Swamp Thing James Wan is bringing Swamp Thing to DC's streaming service!

[TMP98]

This is why I'm praying for Watchmen to be a hit. It might be too late for Swamp Thing, but HBO is probably our only hope for some proper production values for any DC shows going forward, so they need to see the value and potential in DC properties.

No doubt it'll be an amazing show; Lindelof's last HBO show The Leftovers was a flat-out masterpiece. Also important: Leftovers season 2 had anemic viewership, but HBO execs loved it so much they still gave Lindelof a third season - which ended up being the best reviewed season in all of 2017 - as well as Watchmen soon after.
Also, gonna be funny having a female led DC show starring Oscar winners Regina King and Jeremy Irons playing at the same time as a female led DC show starring... Ruby Rose.

 

[Marvolo]

An "accounting error" (apparently some necessary paperwork not being filed by the NC government) resulted in DC/WB not getting a $40mil tax rebate they were promised for shooting there, which was supposed to cover half the budget.

Seems rash to cancel without giving NC a chance to correct the error.

 

[flickchick85]

Seems rash to cancel without giving NC a chance to correct the error.

I mean, considering they halted production weeks ago, seems like they probably gave them that chance.

 

[lespaul59]

In a official post in the community section of the DC Universe a mod says there are no current plans for a season 2. I've never been a fan of how they rotate content in the first place and now they cancel a show I was excited about. I love Doom Patrol but don't really care about Titans. Without knowing how the deal with North Carolina works why not just move production. Ever since the trouble started with ST I've been expecting to wake up and see that the DCU app is ending. Half the time I feel like I'm wasting $8 a month as it is. And they're still probably only going to release one episode a week.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[-Arya-]

So...episode 2 is tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll wash out the bad taste left over from today.

 

[Lighthouse]

Just cancelled my subscription. Swamp Thing was the whole reason I got the service.

 

[-Arya-]

Just cancelled my subscription. Swamp Thing was the whole reason I got the service.

Not curious how the rest of the season plays out?

 

[Lighthouse]

I'm prepaid for the next 2 months.

 

[-Arya-]

Oh so you can still access the app even if you canceled? That’s cool. Hope you enjoy the season.

 

[Mister J]

Crap news. The pilot was unique in tone from what the other original offerings are or look to be (which I red might have been part of the problem) and had me more excited than Titans (OK) or Doom Patrol (pretty good). Seems odd to announce it within a week of the first episode. Eh. Hope the remaining eps build in goodness.

 

[Yowza]

That tax break becoming unlikely after the entire season is almost done filming is just surreal. Is that the only reason? I wonder.

So what i gather at the moment is that DC products are messed with constantly because of stupid bureaucracy...god damn it.

The Swamp Thing pilot was freaking amazing, damn shame how this turns out.

I think this happens too often with comic properties in general with every single studio for the most part.

It's a shame Swamp Thing was cancelled so quickly as I was looking forward to this show the most.

 

[Kuwolski]

What a shame.

 

[Marvolo]

I mean, considering they halted production weeks ago, seems like they probably gave them that chance.

Could it be that NC is refusing to give them the tax break because WB/DC halted production and didnt produce 13 episodes? Or could it be that NC got word that WB was going to cancel the show? Afaik, these tax breaks are given because the production employees citizens of the state and bring in revenue and attention for the state. I have to imagine that cutting 3 episodes from the season would eliminate a sizable chunk of the production schedule which would be a chunk of working hours that the production wouldnt be providing NC employees.

And if NC heard through the grape vine that the show was canceled NC may have realized they were giving a $40 million tax break for a dead production and told WB to **** off.

 

[flickchick85]

Could it be that NC is refusing to give them the tax break because WB/DC halted production and didnt produce 13 episodes? Or could it be that NC got word that WB was going to cancel the show? Afaik, these tax breaks are given because the production employees citizens of the state and bring in revenue and attention for the state. I have to imagine that cutting 3 episodes from the season would eliminate a sizable chunk of the production schedule which would be a chunk of working hours that the production wouldnt be providing NC employees.

And if NC heard through the grape vine that the show was canceled NC may have realized they were giving a $40 million tax break for a dead production and told WB to **** off.

The scuttlebutt is that the shutdown happened BECAUSE of the tax break situation. Like, as soon as they learned they were not getting their rebate, they didn't want to spend another dime. North Carolina newspapers have apparently been reporting on it regularly these last several weeks, and the trades only just now got around to it. It definitely sounds like the NC gov't are the **** ups here, though.

