Just why did TNT pass on getting their own comic book show in Titans?
Though some may be complaining of Superhero fatigue, movies and TV shows based on comic books couldn’t be hotter right now, and don’t show any signs of slowing down. So it was a big surprise yesterday to learn that cable network TNT decided not to make the live-action show “Titans” it had in development based on the DC comic book team “Teen Titans”, featuring Dick Grayson as the leader of a team of young superheroes. We were initially offered a rather vague explanation of Titans not being a good fit for the network, but Turner Entertainment chief creative officer Kevin Reilly offered a more detailed explanation to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Akiva [Goldsman] is a talented guy, [but] the script just wasn’t there. There is an unbelievable glut of superhero things in the market right now and if you have a really good one, clearly people are up for it. But I just don’t think that there’s a need for one that, for me, at least on paper didn’t seem to be screaming to get made."
Reilly is right that there’s a glut of comic book shows, but I mean how many crime procedurals are there? Comic books aren’t just one thing, even in the super hero vein. But granted, if Titans was just seeming like an inferior version of a show like Legends of Tomorrow (really the only other team superhero show in existence right now), maybe it didn’t seem worth it to move forward.
Next: TNT Passes On Teen Titans Live Action Series
That being said, I think Titans could be great concept, it’s younger superheroes looking to be taken seriously by both the veteran superheroes and the more serious villains. No other TV show or movie is doing that angle, so the premise is certainly there. Titans doesn’t live or die by TNT so hopefully we might find news of it (or maybe even a different show based on Teen Titans) living on elsewhere.