Swamp Things Season 2 Update: Swamp Thing, originally broadcast on the DC Universe, is unlikely to find a new life at the CW. The series follows Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed), who returns to her hometown of Louisiana to investigate the dangerous swamp-born virus.
There she meets a strange beast, the Swamp Thing (Derek Mears), imbued with the memories of the dishonored scientist Alec Holland. The show investigates the mystery of the swamp as a hero who maintains power over plants and has the regenerative ability to protect his ecosystem and the natural environment.
In spite of positive ratings, DC Universe unexpectedly canceled the series soon after its debut in April 2019. The fledgling streaming service itself lasted for a little more than a year, with a summer 2020 announcement that its original content (including Harley Quinn, Titans, Doom Patrol, and Young Justice) would switch to Warner Bros., another major streaming service, HBO Max. Meanwhile, as COVID-19 disrupted television production, the CW, home to DC’s most popular multiverse to date, switched to Swamp Thing to fill the show holes in its schedule.
Swamp Things Season 2: Update
Although Swamp Thing enjoyed some CW traction, TV Line confirmed that a second season is unlikely to come. Pointing out that the sets are “long gone” and that every deal entered into has since expired, the sources indicated that “all signs point to a Season 2 not happening, anywhere.”
The manner in which the series was initially scrapped quickly and with no notice was also indicated as a dissuasive element in bringing back the show.
The motives for the cancelation of Swamp Thing in the first place were somewhat opaque at the moment, with others saying that the tax incentives had been canceled by the North Carolina state where the series had been filmed.
Although CW President Mark Pedowitz said he had “not ruling out” the revival of Swamp Thing, it would probably be a tough negotiation with WB higher-ups to revive the long-dead series. Although this is just the last nail in the coffin of a series that has been out of the air for almost two years now, it’s also a shame to drop Swamp Thing from DC’s TV line up.
The horror-infused comic book material was a distinct departure from DCTV’s other fare. Like HBO Max’s weird duck Doom Patrol, the strikingly different hue of Swamp Thing has widened the possibilities of what superhero entertainment might look like on a small screen.
In comparison, while the Arrowverse set the benchmark for the Superhero series on broadcast TV, the CW ranking of Swamp Thing shows that there is a demand for darker content, as well as pursuing less well-known characters from the DC canon. Let’s hope, though we might not see the Swamp Thing himself soon, DC paid heed to what succeeded in the ill-fated series.
