Doom Patrol showrunner on new DC baddies, new tragedies, and ‘new direction’ in Season 3 on HBO Max

In Season 3 of Doom Patrol, which premiered today on HBO Max, the gang meets a whole slew of new characters while trying to cope with grief and loss. In addition to introducing a time traveler named Madame Rouge (Michelle Gomez), the third season also promises to feature another gang of baddies, the Sisterhood of Dada, a green-skinned alien named Garguax (Stephen Murphy), and Brotherhood of Evil villains that include a scheming brain in a jar simply known as the Brain, and a talking gorilla named Monsieur Mallah.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, series showrunner Jeremy Carver, offered a few hints at the show’s new direction this season. For one thing, the new faces signal that Season 3 is taking inspiration from a wider pool of Doom Patrol comics than just those written by Grant Morrison in the 1980s.

"We have taken these really sort of beloved characters from the comics, such as the Sisterhood of Dada and the Brotherhood of Evil ... and we put a little bit of our own spin on them as we've done with other characters in the past," said Carver. 

Another big theme that the new season is exploring is having the characters cope with grief and tragedy, and finding ways to pull themselves out of despair.

"We're seeing a group of individuals, each in their own way, trying to climb out of the despair they've been in for many decades," Carver said. "Some find more success than others, some need to go even more rock-bottom before they can surface. But all of them will, by the end of the season, be at least pointed in a new direction."

In fact, Carver noted that the gang meets Garguax "when they're dealing with a massive grief."

"He used to be the leader of an alien world and was quite a fearful presence back in the '50s, when he was an ally of the Brotherhood of Evil,” he said. “Since then he has been living a very different existence and has been on one very particular mission, which has basically tested his faith in what he believes to be true. Will he continue to be loyal to an evil leader, or will he be loyal to himself? It's not unlike the Doom Patrol questioning where they stand in the aftermath of their own tragedy and loss.”

Based on characters created by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney, and Bruno Premiani, Doom Patrol is executive produced by Jeremy Carver, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Chris Dingess, and Tamara Becher-Wilkinson.

The first three episodes of Doom Patrol Season 3 are currently available to stream on HBO Max, with subsequent episodes dropping on a weekly basis every Thursday.