SWAMP THING Heads to Broadcast TV, Leaving Questions About DC Universe

Nearly one year ago, the Swamp Thing series was cancelled after just one episode was made available on the DC Universe streaming service. At the time, word was that WarnerMedia had "put an emphasis on the launch of a new streaming platform," which was eventually named HBO Max and will launch on May 27.

Nowadays, the broadcast television networks are reshuffling their current and upcoming programming to fill up their allotted hours, so it's perhaps not a huge surprise that The CW has acquired rights to Swamp Thing and other shows that have previously aired to fill up their valuable broadcast hours. This is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned, because Swamp Thing is a good series that deserved a longer run than just 10 episodes and a wider audience than those who subscribed to DC Universe. But no recent announcements have been made about DC Universe. Perhaps more information will be revealed in the coming days before the HBO Max launch.

Still, it makes me wonder about the future of DC Universe as a streaming service. Recently, HBO Max announced details about their partnership in programming with anime service Crunchyroll, which may position it to compete with Netflix on that score, although the lineup makes it more of a competitor to Hulu and their anime offerings in partnership with Funimation.

I cancelled my subscription to DC Universe last year because of a lack of new and compelling series and this news sounds like it rings another warning sound about the streaming service's impending doom, but perhaps that's an overreaction. In any event, Swamp Thing is a good series, so check it out when it debuts on The CW or watch it on a 7-day trial subscription to DC Universe.