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HBO Max at NYCC: 'Doom Patrol' showed singing butts and 'Titans' dropped Season 4 premiere date
"I'm just happy to have a job."
If you like your superhero television big and weird, then throw on HBO Max. Titans caused a storm years back when Dick Grayson said the line, "F*** Batman." That was only the beginning, because Doom Patrol followed, and that show went on to feature an army of toothy butts. The world of DC Comics on television hasn't been the same since.
Both shows held a giant panel at New York Comic Con 2022, where members of the casts and crews gathered to share what's next for both series. SYFY WIRE was there. "My bees!"
The Doom Patrol side of things came first, with cast members Brendan Fraser (Cliff Steele), Joivan Wade (Victor Stone), Michelle Gomez (Madame Rouge) and April Bowlby (Rita Farr) coming on stage. Fraser received a standing ovation, and he started out by saying that Diane Guerrero (Jane) was unable to be there, but that she said hello.
Season 3 saw Rita stepping up as the leader of group, and Season 4 will continue that journey. "You'll see, she gets a little pushy. She wants to be a professional about it... and she's back to square one," Bowlby said, adding that the elastic Rita is going to get a superhero costume.
Wade said that Vic may have been the frontrunner to be a leader, but he had a rough run that caused Rita to come out ahead. Fraser knows that Steele doesn't want to lead, saying, "Cliff's just glad to tag along." Gomez wouldn't want her character to lead either, saying, "No, no I wouldn't follow that woman anywhere."
She also alluded to her Doctor Who history as Missy, saying, "This show, I was able to get a time machine."
"It's every kid's dream to play a superhero," Wade said, saying later that he "loved Teen Titans as a kid" and that he particularly enjoyed playing the human side of Vic. Bowlby was happy about how the role has "stretched" her as an actress. As for Fraser? "I'm just happy to have a job," he said, reminding everyone that he only voices the character, aside from when we see him in flashbacks. Actor Riley Shanahan is the one in the robot suit on set.
Fraser also enjoys the "F-bombs" he drops on the show (which are numerous) and asked the audience to re-watch the series and count them all. "He gets it wrong, but he gets it right in the end," Fraser said of Cliff overall.
Was anything challenging for Gomez when it came to joining the show? Not really, it turns out. "None of it," she said. "I was just lucky to be there. I don't really think much about what I'm gonna do, except learn my lines." She later admitted that there was a challenge one day, when the schedule was changed and she was slightly unprepared. According to her, you can see Bowlby and herself searching for lines in Episode 8 of the new season.
Gomez continued to talk about her series dynamic with Farr. "There's a lot of sniffing around each other's butts, and there are a lot of butts in this show," she said, before saying that Bowlby's butt was a lovely one to sniff. Gomez and Bowlby get along fantastically in real life, with Bowlby getting more used to Gomez's occasional ad-libbing.
As for the epic battle with the butts? Wade praised the effects, but was sure to say that they had butts on-set to help the filming. "Practical butts... real asses," he said. "Big butts, and we cannot lie."
They also showed a trailer for Season 4, which included the butts singing and dancing to "Shipoopi" from The Music Man. Yep, Doom Patrol is coming back.
Doom Patrol Season 4 will stream on HBO Max on Dec. 8, 2022.
Titans took over next, and Brendan Thwaites (Dick Grayson), Joshua Orpin (Connor Kent), and Ryan Potter (Gar Logan) entered along with executive producer Greg Walker.
Anna Diop (Kory) appeared in a video message, announcing that the series will return Nov. 3, 2022 with a double episode premiere. The gang will be Metropolis-based.
"It's time for him to find out who he is," Orpin said of Connor in the new season. He's gone through puberty, and it's time for him to get real. Potter said that the season will deal with Gar's mental illness, and will show him "reaching deeper within himself." What exactly is going on with Gar's powers? Potter doesn't know, but the "semi-transformations" that the character is capable of will continue.
One of the big additions to Season 4 will be Titus Welliver as Lex Luthor, who was already a fan of the series. Walker expected to have to sell Welliver on the role, but he didn't have to. Welliver loves comics, and he loves TItans. As Walker said, "He's a deep, deep fan."
Lex isn't the only Superman standby coming to the show. "We are showing the Daily Planet, we half-built the LexCorp Tower," Walker said, adding that they also show S.T.A.R. Labs.
The audience saw an exclusive clip which showcased some Lex (his voice, anyway), and Welliver is chilling. Gar and Rachel look pretty cozy, too. Take a look at it below.
Not seen in the clip is Gar's new suit, which is red and white. Also new, or new again, is the relationship between Dick and Kory. They will get their groove back, according to Thwaites.
"Season 4 is the season we realize we have feelings for each other, and it starts to flourish again," he said.
They showed a trailer for the new season (which can be seen above) and ended by promising that some other characters from Titans lore will be appearing this season. Fans will have to stream the season to see who they are.
Titans Season 4 will stream on HBO Max on Nov. 3.
Click here for all of SYFY WIRE's continuing coverage of New York Comic Con 2022.
Looking for some sci-fi fun and adventure? Check out Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Warehouse 13, Eureka, SYFY's Resident Alien, Sliders, Intergalactic and more on Peacock now.