EDIT: Here's a Twitter thread giving the alleged rundown:

I suspect the delay in cancellation was just them trying to find alternative solutions, as that initial budget (rebate included) made it their most expensive show, so too expensive to just eat the additional costs, and too expensive to move the production. One of the trades (I think) said WB/AT&T didn't want to sink more money into it because they weren't comfortable about its commercial prospects (for international deals a la Titans on Netflix), and wanted it to be "more like the CW shows." But apparently, it's got nothing to do with its performance because the pilot viewing numbers are allegedly quite solid.

 

[flickchick85]

It costs too much money for what you get. They should be charging around $4 a month. Disney+ is around the corner, and you'll be getting a LOT more content, and it'll be cheaper than DCU. It's just not worth the price. You could probably binge watch everything on the entire platform in under a month. There's really not that much there.

Uh, comics? The DC back-catalogue of comics (and new ones up to a year prior) is a huge part of the appeal. Marvel Unlimited charges $10/month for the same service but WITHOUT movies/tv shows, and that does fine, so how is this overpriced?

Honestly, they botched the roll-out for this service so hard. They should have first marketed it as DC's (lower-priced) answer to Marvel Unlimited, and included all those comics from the start instead of the "rotating featured selections" they started out with. That would've gotten DC fans properly on board at launch, as a lot of us had been waiting years for that service. And they should've included all the major platforms at launch, too. THEN rollout the shows and movies. Instead of pushing it as a "streaming service to compete with Netflix, etc" which it was (and IS) woefully ill-equipped to be (especially by using the highly unimpressive Titans as your big selling-point), it would've been a "haven for comics fans." But the way they did it, the comics aspect got lost in the shuffle, to the point that a lot of DC fans don't even know that most of their back-catalogue is on there now, because they wrote off the whole enterprise months ago.

 

[jolldan]

That sucks for Swamp Thing fans.

Im still waiting for DC to put Doom Patrol on Netflix here in the UK, honestly this streaming service seems like more of a carry on than anything.

 

[chamber-music]

really disappointed with the cancellation. i feel like $80 million budget for a 13 episode TV show is a lot tho.

I bet the whole DC service didnt gross that much

This demanded a high budget considering the effects and location you need to pull of off Swamp thing off. A Swamp Thing that has B movie level quality like the old eighties movies and nineties show probably would fly with today's audiences.

It would of been cool to see HBO take a crack at Swamp Thing but I doubt they would unless it had some prestige talent behind it. Wan and Wiseman are successful but don't have the kind of awards worthy cred HBO looks for in it's show creators.

 

[TMP98]

Really good second episode. I like how it's structured like a horror mystery show.
Also, holy ****, the production value is insane. Everything in the final set piece was so good, especially the set itself. Loved the practical effects of swampy so much.

 

[-Arya-]

Yup, the second episode is great. They are really taking their time to build the world and its characters. Those last 10-15 minutes are a knockout.

 

[Yowza]

Why do all these streaming sites need to be totally separate and how many subscription or rental based sites does WB/AT&T own?

They could easily just cross-advertise the DC streaming platform even linking directly to this website portal to watch certain shows for those subscribed to other platforms to attract more people (or renting episodes specifically from something like a digital version of Redbox). The DC streaming service can then be advertised as something to subscribe to exclusively in order to read the comics on it as well...

This would allow more income potential for these shows one would think.

 

[Zorro]

It's a damn shame this got cancelled. Swampy is awesome!

 

[Gee]

Great episode. The production value is indeed fantastic.

 

[flickchick85]

Damn I love this show. I really appreciate how it's taking its time (I mean we've seen less than 5 mins of Swamp Thing over two episodes), developing the characters and setting, but it never feels slow.

 

[Pennywise]

Swamp Thing: North Carolina Denies Tax Break Miscommunication

Guy Gaster, the Director of the North Carolina Film Office, contacted CBR to clarify that the state and Warner Bros. entered into their contract with both parties fully aware of how the numbers would break down. Further, Mr. Gaster provided the amount of the tax rebate, as well as the actual tax break amount Swamp Thing was eligible to receive for its pilot episode, and Season 1 overall.

The production team for Swamp Thing knew before production began that North Carolina would offer up to $4.9M in rebates for their pilot episode and $12M for the remainder of season one. They accepted said offer and even signed a contract with the state with those figures. Per state legislation, the NC Film and Entertainment grant can only award up to $12M per season for a series. Per the program’s guidelines, pilot episodes are counted as their own series. In total, the program only receives $31M annually.