Doom Patrol season 4

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Following season 3, which was discussed here:
https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=89611.0

The teaser to season 4 has just been released.

12 episodes this year, released in two halves, with the premiere (two episodes) on December 8, the mid-season finale on January 5 and the second half coming later during 2023.

https://tvline.com/2022/10/09/doom-patrol-season-4-release-date-teaser-trailer-hbo-max/

Michelle Gomez is now part of the main cast, but no word so far about the guests we'll get.


Additionally, there's an eight-episode season of Dead Boy Detective that was confirmed in April (with the same Night Nurse as in Doom Patrol, but different actors in the main three roles compared to the appearance by the team in Dead Patrol). Filming will only begin next month, so it's not close to airing.

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/dead-boy-detectives-series-hbo-max-1235233080/
https://collider.com/dead-boy-detectives-reported-filming-dates-hbo-max/

[Alberon]

Looks completely tonto.

Good.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Haven't watched the trailer as I'm spoiler-phobic but I'm pleased it's getting a fair amount of PR already, and that a spin-off is in the works, ever since HBO was taken over by Discovery a sod load of shows have been cancelled / treated poorly, so it's good to see that this isn't one of them.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Dead Boy Detectives will probably be as much a spin-off from Doom Patrol as Doom Patrol itself was a spin-off from Titans.

Regarding HBO Max, it's true that the service is in shambles, but mostly the non-DC "Max" side of the business. HBO Max is more or less the reunion of HBO (which had previously its own, quite embryonic streaming service, but still keeps its distinctive programming which also airs on cable) and a ton of other shows from other divisions, which tend to be identified with the "Max" moniker. Titans, Doom Patrol, Harley Quinn, etc. took birth on DC Universe, and were later transferred to HBO Max.

I'd say that DP is probably safe, because they need something else than Peacemaker (which also keeps James Gunn attached to WarnerMedia) to maintain their reputation as the place for quirky, anarchistic superhero shows. With Doom Patrol, Harley Quinn, Noonan's (the Harley Quinn spin-off where Kite-Man and new girlfriend Golden Glider now own the bar where all Gotham villains go) and Dead Boy Detectives, they can offer a proper line-up.

[Mister Six]

Wait fuck, "Noonan's"? Do any of the Hitman characters turn up in Harley Quinn?

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Not to my knowledge. But they'll widen the scope of characters for the new show, which was pitched as "Cheers for supervillains".

[Pete23]

I found the last season pretty hard work to be honest, after really loving the first 2. Just seemed to be really strung out. I liked Rita's development (she's always been my favourite character) but Jane's story line felt like we'd seen a lot of it before and Larry bored the pants off me. Certainly had it's moments, but it's starting to feel like diminishing returns. Hopefully season 4 will be a return to form.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Season 4 is here, with two episodes.

I've just watched the first episode. Still has it.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Season 4 is here, with two episodes.

I've just watched the first episode. Still has it.

I just came here to say the same thing, but yeah, really enjoyed the first episode, even if it was a little light on action the script made me smile an awful lot.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

My favorite moment was when the future selves have a conversation in the living room and someone makes a suggestion. A small, stupid moment who got a big laugh out of me.

Second episode was interesting, as it had a lot of unusual pairings, a few great jokes, a big CGI set piece and the return from a beloved guest star in a (slightly) different part, but I agree it was light on the action too. Maybe they're on a budget.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Looks like some character introduced in the latest episode may return as some point as she's apparently very popular in the recent comics, and looks like a good fit to the rest of the patrol.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Based on an Instagram story briefly posted by Diane Guerrero, the show is canceled (or it could be that Crazy Jane is done).

https://thedirect.com/article/doom-patrol-season-5-future-diane-guerrero

The back half of season 4 still has to be released.

[Alberon]

I would expect it's cancelled.

With James Gunn taking over the DC film and TV universe there's been a lot of changes already on the big screen. Old TV series like Doom Patrol and Titans will probably get wound up.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Officially canceled. And the decision was made before Gunn got in charge, according to what he tweeted.

https://deadline.com/2023/01/titans-amp-doom-patrol-canceled-end-seasons-4-hbo-max-1235241013

https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1618456493812240384

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Regarding Dead Boy Detectives, it won't premiere on HBO Max after all (they also didn't have enough marketing muscle to promote it until 2024), and it is sold to Netflix instead.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/dead-boy-detectives-moves-netflix-from-hbo-max-1235318785/

[Alberon]

Dead after one season then.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I really struggled with episodes 3 - 6, they seems so slow paced and as much as I love the characters / cast I feel they didn't really explore any ideas or themes that the show had examined beforehand, and none of the villains have been that memorable. And a lot of the jokes in the "Reverting back to their teenage years" made me wince, which was probably the intention but it felt like such a shit plotline for a show that was as innovative as Doom Patrol was.

Also, I know a lot of the scenes in the mansion have been gloomily lit previously, but some of the episodes seemed really dark (possibly due to this? https://variety.com/2022/film/news/why-movies-so-dark-hard-to-see-batman-1235195535/), I felt Danny and Dorothy's appearance looked great initially and I hoped it would remain brightly lit, but then the majority of the action was set at night and visually it was really unappealing.

Due to all of the above I can't say I'm gutted it's been cancelled now, I loved the first three seasons but on the evidence of these six episodes I'll be okay as long as the wrap it all up in a satisfactory manner.

[Mister Six]

I haven't seen any of series 4 yet, but I thought the third season dragged horribly in the middle so if @Small Man Big Horse is right then I agree - let it be put out to pasture with a nicely conclusive ending.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Part 2 is finally airing, nine months after the cliffhanger.

Those who are waiting for the whole season to be available definitely did the right thing. The split was totally artificial, something decided by the streaming service (or possibly caused by delays in post-production for CGI) instead of being planned at some degree by the writers, and I have had a lot of trouble remembering who a few secondary characters were.

[Chairman Yang]

Yeah HBO really fucked it for no reason, I'm going to have a hard time getting back into this when we're in the sort of 'sad characters learning things' section of the season.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

There's a few "sad characters learning things" moments, but fortunately we're also getting "drunk characters learning things" moments now.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

And... it's over. Done Patrol.

The final stretch of the show had its share of issues. There was a totally unremarkable musical episode, that might have worked better if it had premiered around Christmas, but fell flat in a different context. But from that moment, the writers and the cast were able to provide some closure, which was greatly helped by a returning

Spoiler alert

Timothy Dalton

[close]

in the penultimate episode.

I loved the way that they handled the big villain in the finale. Quite unexpected, but totally in line with the spirit of the show. There was a definite feeling of melancholy then. I missed Danny the Street or some minor characters who didn't have any opportunity to get a cameo, but the ending was still satisfying. The show was messy, often too repetitive for its own sake, never totally reaching its full potential, but it brought something completely unique, including a deconstruction of the whole superhero genre that didn't belong to the Kripke/Rogen/Goldberg factory. I'll definitely miss it.

[Chairman Yang]

Yep, glad to have watched it but felt that it could have pushed even further. I appreciated the nice happy ending for everyone, makes a pleasant change from the usual superhero apocalypse porn.