Doom Patrol updates from DC Universe’s TCA Panel

Who are Doom Patrol and how did they come together? During the 2019 TCA panel, the showrunners revealed what fans can expect from DC Universe’s latest live-action series.

DC Universe’s Doom Patrol premieres on February 15, and there is already plenty of excitement surrounding the series about a group of demoralized superbeings who view their abilities more as curses than gifts. At the recently concluded TCA Saturday, the stars and executive producers of the show were in attendance to reveal more details about the latest DC Universe series.

The pilot episode of the show gives the backstories of most of the characters including Brendan Fraser’s Cliff Steele/ Robotman, April Bowlby’s Rita Farr/ Elasti-Girl, Matt Bomer’s Larry Trainor/ Negative Man, and series villain Alan Tudyk’s Eric Morden/ Mr. Nobody, alongside introducing the new Niles Caulder/ Chief (Timothy Dalton), and Diane Guerrero’s Crazy Jane, a character with multiple personalities and powers.

Viewers will also see how the show takes a different path from the introduction of Doom Patrol on Titans. According to Deadline’s report from TCA, the showrunners lifted some elements from the Titans episode, but the show itself ‘will still maintain its own continuity’. From the looks of the pilot it seems the most prominent element to have been eschewed by executive producers Jeremy Carver and Sarah Schecter is Negative Man’s penchant for cooking up feasts. What a pity!

The one character who many viewers are hyped to see is Joivan Wade’s Victor Stone/ Cyborg. While he doesn’t debut in the pilot, Cyborg will play a major role in the series. Considering the multiple versions of the character currently found on screen – Ray Fisher debuted the character’s first live-action version in 2017’s Justice League film, and there’s also a new Cyborg on Young Justice: Outsiders – the panel were quick to address how the DC cinematic universes work.

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"“DC has made a decision, quite smartly, to separate the cinematic world and the television world,” Schecter says."

The DC Extended Universe includes the films, while The CW’s Arrowverse has its own continuity. Now, DC Universe has created a third arm allowing for more characters to be added to its shows. There are already rumors of Deathstroke and Ravager being added to Titans, characters who have already appeared on Arrow. It’s no wonder then that there are multiple versions of the very popular Cyborg running around. Having said that, Cyborg has always been a Titan, and it’s a shame he didn’t debut on that show.

Doom Patrol are not characters many mainstream viewers would be familiar with. They have had several comic books runs over the decades, most prominently under Grant Morrison. The showrunners will be adopting aspects from several arcs from the comics and revealed characters such as Beard Hunter, Celsius, Lodestone, and Danny the Street will debut on the show at some point.

The pilot episode has the tonal aesthetics of Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, combined with the woeful melancholy of any X-Men property. The members of Doom Patrol are definitely quirky and unlike most other superhero characters we are used to seeing on screen. It is apparent they shun society because they believe society will fear them for who they are. This logic is reiterated several times by Niles Caulder, a shifty character who has the team wrapped around his finger. It doesn’t help that the characters aren’t able to control their powers either, as was apparent on Titans, and continues to be the case on Doom Patrol. A day out on the town in the pilot sets up the premise for the rest of the season. As Fraser was quoted saying at TCA:

"“This ain’t the Justice League.”"

For more details on what goes down in the Doom Patrol show, remember to tune in to ShowSnob’s weekly recaps starting this Friday, February 15.

Are you excited for Doom Patrol? Be sure to tell us in the comment section below!