(Photo by: HBO Max)
Another DC Universe series has been taken out. Last week, it was revealed that Doom Patrol and Titans had both been cancelled by HBO Max. Now, the Pennyworth series has also been cancelled and won’t be back for a fourth season.
A psychological thriller series, the Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler TV show is based on Batman and other DC Comics characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The drama stars Jack Bannon, Ben Aldridge, Emma Paetz, Paloma Faith, Ryan Fletcher, Dorothy Atkinson, Ramon Tikaram, Harriet Slater, and Simon Manyonda. The story unfolds in 1960s London and follows former British SAS soldier Alfred Pennyworth who works for American billionaire Thomas Wayne (Aldridge), the future father of Bruce “Batman” Wayne. Season three of begins after a five-year time jump: the civil war is over, and a cultural revolution has changed the world for better or worse — ushering in a new age of superheroes and supervillains.
The show launched in 2019 on the EPIX premium channel (recently rebranded as MGM+). Prior to the launch of the third season, Pennyworth was moved to HBO Max (owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns the DC characters) with the subtitle The Origin of Batman’s Butler. The last episode was released in late November.
The cancellation news follows yesterday’s announcement by DC co-CEOs Peter Safran and James Gunn regarding their plans for DC movies and shows. Pennyworth went unmentioned.
“While HBO Max is not moving forward with another season of Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler, we are very thankful to creator Bruno Heller and executive producers Matthew Patnick, Danny Cannon, and John Stephens, along with Warner Bros. Television, for their brilliant, unique, gripping depiction of the origin of Alfred Pennyworth, one of the most iconic characters in the Batman world,” said an HBO Max spokesperson. “An incredible blend of action, drama and humor, for three seasons, Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler has taken fans on a mind-bending ride into Alfred’s eccentric world and the beginnings of cutting-edge superheroes and super villains.”
What do you think? Have you watched the Pennyworth TV series? Are you disappointed that the show has been cancelled and won’t be returning for a fourth season?
Really could have used this show to tie in a DC universe that made sense. They went to fake/supernatural on the last season for a superhero who was just a “regular guy”(Batman). Alfred should have been depicted the same way. A regular guy who had extraordinary experiences. What has and continues to be the draw of Batman is he’s just a regular dude with way too much money and some underlying mental issues. That’s why the first hangover hit and the other two were not as good. Even though it was insane, it was still within the realms of reality.… Read more »