care how fans and viewers actually feel about a show. For years WB has been the thorn in DC’s foot and will never allow the company to fully spread their wings. I guess WB is ok with failing time and time again.
The story will go on and we will get to the bottom of this eventually, but here’s a little more insight from writer John Gohlson from his Twitter rant (make sure to click through to read the full thread) this morning about the budgeting issues that are apparently MOSTLY to blame:
In the articles about SWAMP THING there still seems to be some confusion as to the “why” of sudden shutdown. The reasons didn’t hit the entertainment trades, BUT…they did hit the news in North Carolina…
— John Gholson (@gholson) June 6, 2019
