Through the Red, Beast Boy reunites with the Doom Patrol, meeting Cyborg, who hadn’t been with the team while he was with them years ago. The Doom Patrol helps send Beast Boy and his fellow displaced Titan Starfire back to their home universe of Earth-9 before continuing their own adventures on Earth-21, paving the way for Doom Patrol to enjoy its own series finale.
All the Changing Streaming Platforms
When Doom Patrol premiered in 2019, it was part of DC Studios’ premium streaming and digital comic reading platform DC Universe, which had launched the preceding year. As DC’s parent company WarnerMedia launched its own premium streaming service HBO Max in 2020, DC Universe series were co-produced and co-distributed through HBO Max, with Doom Patrol affected by this change starting with its second season. By early 2021, the streaming division of DC Universe was disbanded entirely, becoming a strictly digital comics platform, with the service’s original television series absorbed by HBO Max, including Doom Patrol.
As Doom Patrol’s third season and the first half of its fourth season ran on HBO Max, there would be one last change in platform before the show signed off for good. During the mid-season break for its final season, HBO Max rebranded in May 2023, shortening the name of the new platform simply to Max. When it’s all said and done, Doom Patrol will have aired on three different streaming services during its initial run, not counting foreign markets it was licensed to, like the British service StarzPlay and Australian service Binge.
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Sticking the Landing
As DC Studios has prepared for its new direction under co-CEOs Peter Safran and James Gunn, many of the DCTV programs that ran concurrently with Doom Patrol have since come to an end. With the exception of Superman & Lois, which is also set in its own continuity, The CW’s extensive DC programming block has since been canceled. The DC shows that initially were on DC Universe with Doom Patrol – Titans, Swamp Thing, Young Justice: Outsiders, Stargirl – have all already ended. Only the animated Harley Quinn remains to outlive Doom Patrol as it nears its series finale this November.
Simply put, the end of Doom Patrol truly feels like the end of an era for DC television adaptations that once flourished numerous channels and streaming platforms. But amidst all the behind-the-scenes restructuring and corporate politics, it’s a wonder that a show as quirky and wonderfully wacky as Doom Patrol survived as long as it did, much less that it survived long enough to end its story on its own terms. In an era where it feels like streamers drop shows on a moment’s notice, that’s certainly a victory in itself. The Doom Patrol is the biggest misfit superhero team on television but, for four glorious seasons, it got to hold its own against the most popular kids in school. Class dismissed.
The first two episodes of Doom Patrol season 4 part 2 are available to stream on Max now. New episodes premiere Thursdays culminating with the series finale on Nov. 9.
