DC Comics TV Round-Up: ‘Doom Patrol’ Renewed for Season 3, ‘Young Justice’ Season 4 Title Revealed & More
by Ethan AndertonA second round of DC FanDome unfolded over the weekend, and though it wasn’t anywhere near as star-studded or exciting as the first round of the virtual convention, there were still some new tidbits of information revealed on the DC Comics television side of things.
Below, we’ve rounded up the more noteworthy reveals that might be of interest, including Doom Patrol getting renewed for a third season, the fourth season title for Young Justice, and some details on the upcoming seasons of Pennyworth, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Superman & Lois, and Batwoman.
Doom Patrol Renewed for Season 3 at HBO Max
DC FanDome announced that a third season of Doom Patrol had been ordered by HBO Max, which has become the exclusive home of the DC Comics series. All episodes of the first two seasons are now available on HBO Max, and the series will continue the story of some of the weirdest comic book superheroes.
Doom Patrol executive producer Jeremy Carver said:
“On behalf of the wonderful cast, writers and crew, we are thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to return to Doom Manor. And we areespecially thankful for our partners at Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. Television, DC Universe and, of course, HBO Max.”
Sarah Aubrey, head of original content at HBO Max, added:
“Doom Patrol came to HBO Max with an already deep and passionate fan base and has risen to the top as one of the most watched Max Originals on the platform. The series sits well in our portfolio and we are glad to greenlight a third season to continue this distinctive style of storytelling that resonates so well with critics and fans alike.”
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Adds Lisseth Chavez to Cast
The upcoming sixth season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will expand the crew of the Waverider. The show’s panel at DC FanDome this weekend announced Lisseth Chavez (Chicago P.D.) would be joining the cast as Esperanza “Spooner” Cruz. Here’s what you need to know about the new character joining the series and what’s in store for the sixth season:
“Tough and self-sufficient, Spooner Cruz lives off the grid, devising ingenious tech for the detection of — and defense against — space aliens. And while some might call her paranoid, she calls it being prepared. A survivor of a childhood alien encounter, Spooner now believes she has the ability to communicate telepathically with aliens — making her the perfect recruit for Waverider captains Sara Lance, Ava Sharpe and the Legends who, in season six, will be hunting down extraterrestrials who have been displaced throughout history.”
The new seasons finds the Legends chasing these aliens after Sara was abducted. Does Spooner really have the ability to communicate with Sara’s captors, or is she just insane? We’ll find out when the show returns to The CW in 2021.
Pennyworth Season 2 Is Expecting a Baby
The DC Comics series Pennyworth is coming back for a second season, and when the show returns, we’ll see the arrival a certain bundle of joy who will grow up to become the Defender of Gotham.
During a DC FanDome panel this weekend, executive producer Bruno Heller announced that Martha Kane (Emma Paetz) will be pregnant, presumably with the child of young billionaire Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge). Of course, we all know how that will eventually turnout. I guess you just can’t have a Batman-related series without bringing Bruce Wayne into the fray in some capacity.
This news comes after the first round of DC FanDome announced that the character Lucius Fox would become part of the Pennyworth series too. The second season also brings back Hainsley Lloyd Bennett, Ryan Fletcher, Dorothy Atkinson and Polly Walker, with Paloma Faith and Jason Flemyng. Plus, James Purefoy (The Following), Edward Hogg (Taboo), Jessye Romeo (Curfew), Ramon Tikaram (Brassic) and Harriet Slater (Faunutland and the Lost Magic) will be joining the cast too.
Young Justice Season 4 Gets a Title
DC Universe ushered in the return of Young Justice in 2019 with a third season after fans demanded the show be revived after coming to an unceremonious end in 2013. Young Justice: Outsiders brought the DC Comics superhero team back to life, and now they’ll be back with a fourth season, and executive producers Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti announced that it will be titled Young Justice: Phantoms.
The DC FanDome panel where this announcement was made also featured an audio play performance of a new episode of Young Justice which sets up the events of the upcoming season. The episode saw Connor Kent (Nolan North) and Megan Morse (Danica McKellar) saying goodbte to their friends as they head off for a new adventure on their own. Plus, Arsenal (Crispin Freeman) joined the team once again after an invitation from Artemis Clock (Stephanie Lemelin) beckoned him back. That means the fourth season may have a slightly different roster.
There’s no release date for Young Justice: Phantoms yet, but with DC Universe likely not sticking around for much longer, it remains to be seen whether Young Justice will head to HBO Max like Doom Patrol or if it will go somewhere else.
The New Batwoman Will Bring Some Key Changes
Ruby Rose has departed the titualar role of Batwoman, and Javicia Leslie has inherited the cape and cowl as the new character Ryan Wilder. The return of the show will first have to deal with the disappearance of Kate Kane. Batwoman creator Caroline Dries explained:
“We have two major stories this season as we come into Season 2. The first one is: Where is Kate? What happened to Kate? Is she alive? Is she dead? Is she missing? Is she on the run? Is she held captive? Is she lost? These are all huge mysteries that push us deep into the season. All of our characters are going to have different perspectives on that. Different conspiracy theories, different points of view, and it will create a lot of drama, mystery, tension, intrigue. It will be shocking, awesome, and amazing.”
When Leslie inherits the role of Batwoman, she will have a new suit as she takes over as Gotham’s defender in the wake of Batman’s absence, and that includes a headpiece that will reflect the character’s Black identity, including her natural hair.
During the Batwoman panel at DC FanDome, Leslie added:
“If we’re gonna have a Black Batwoman, she needs to be a sista when she becomes Batwoman. So it’s important that the silhouette of her still looks like that. So more of like a natural textured hair and things like that. I think we’re still kind of putting things together.”
It sounds like the new design for Batwoman hasn’t been finalized just yet, but it’s good to hear that the character’s Black style will be part of the superhero’s look. And that’s not the only influence that the character’s race will have on the show.
Batwoman creator Caroline Dries says Ryan Wilder will focus attention on some of the overolooked communities in the city. Dries explained:
“When you’re part of a community that has been neglected by the system, that’s the initial community that you feel responsible for helping. And that’s what you’re going to see. You’re going to see that community of Gotham that got overlooked.”
Those communities won’t be the only ones that Batwoman helps, but “those are the ones that Ryan is attached to, that she would want to be able to help.” Dries also added, “Just to kind of have that crusader that’s for that part of the community, I think that that’s important, and that’s really what we’re going to dive into this season.”
Superman & Lois Gives the Man of Steel a New Suit
The CWverse, as it’s now being called in the wake of the end of Arrow, will be expanding with the arrival of Superman & Lois, a spin-off of Supergirl with Tyler Hoechlin returning as the Man of Steel and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane. But when the series arrives, the Big Blue Boy Scout will have a new look.
Superman & Lois showrunner Todd Helbing confirmed that Superman will get a new suit when The CW series debuts. Helbing explained:
“I’ll take the heat for this one. Originally, [Tyler Hoechlin] came on for the crossovers and that suit just wasn’t built to sustain a series, and I think everything we were talking about earlier — it gave us this fresh slate. Yeah, let’s make a new suit. So there’s going to be a really badass Superman suit in this show that we’re pretty excited about.”
That’s all Helbing was willing to say about the new suit. And now we’re wondering if this new suit will also be seen in any potential crossovers where Superman pops up in Supergirl or other shows in The CWverse. Superman & Lois arrives on The CW in early 2021.