Why was Swamp Thing canceled? Not even EP knows for sure

One of the craziest TV stories from the past few years is easily the cancellation of Swamp Thing after just one episode on the DC Universe streaming service. Sure, the remainder of season 1 will air, but it’s hard to imagine why some DC executive looked at the material and decided that abandoning the show in the nearest bog was a good idea. Why not let the audience dictate your show’s future rather than making some hasty, unilateral decision?

The reasons for the show’s cancellation have supposedly been many — some stories have proclaimed it to be due to tax rebates, whereas others have suggested creative differences played a role. A number of others have speculated that the DC Universe may be in trouble and that eventually, the comics-focused service would be folded into WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming plans — otherwise known as the industry’s way of dividing up streaming platforms into so many smaller platforms that eventually, nobody can afford them all. Or, you can just call it “how to infuriate consumers while executives roll around in their own licensing money.”

Here’s another crazy thing about the end of Swamp Thing — apparently, not even executive producer James Wan knows for sure why the show was canned. He’s a guy who DC should keep in the loop — the guy did Aquaman! That should give you some sort of golden key that allows you to enter every corporate office you want.

For some more video thoughts on the cancellation…

Check out what we’ve got for you below! Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss any other TV updates via the CarterMatt YouTube channel.

In a post on Instagram (see below), Wan lamented the end of the new Swamp Thing series, while also making his lack of understanding over the cancellation clear. He encourages everyone to love and embrace the legend of Swampy through the remainder of this season; rest assured, this is a story we’re curious to follow. Can enough hype be created over the final nine episodes that this show gets somewhat of a second life somewhere else? We’ve heard of shows getting almost no chance to succeed, but this case — a well-reviewed series getting canned before a service can even see advanced viewership metrics — is baffling. There’s a part of our brain that wants to believe this is some elaborate scheme to get the show more attention … but we know it’s not. The last thing we need is to turn Swamp Thing into a bayou of conspiracy.

Are you more confused than ever about all of this, especially after reading what Wan had to say? Be sure to share in the comments. (Photo: DC Comics.)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Don’t really know or understand why #Swampthing was cancelled, but I can tell you this — all the cast and crew, and producing/writing team poured their hearts into this. Really proud of everyone’s hard work. Go watch episode 2, and immortalize these 10 episodes. Swampy deserves it.

A post shared by James Wan (@creepypuppet) on Jun 8, 2019 at 6:09pm PDT