Swamp Thing: Cut Episodes Would Have Explored Abby Arcane’s Family

Swamp Thing is coming to The CW next week with the DC Universe series getting its broadcast debut on Tuesday, October 6th and while it’s an opportunity for a much wider audience to dig into the story of Abby Arcane and DC’s perhaps best-loved horror character, it also comes with a bit of a sense of what might have been. The series, which debuted on DC Universe in May 2019, was cancelled less than a week after its first episode’s debut and while the streaming service released the ten episodes of the first (and only) season, there had originally been plans for 13 episodes. According to series star Crystal Reed, those three cut episode would have explored Abby Arcane’s family life.

Speaking to CBR, Reed explained that had those three cut episodes would have taken the story into what she described as more of a character piece about Abby than the first ten episodes had presented.

“That was a hard phone call to receive, because I think we were all kind of flying high and feeling like we were accomplishing something beautiful,” Reed said. “But, you know, these things happen often to shows that have been on forever, and it’s not uncommon. So, we just roll with the punches.”

“But what we were going to find out, what we were going to learn more of, if there had been more episodes, is about Abby’s mom and her dad,” Reed continued. “For me, that would have been something really cool, and then also there was going to be a lot more going on with a bunch of other characters. So yeah, I think that her family — it was going to become much more of a character piece, much more of an Abby Arcane show than the first 10 episodes, I suppose.”

Swamp Thing follows Reed’s Abby Arcane 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, especially Alec Holland (Andy Bean) who transforms into the Swamp Thing creature (Derek Mears.) The series is expected to draw inspiration from Alan Moore’s iconic run, particularly the “Anatomy Lesson” issue.

While the series ended up with first a shortened first season and then was cancelled altogether, it’s upcoming The CW debut has given fans hope that the series could still get a second season, something network president Mark Pedowitz addressed earlier this year.

“At the moment, it’s just the one season,” Pedowitz explained. “I do not know if it would come back. Obviously, that would be a discussion for Warner Bros. and The CW. But at this time, Swamp Thing is just the episodes we have.”

Swamp Thing makes its broadcast debut in a special, 90-minute premiere on Tuesday, October 6th at 8 p.m. ET.