Doom Patrol Fans Upset By Cancellation Rumors

Fans of HBO Max's Doom Patrol are fuming amid reports that the series could be cancelled as Warner Bros. Discovery continues to rebrand DC and scale back on its commitment to streaming.  The show is not cancelled, and the reports were clear that no decision has been made, but it's a downgrade from an earlier report that suggested both Doom Patrol and Titans were considered safe. The series has been trending on Twitter since last night, when a report emerged that both Doom Patrol and Titans were likely to get the ax, leaving DC's TV offerings much leaner than they have been in recent years. It would also, given Doom Patrol's off-the-wall tone, make for a DC TV that's a lot more traditional in terms of superhero storytelling.

The other wild, unpredictable DC show -- The CW's DC's Legends of Tomorrow -- already got cancelled, and given the state of things at HBO Max, people had fears about Doom Patrol even before Batgirl was cancelled and a "revitalization" of the DC brand was known to be a priority for WBD CEO David Zaslav. The studio has pushed back on some speculation, claiming that projects like Supergirl and Green Lantern Corps are still in development, but being slowed down to accommodate what's going on with the brand.

Still, it has not escaped fans' attention that shows like Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow, as well as movies like Batgirl, featured diverse casts and are among the rare comic book projects not fronted by a straight, white man. That has informed some of the commentary online, as the new approach seems to be centering less diverse projects.

Doom Patrol launched as a spinoff of Titans -- kind of. Some of the actors who appeared on Titans didn't carry over to the Doom Patrol series, and it seems like they don't really share a continuity. For shared-universe enthusiasts, the team did briefly appear in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and is set to spin off Dead Boy Detectives, assuming that show does go forward. It received a series order in April.

You can see some of the responses from frustrated and incredulous Doom Patrol fans following news that the show is "on the chopping block" below.