DC Universe’s cancelled Swamp Thing series to air on The CW

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Only one episode of the Swamp Thing series had been released on the DC Universe streaming service when word got out that the show was cancelled, so fans had to watch the remaining nine episodes of the season play out with the knowledge that there wouldn't be a season 2.

But dropping onto a streaming service after it had already been cancelled isn't the end of the road for Swamp Thing. The show is now set to air on television, as The CW has acquired the rights to broadcast Swamp Thing on their channel.

Could this be a second chance at life for the series? There's nothing to say that success on The CW could lead to another season of Swamp Thing actually happening, but if their viewers want to see more you'd think that The CW would have to at least consider making more and look into the possibility of ordering another season. Or getting Swamp Thing onto one of their other DC shows. The character did make a quick cameo appearance in an episode of Legends of Tomorrow during the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.

The Hollywood Reporter gave some background on the show's DC Universe cancellation, saying that 

trouble began with the series in April 2019, when the show's initial 13-episode order was reduced to 10 as the future of DC Universe amid parent company WarnerMedia's plan for a broad-skewing streamer (HBO Max) emerged.

In June, a mere five days after the first of the weekly episodes premiered on DC Universe, the platform — whose role within WarnerMedia and HBO Max remains unclear — canceled Swamp Thing. Despite promising reviews, insiders believed that they had a dud on their hands and, rather than pull the plug on the project and lose millions already invested with nothing to show for it, the studio opted instead to complete work on the series and use it to bolster the library content on the DC Universe platform that serves as a value-add to its massive digital comic book library. Sources at the time said the timing of the cancellation was spurred by the studio's decision to bypass paying millions to store the show's physical sets in North Carolina. That decision led to the cancellation leak.

Starring Derek Mears as the title character, Swamp Thing follows CDC Doctor Abby Arcane, played by Crystal Reed, as she 

investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. When unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe.

Maria Sten, Jeryl Prescott, Jennifer Beals, Virginia Madsen, Will Patton, Michael Beach, Henderson Wade, Ian Ziering, Kevin Durand, Andy Bean, and Adrienne Barbeau are also in the cast. 

The pilot episode of Swamp Thing was directed by Len Wiseman from a script by Mark Verheiden and Gary Dauberman. James Wan's company Atomic Monster produced the show in association with Warner Bros. Television. Wan, Wiseman, Verheiden, and Dauberman also served as executive producers on the series with Michael Clear. Rob Hackett co-produced.

The complete first season is already available to purchase on Blu-ray HERE.