Swamp Thing is an American superhero television series created by Gary Dauberman and Mark Verheiden for DC Universe, based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The series follows medical doctor Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed) encountering the eponymous Swamp Thing (Derek Mears), a plant-elemental creature who fights malevolent forces around a Louisiana swamp.
The series premiered on May 31, 2019, and consisted of 10 episodes. Shortly after its premiere, DC Universe announced that Swamp Thing had been canceled. The remaining episodes were released on DC Universe until the series' conclusion on August 2, 2019. The series received positive reviews from critics, particularly for the series' horror elements and practical monster effects.
Abby Arcane returns home to Marais, Louisiana, to investigate a deadly swamp-borne virus, where she develops a bond with disgraced scientist Alec Holland. After Holland tragically dies, Abby discovers the mysteries of the swamp and that Holland might not be dead after all.
In May 2018, DC Universe gave the production a script-to-series order. Mark Verheiden and Gary Dauberman were attached to write the first episode of the series and executive produce alongside James Wan and Michael Clear. Rob Hackett served as a co-producer. Production companies included Atomic Monster and Warner Bros. Television. Len Wiseman directed the series' first episode in addition to serving as an executive producer.
Despite being released on DC Universe, the series does not exist in the same fictional universe as the service's other live-action series, including Titans and Doom Patrol. On June 6, 2019, the series was canceled one week after its premiere aired.
In September 2018, Crystal Reed and Maria Sten were cast in the main roles of Abby Arcane and Liz Tremayne, respectively. Jennifer Beals was also cast in the recurring role of Sheriff Lucilia Cable, although she would later be revealed to be part of the main cast. More series regulars were later revealed, with Jeryl Prescott cast as Madame Xanadu, Virginia Madsen as Maria Sunderland, Will Patton as Avery Sunderland, Andy Bean as Alec Holland with Derek Mears as the Swamp Thing, Henderson Wade as Matt Cable, and Kevin Durand as Jason Woodrue. Ian Ziering joined the cast in the recurring role of Daniel Cassidy / Blue Devil, and Leonardo Nam was cast as Harlan Edwards in a recurring role.
Principal photography for the series commenced in early November 2018 in Wilmington, North Carolina, and wrapped on May 6, 2019.
In April 2019, production for the series was unexpectedly cut short due to creative differences with DC Universe's parent company WarnerMedia, thus reducing the original episode order from 13 to 10 episodes. Further reports stated that the series was canceled due to budget shortfalls after the expected level of tax rebates offered by the state of North Carolina were substantially reduced. A representative from DC Universe said that the streaming service was being re-evaluated and that there were no plans for a second season. The spokesman did not elaborate explicitly on why specifically the show was canceled.
Mears described the cancellation as a "heartbreaker" and felt the decision to cancel the show showed a "lack of respect" on DC's part. He added that members of the production had been told up until the cancellation "how amazing everything was... So it's a weird nebulous space that we're all in now because we don't know officially why that would happen, or why they canceled it". In mid-2019, a movement with the hashtag #SaveSwampThing began spreading on social media shortly after the series was cancelled in an attempt to save the series. Mears also showed his support of the movement. With The CW network acquiring the broadcast rights to the series, The CW president Mark Pedowitz did not rule out the possibility of renewing the series for a second season, but in January 2021, Pedowitz said it was unlikely the series would return on The CW and also commented that there was a slim possibility of Swamp Thing appearing on other Arrowverse series, such as Legends of Tomorrow.
Swamp Thing premiered May 31, 2019, on DC Universe. Despite being canceled not long after its premiere, DC Universe continued to release the remaining episodes of the series, with the finale being released on August 2, 2019. Swamp Thing: The Complete Series was released digitally on December 2, 2019, and on DVD and Blu-ray on February 11, 2020.
In 2020, The CW acquired the broadcast rights to the series. It began airing on the network from October 6 to December 22 in the same year.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 92% approval rating based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 7.32/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "By leaning into the horror of it all, Swamp Thing swims deep into the trenches of this strange world and returns with a scary good TV show." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 69 out of 100 based on reviews from 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
David Griffin, writing for IGN, said the series properly "honors the comic book origins" of Swamp Thing and praised the performance of Crystal Reed, Virginia Madsen, and Will Patton, as well as the film-making style of Wiseman. Griffin particularly praised the Swamp Thing's practical suit and found that any CGI used was not distracting. Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter praised the creepy atmosphere and found the cast performances to be strong enough to carry episodes even when the monster was not on screen.
In a more mixed review, Kevin Yeoman, writing for Screen Rant, approved of the "nausea-inducing practical effects" reminiscent of John Carpenter's The Thing but criticized the writing and pacing and found the decision to not reveal Swamp Thing until the final moments of the pilot episode to be frustrating. Joel Keller of Decider found the horror elements made up for generic characters and an uninteresting mystery plot line.
The series was nominated at the 2019 Saturn Awards for Best Streaming Superhero Television Series. Matthew Llewellyn as music editor on "The Anatomy Lesson" was nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Music Score and Musical for Episodic Short Form Broadcast Media award at the 2019 MPSE Golden Reel Awards.
Before the cancellation of the Swamp Thing series, there were plans to introduce Justice League Dark and create a spin-off series based on that team.
Swamp Thing, as depicted in the series, makes a cameo appearance in the Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths" through archival footage of Mears as the character. The event depicts Swamp Thing as being set on the world of Earth-19.
Swamp Thing, as depicted in the series, makes a cameo appearance in the Titans episode "Dude, Where's My Gar?" via archival footage.
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