Doom Patrol is the only DC Universe series that will cross over and also stream on HBO Max, and now we know it's mainly for budget reasons. The superhero show, which debuted on DC's streaming service in 2019, has proven to be a popular addition to the DC Universe roster, and was met with mainly positive reviews by critics too.

That led to the show being renewed, with DC officially announcing in summer 2019 that Doom Patrol season 2 would premiere on both DC Universe and HBO Max. Many fans wondered why the show was the only DC Universe property to cross over to the new streaming service, aside from that fact that HBO Max wants to bolster its DC content upon launch.

Related: What To Expect From Doom Patrol Season 2

But now HBO Max's content chief Kevin Reilly has revealed to Business Insider that it's thanks to the show's hefty budget. In a wide-ranging interview, Reilly said that it was necessary to bring Doom Patrol to HBO Max in order to service a larger fan base, and thus justify its higher budget compared to other DC Universe shows like Titans. He said:

"DC is such a valuable entity to us and the depth of fandom is so important. So we really want to figure out how we walk this line for fans where we have a deep fan engagement, which is why DCU was designed, and a broader fan engagement. That is evolving but there were high-end series that DCU produced that felt like, budgetarily, we could handle from a business model better, and bring along and service that swath of fans. Doom Patrol was a show we identified that had deep love for it and tucked right into our portfolio."

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The interview goes on to confirm that, at the moment, there are no plans for other shows from DC Universe to cross over to HBO Max, which launched on May 27. Doom Patrol season 2 will premiere on June 25, with the first three episodes available for streaming on HBO Max right away, followed by weekly episode premieres for the following six weeks, in addition to the show being released weekly on DC Universe. The main cast, including Brendan Fraser (Cliff Steele), Matt Bomer (Larry Trainor), April Bowlby (Rita Farr), Diane Guerrero (Crazy Jane), Jovian Wade (Victor Stone), Alan Tudyk (Mr. Nobody), and Timothy Dalton (Dr. Niles Caulder) will return for the upcoming season, where they'll be joined by Abigail Shapiro as Dorothy Spinner, Dr. Caulder's daughter.

Reilly's comments confirm that Doom Patrol is seen as a premium offering by DC. But it's also clear that the show wasn't reaching a large enough audience on DC Universe, a streaming platform that is facing an uncertain future, to justify its large budget. But now with a much larger potential audience on HBO Max, including casual television fans who might stumble across the show in between viewings of Friends, South Park and the Harry Potter films, it's clear that executives feel they'll be able to reap the returns required of an expensive show like Doom Patrol.

More: Every Original Movie & TV Show Coming To HBO Max

Source: Business Insider