Doom Patrol (TV series)


Doom Patrol is an American web television series developed by Jeremy Carver for DC Universe. Based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name, the series features Jane, Rita Farr, Vic Stone, Larry Trainor, Cliff Steele, and the Chief as the members of the eponymous Doom Patrol. Although Bowlby, Bomer, and Fraser reprise their roles from the DC Universe series Titans, the two shows are set in separate continuities.
The series premiered on February 15, 2019, exclusively to DC Universe. The second season aired on both DC Universe and HBO Max, with the two streaming services releasing episodes simultaneously on June 25, 2020.

Premise

Doom Patrol follows the unlikely heroes of the eponymous team who all received their powers through tragic circumstances and are generally shunned by society. Most members of the team were treated by the Chief, a medical doctor who gave them residence in his mansion to help protect them from the outside world. Their name derives from an earlier Doom Patrol team that was formed by the Chief.
The first members of the Doom Patrol to be introduced in the series are Jane, the dominant identity of a traumatized woman with dissociative identity disorder; Rita Farr, who struggles to prevent her body from turning to a gelatinous state; Larry Trainor, who has an entity of negative energy living inside of him; and Cliff Steele, whose brain was placed in a robot body following a car crash. The team is later joined by cybernetically-enhanced superhero Vic Stone.
In the first season, the Chief is captured by the malevolent Mr. Nobody, sending the Doom Patrol on a journey to rescue him. Along the way, they discover secrets about themselves and the Chief, whom they eventually learn is responsible for the tragic events that gave them their powers.
In the second season, after rescuing the Chief's powerful daughter Dorothy, the team tries to find a way to prolong his life so he can continue caring for her; if he dies before her, they would have to protect her.

Cast and characters

Main

Introduced in season 1

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2020)

Production

Development

Doom Patrol was announced on May 14, 2018, as an intended spin-off of Titans for video on demand service DC Universe after co-creator and executive producer Geoff Johns revealed that Titans' fourth episode would feature and be titled after the Doom Patrol on February 10, 2018. Despite the initial order and sharing characters and actors, however, Doom Patrol occupies a separate continuity from Titans.
Fifteen episodes were developed for the first season, which premiered on February 15, 2019, and concluded on May 24, 2019. Jeremy Carver wrote the pilot, and served as an executive producer alongside Johns, Greg Berlanti, and Sarah Schechter. Production companies involved with the series include Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television. The series is influenced by writer Grant Morrison's run of the comic.
On July 20, 2019, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Doom Patrol had been renewed for a second season, which premiered on both DC Universe and WarnerMedia's video on demand service HBO Max on June 25, 2020. The season was originally intended to have 10 episodes, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production was shut down before the 10th episode could be completed and the season instead comprised nine episodes.

Casting

In July 2018, it was announced that April Bowlby, Brendan Fraser, and Matt Bomer would star in Doom Patrol as Rita Farr, the voice of Cliff Steele, and the voice of Larry Trainor, respectively, after being cast as the characters for guest appearances in Titans. Diane Guerrero was also announced to be joining Bowlby, Fraser, and Bomer as Jane. In August 2018, Joivan Wade was cast as Victor "Vic" Stone / Cyborg, Alan Tudyk was cast as Eric Morden / Mr. Nobody, and Riley Shanahan was cast to physically portray the cyborg version of Cliff. The next month, Timothy Dalton was cast as Niles Caulder / Chief and Matthew Zuk was cast in October 2018 to physically portray the bandage-covered Larry. In March 2019, Mark Sheppard was announced as Willoughby Kipling.
In January 2020, Roger Floyd was cast as Red Jack, a malevolent entity, in the series' second season. Other second-season castings that February included Abigail Shapiro as the Chief's superpowered daughter, Dorothy Spinner, and Karen Obilom as Roni Evers, a military veteran with a mysterious past who Vic meets while attending a PTSD support group. Samantha Marie Ware was cast as one of Jane's identities in March 2020, later revealed to be the former primary identity Miranda.

Filming

Principal photography for season one began on August 30, 2018, in Olde Town Conyers, Georgia. Filming continued in Georgia throughout September 2018, in Lawrenceville and at Briarcliff Mansion. Principal photography for season one officially wrapped on April 10, 2019.
Filming for the second season began November 2019 in Georgia.

Release

The first season of Doom Patrol premiered on DC Universe on February 15, 2019, with episodes releasing until May 24, 2019. The first season consists of 15 episodes. A second season premiered on both DC Universe and HBO Max on June 25, 2020.
In the United Kingdom, the first season was released exclusively on StarzPlay on January 2, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 96% approval rating based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 8.22/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "DC Universe finds breakout material in this iteration of Doom Patrol thanks to a fully committed cast and the writing's faith in weirdness." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 70 out of 100 based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Jesse Schedeen of IGN rated the series premiere 9.0 out of 10, stating that "Doom Patrol is the best reason yet to sign up for DC's streaming service. offers a wicked sense of humor with heart, wit and tragedy to spare. The cast works incredibly well to form an entertaining dysfunctional family."
The second season holds a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 24 reviews with an average rating of 8.23/10. Its critical consensus reads, "As entertaining as the first, but with more emotional depth, Doom Patrols second season explores darker corners without sacrificing any of its wonderful weirdness."

Accolades

Further media

''Titans''

, Larry Trainor, and Cliff Steele from the Doom Patrol continuity were intended to appear in the original season 1 finale of Titans. The appearances were removed after the original season finale was pulled.

Arrowverse

The Doom Patrol incarnations of Jane, Rita Farr, Vic Stone, Larry Trainor, and Cliff Steele make cameo appearances in the Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths", which depicts the series as taking place on the world of Earth-21. Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, Joivan Wade, Matthew Zuk, and Riley Shanahan appear in their respective roles from Doom Patrol.