7 Reasons Why Now is the Best Time to Binge Watch Doom Patrol

HBO Max launched last week on Wednesday, offering users a wide array of movies and television shows to enjoy on the highly anticipated streaming service. Among those series is DC Universe‘s Doom Patrol. The series, which debuted February 15, 2019 on DC Universe, follows the ream of unlikely heroes who all came into their powers due to tragic circumstances and are now society outcasts. Taken in by the Chief, they end up working together after the villainous Mr. Nobody kidnaps him, something that sends the team on a wild and interesting journey in the process.

The series is getting a second season, set to debut June 25 on both DC Universe and HBO Max in a unique deal that will see the series offered on both platforms — other DC Universe shows, including Titans and DC’s Stargirl, will not be making such a leap — and with a second season of adventures coming soon for the unlikely heroes, now is the perfect time to get caught up on what may be one of the most unique superhero shows out there.

We’ve come up with seven reasons why now is the right time to binge the first season of Doom Patrol and while one of them is the upcoming second season — trust us, you want to be all caught up before jumping into season two — there are six other great reasons to check the show out. From how the show addresses the impact of trauma, to great performances by the cast, to some truly wacky characters that somehow just make sense, Doom Patrol is a gem of a superhero show that you absolutely don’t want to miss.

Read on for our reasons why you want to binge Doom Patrol right now before the new season hits June 25.

Its not your typical superhero show

Forget the costumed vigilantes of The CW’s Arrowverse of DC Universe’s Titans. Doom Patrol‘s got none of that making it not your typical superhero show. Instead of a group or a group of individuals coming together to don super suits and take on bad guys, the heroes of Doom Patrol are a collection of lost souls, each suffering horrific transformations that have left them emotionally damaged even as they are given unique powers and abilities. Add to that and that they use those powers not necessarily for the greater good but to help someone who is, essentially, family to them, you get a series that is straight of the gate not your typical superhero fare. 

Add onto that plenty of adult humor, swear words, and absolutely bonkers storylines (we’ll get to that more in a bit) and you’ve got a totally unique show that is a major breath of fresh air.

How it approaches the impact of trauma

Trauma is a major component of each of the heroes’ stories on Doom Patrol, but instead of having the characters somehow overcome their difficult beginnings or push those things aside to become heroes, Doom Patrol uses the individual journeys of each one of the “broken” characters to not only explore themes of mental health, growth, and resilience, but lets the heroes of the show be something that doesn’t always come across in other superhero shoes: Doom Patrol lets its heroes be human, flaws and all, even when there’s very little left human about them (we’re looking at you Robotman.)

Totally wacky characters that make total sense

Beyond the very human characters of Doom Patrol, the show has no shortage of truly bizarre characters too. A talking, doomsday prophet cockroach named Ezekiel, a man whose superpower is the ability to track down people by consuming their facial hair (Beard Hunter), a sentient street, and even wild carnivorous butt creatures may sound completely insane — and they are — but they are also just a small sampling of the wacky characters that appear in the series. However, while these oddities could just make for a quick laugh, Doom Patrol somehow makes each of these strange characters make perfect sense in the larger world the series takes place in. 

And if that’s not enough? Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man. Yes, Doom Patrol has him, too.

Great performances

Doom Patrol also has some outstanding performances, a standout of which is that of series star Diane Guerrero who plays not just “Crazy Jane” but each of her 64 distinct personalities that come with their own powers and issues. Of particular note is Guerrero’s performance in the episode “Jane Patrol” in which viewers are taken deep into Jane’s psyche and meet a whole host of her personalities, something Guerrero previously described the process of how she got into the mindset for.

“Right from the beginning, I started working with my acting coach on breaking every personality down through movement, through why she needs them or what their main characteristics are,” Guerrero said. “Once my body gets in that space, then everything else can follow. I have a notebook, and I have basically every personality there. Whenever one pops up in the script, I can reference my notes and I reference music. I like to think I have a lot of sides to myself that I can easily access at any given moment, like if I feel threatened or if I want something to go a certain way.”

It’s both dark and funny

Characters defined by trauma, a missing beloved father figure, a character with 64 different personalities…Doom Patrol sounds like it could be a very heavy show and at times it is, but the series also provides a lot of laughs thanks to some truly bonkers storylines. Sure, the world may be coming to an end thanks to a weird cult, but that gets balanced by a trip to a lost city literally hidden in a snow globe. Sure, the evil government agents may be coming to collect all the odd characters and creatures in the world, but there’s also a sentient street and a fabulous cabaret. It’s that balance between dark and humorous that makes Doom Patrol a delight.

Danny the Street

And speaking of that sentient street…Danny the Street, a genderqueer teleporting actual street may be one of the weirdest of the weird characters in Doom Patrol, but also one of the absolute highlights. How the show allows Danny to communicate with the heroes is one of the truly most creative and entertaining elements of season one.

Season 2 is coming soon

And, of course, the best reason to binge Doom Patrol is that the second season of the series will hit DC Universe and HBO Max on June 25 and it’s a season set to build upon the wild adventures of season one — including the introduction of a new character in their midst, the Chief’s daughter, Dorothy.

“Now they have a child in their midst who is very demanding because of superpowers that she has that are somewhat uncontrollable,” showrunner Jeremy Carver previously explained. “[She] is both lovable and a deadly force. They and Niles are going to have to figure out a way to keep the world safe from Dorothy.”

Doom Patrol Season 2 premieres on Thursday, June 25th on DC Universe and HBO Max.