Titans | |
---|---|
Season 1 | |
Showrunner | Greg Walker |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 11 |
Release | |
Original network | DC Universe |
Original release | October 12 December 21, 2018 | –
Season chronology | |
The first season of the American superhero streaming television series Titans premiered on DC Universe on October 12, 2018, and concluded on December 21, consisting of 11 episodes. It was executive produced by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Greg Walker, with Walker serving as showrunner. Created by Goldsman, Johns, and Berlanti, the series is based on the DC Comics team Teen Titans. Featured in the main cast are Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, and Ryan Potter. The season also introduces Alan Ritchson, Minka Kelly, Curran Walters, and Conor Leslie, who would join the main cast in the following season. The first season marks the live-action debut of the Teen Titans, as well as the launch of DC Universe's original scripted programming.
In the first season, vigilante Dick Grayson (Thwaites) leaves Gotham City for Detroit in an effort to distance himself from his mentor Bruce Wayne. When the mysterious Rachel Roth (Croft) comes to Dick for protection from dangerous forces pursuing her, Dick finds himself thrust into action as he struggles to distance himself from his Robin persona and control his violent urges. Joined by Kory Anders (Diop), an amnesiac woman with solar-based powers, and Gar Logan (Potter), an animal shapeshifter, the four battle a threat that puts the entire world at risk.
Development of a live-action series based on Teen Titans began in 2014 when the project was picked up by TNT. A pilot written by Goldsman and Marc Haimes was ordered, but never filmed, and TNT passed on the project in 2016. The following year, Warner Bros. announced that the project would move forward in 2018 as the first scripted series for DC Universe. Initially planned to comprise 12 episodes, the original finale would be removed and the intended penultimate episode became the season finale. The season's story was primarily inspired by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez's The New Teen Titans comics from the 1980s.
The season received generally positive reviews, with praise for the story, characters, and performances. Criticism was directed towards the violent tone and the finale's cliffhanger ending. The second season, which was announced ahead of the first season's premiere, would use the original finale as the basis for its premiere episode.
In addition to being the first live-action adaptation of the Teen Titans, the season serves as the live-action introduction for the DC Comics team Doom Patrol, who appear in the self-titled fourth episode. The characters introduced would later be featured in an eponymous series on DC Universe, with April Bowlby, Matt Bomer, and Brendan Fraser reprising their roles as Rita Farr, Larry Trainor, and Cliff Steele, although it occupies a separate continuity from Titans.