DC Universe, the new DC digital experience that was announced formally earlier this month, is about to get weird.
Doom Patrol, based on the seminal superhero team known for its strange heroes and arguably stranger villains, is the latest original live-action series to be announced for the upcoming digital service. Produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Doom Patrol has been given a 13-episode series order and will begin production this year for a 2019 debut on DC Universe. The Doom Patrol television series will be executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Geoff Johns, Jeremy Carver and Sarah Schechter.
Fans of the team and characters will find much to appreciate in the series description, which was released today:
DOOM PATROL is a re-imagining of one of DC’s most beloved group of outcast Super Heroes: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl and Crazy Jane, led by modern-day mad scientist Dr. Niles Caulder (The Chief). The Doom Patrol’s members each suffered horrible accidents that gave them superhuman abilities—but also left them scarred and disfigured. Traumatized and downtrodden, the team found purpose through The Chief, who brought them together to investigate the weirdest phenomena in existence—and to protect Earth from what they find. Part support group, part Super Hero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of super-powered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them. Picking up after the events of TITANS, DOOM PATROL will find these reluctant heroes in a place they never expected to be, called to action by none other than Cyborg, who comes to them with a mission hard to refuse, but with a warning that is hard to ignore: their lives will never, ever be the same.
There’s much to unpack there, including the references to Titans, Berlanti Productions’ other, earlier DC Universe series and the announcement of Cyborg, who is a Teen Titans member who hasn’t yet been mentioned with regards to the show.
But for fans of the Doom Patrol comics, the most welcome takeaway may be that the show seems to be embracing its heritage as one of the weirder teams out there. Debuting in 1963 in the anthology series MY GREATEST ADVENTURE, the Doom Patrol really took off in the late ‘80s and ‘90s when an emerging writer named Grant Morrison took the reins of the struggling series and evolved it into a heady, imaginative and seriously strange take on super teams that added popular characters like Crazy Jane, Flex Mentallo and Danny the Street, as well as trippy new villains like the Brotherhood of Dada. (The Doom Patrol seems to have made enemies of many brotherhoods, as the Brotherhood of Evil is also one of their key adversaries.)
The Doom Patrol have remained on comic stands off and on since Morrison’s time on the book, under the guidance of such noteworthy writers as Rachel Pollack, John Arcudi, Keith Giffen and John Byrne. Most recently, it was resurrected as the flagship series in DC’s Young Animal pop-up imprint. This new take is written by Gerard Way and drawn by Nick Derington and maintains both the bizarreness and rebellious attitude that Morrison defined during his run.
It should be noted that while the Doom Patrol has yet to appear in live-action, the team has made several noteworthy animated appearances, including on Teen Titans and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. They also had a series of animated shorts that ran on Cartoon Network and now can be seen digitally. However, while the upcoming series may be the Doom Patrol’s first live-action project, it won’t be their first live action appearance. Fans who follow #DCTV news know that members of the Doom Patrol will be making an appearance in the debut season of Titans, so we’ll likely get our first teases of what to expect from their series then.
Over the past year, a steady stream of both live action and animated DC shows have been announced exclusively for DC Universe, including Titans, Young Justice: Outsiders, Harley Quinn and Swamp Thing. For more information, and to sign up for updates, visit www.dcuniverse.com. – via DC Comics
