Would a Hawk and Dove spin-off work on DC Universe and HBO Max?

Would viewers actually back a Hawk and Dove spin-off of DC’s flagship team-up show and how would it play out?

Last month, Collider Live learned that DC Universe had plans to develop a spin-off of their flagship web-television series, Titans. The series would have starred the characters of Hawk and Dove. Although, the question is would that actually work and how would it do well on DC Universe and HBO Max?

Seasoned Smallville star turned Titans series regular, Alan Ritchson, started when he first signed on for the latter show on DC Universe. The creative team suggested there would be a possibility of a spin-off featuring his character, Hank Hall/Hawk, with his co-star, Minka Kelly, who plays Dawn Granger/Dove. This is what Ritchson said:

"“We had an interesting deal going into that where it was this dual ‘We’ll put you on Titans for a little bit and just see how those characters go. If it goes well here’s another deal for your own show; we want to do a Hawk and Dove thing, but we’ve got to figure out this platform first.”"

Of the characters that have appeared on Titans, especially during the first season, it was mainly select, recurring characters like the vigilante duo, outside of the four core main characters (i.e. Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing, Kory Anders/Starfire/Princess Koriand’r, Rachel Roth and Gar Logan/Beast Boy), that had a positive reception.

So a Hawk and Dove show could possibly work in theory, but there are pressing matters that could hurt the show. One of them is longevity and whether or not Hawk and Dove are appealing enough to stand on their own.

A Hawk and Dove spin-off is equally as comparable to a cancelled spin-off TV series of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD entitled Marvel’s Most Wanted, that centered on Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) and Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki). The show was set to receive a pilot order from ABC back during the autumn of 2015 before the network decided not to pick it up for series, according to Slash Film.

Production on the pilot was completed by March 2016. It was considered “a no brainer” by industry insiders to pass on it because the executives felt the pilot episode was not strong in comparison to others that were shot. Channing Dungey, who was fairly new as President of ABC at the time, may have also been a contributing factor.

Shifting back to the Hawk and Dove, the main strength that’s present is Hank and Dawn’s complex relationship, as well as the relationship between Ritchson and Kelly, who have distinct chemistry on screen. In order for this to work, there has to be a series bible planned in advance for the first two to three seasons.

It will be a lot easier to break story on original limited series for subscription-based and alternate over-the-top (OTT) media services than network TV (i.e. cable, satellite) due to the format being 15 episodes max per season and as low as 6 episodes, which is rare, especially here in the US and Canada. As opposed to a 22/23 episode season on network TV, the former would be less expensive.

Before discussing DC Universe and HBO Max, the pressing discussion is the story and what the focal point should be outside of the Titans. The unique selling point of Hawk and Dove is that they are essentially “damaged” individuals, with both having suffered abuse at a young age. But the creative team has a chance to cover adult themes and current affairs that affect America like child abuse, drug addiction, gun control, arms dealing and drug trafficking, antisocial behavior, violent crime, racial profiling, xenophobia, child abduction, kidnapping, rival gang violence and so many others.

Perhaps the first season can focus on Hawk and Dove fighting crime in their base of operations on the West Coast while dealing with each other on a less personal level and working towards being active in their native and larger community outside their large scale duties with the Titans.

Essentially, this will be an original superhero drama but with crime, romance and action as a counterbalance. The problem with the Hulu series, Marvel’s Runaways is the protagonists of that particular show only work in a group among other problems. The same principle applies here except the way to negate it is by introducing characters from the larger DC Universe as guests. This could in the form of sporadic cameos from characters like Dick Grayson/Nightwing, the other Titans or maybe one of the Birds of Prey. Some of the major events between Hawk and Dove happened amongst the latter group and Justice League in the comics.

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Season 2 can deal with the crime-fighting duo and how they work with other heroes, and it can connect with the same continuity Titans or Doom Patrol. Following that, season 3 can break the status quo slightly with one of the League members (i.e. Wally West/The Flash III or John Stewart/Green Lantern) needing their help for a task that is even bigger than one of the Titans’ exploits.

At this present moment, the streaming wars have already begun, with Netflix and Amazon standing on their own and Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus just entering the game. DC Universe launched over a year ago, and gaining subscribers has been rumored to be a challenge for the service compared to Hulu. In spite of this, WarnerMedia and AT&T have another service in development in HBO Max, which will arrive in May 2020. and the DC-exclusive service  assured their subscribers it’s “going strong.” What does this have to do with Hawk and Dove?

When you consider that Crunchyroll and its anime library will be included in its WarnerMedia content on HBO Max (Adult Swim, Cartoon Network and The CW just to name a few.) Its biggest competitor is Disney Plus, when it comes to live-action TV although DC managed to dominate in this area for the last five years thanks to the Arrowverse. That could change with the recent shake-up at Marvel and Disney Plus’ overall forthcoming slate. Hawk and Dove’s longevity would depend on Titans’ fanbase, HBO Max’s success, Warner’s marketing strategy and finally, compelling content from strong and credible talent.