As far as streaming services go, DC Universe — the home to such DC-focused fair as Titans and Doom Patrol — is among the smaller fish in the pond, but it has its followers. And a brand new series — Swamp Thing — premiered just last week.
Only that doesn’t matter, as Deadline reports that DC Universe has cancelled the show after only one episode. From final trailer to cancellation in just two weeks, it’s been quite the journey.
The real question is “why.” Deadline posits that DC Universe is being “reevaluated” in the wake of AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner and WarnerMedia wanting to dedicate more time and resources to a new, all-exclusive streaming service. Also, the higher-ups at WarnerMedia may not have been too keen on Swamp Thing to begin with, having reduced the episode order from 13 to 10 in April.
A more boring but very believable explanation for the abrupt cancellation comes from cartoonist and writer John Gholson on Twitter. According to him, t’were taxes that felled the (swamp) beast:
TLDR: North Carolina promised Warner Bros. a tax break on Swamp Thing, found it couldn’t deliver, and suddenly the show became too expensive to make. And here we are.
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So to the DC Universe fans out there: I wouldn’t take this as evidence that your favorite streaming service is on the way out. Swamp Thing may be the only casualty here, and even then, the rest of the first season is still going to air to completion.
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