Titans and Doom Patrol have both been canceled at HBO Max and will conclude after their respective fourth seasons, which continues the Arrowverse’s slow death. Created initially for the DC Universe app, which has since become a comics-exclusive platform, Titans and Doom Patrol combined the qualities of the Arrowverse with a more “streaming-like” structure of fewer episodes and more centered stories. Although very different shows, Titans and Doom Patrol shared many links and were arguably an extension of the Arrowverse.
While the Doom Patrol appeared in Titans, Titans and Doom Patrol were never part of the same universe. Likewise, there was never any direct crossover between Stephen Amell’s Arrow or Grant Gustin’s Flash with the Titans or the Doom Patrol. Still, the vast majority of the recent DC TV shows were linked to the Arrowverse on some level, especially after the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover.
Titans & Doom Patrol Cancellations Kill Another Part Of The Arrowverse
Three years after the Arrowverse showcased how large it had become with Crisis on Infinite Earths, the franchise that began with Arrow is now closer than ever to ending. Though neither Titans nor Doom Patrol was ever part of the same Earth as Arrow or The Flash, the shows were sort of Arrowverse-adjacents. Not only were Titans and Doom Patrol created by Arrowverse creator Greg Berlanti, but Titans was also briefly part of the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event. Now, less than a year after Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman were canceled and a few weeks before The Flash’s final season begins, Titans and Doom Patrol were canceled.
2022 also saw the cancellation of Stargirl, which, like Titans and Doom Patrol, was sort of Arrowverse-adjacent as it did not take place on Earth-Prime. Two years before that, Arrow had come to an end after eight seasons while Supergirl and Black Lightning were concluded with six and four seasons, respectively. As of now, The Flash and Superman & Lois are the only Arrowverse shows left. It is important to remember, however, that Superman & Lois is not on Earth-Prime as revealed in season 2, meaning that the Arrowverse franchise as audiences have known it since Arrow might be ending with The Flash season 9.
Why DC Cancelling Titans & Doom Patrol Makes Sense
The CW, HBO Max, and DC are all at a time of significant change that is already impacting which DC movies and shows are made. For example, according to The Hollywood Reporter, The CW is planning on reducing its number of scripted shows, which adds up to the recent Arrowverse cancellations. Likewise, following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, HBO Max's content strategy also appears to be changing – the DCEU Batgirl movie was canceled while J.J. Abrams’ Madame X and Constantine shows are no longer happening. In that scenario, Titans and Doom Patrol not returning for their respective fifth seasons makes sense.
In addition, the DC Universe as a franchise is also under significant changes. James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios is set to create a more unified DC universe involving not only live-action movies and shows but also animation and video games, with a Superman reboot already announced. Gunn's DCU could be a new beginning for the DC Universe across all media, which is why DC will probably focus its efforts on one universe rather than spreading the franchise even more. It’s important to notice, though, that the Titans and Doom Patrol cancellations had been decided before Gunn and Safran came on board according to Gunn himself (via Twitter).