Titans (2018 TV series)

Titans
File:Titans (2018 TV series) title card.png
Genre	Action Adventure Science fiction Superhero Drama
Based on	Teen Titans by Bob Haney Bruno Premiani
Developed by	Akiva Goldsman Geoff Johns Greg Berlanti
Starring	Brenton Thwaites Anna Diop Teagan Croft Ryan Potter Curran Walters Conor Leslie Minka Kelly Alan Ritchson Esai Morales Chelsea Zhang Joshua Orpin
Composer(s)	Clint Mansell Kevin Kiner
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	24 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Akiva Goldsman Geoff Johns Greg Berlanti Sarah Schechter Greg Walker John Fawcett
Producer(s)	Robert Ortiz
Production location(s)	Toronto, Ontario
Cinematography	Boris Mojsovski Brendan Steacy Fraser Brown
Editor(s)	Tirsa Hackshaw Brian Wessel Sara Mineo Andrew Kasch Carol Stutz Brandon Hwang JD Dawson
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	40–50 minutes
Production company(s)	Weed Road Pictures Berlanti Productions DC Entertainment Warner Bros. Television
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	DC Universe
Original release	October 12, 2018 (2018-10-12) – present (present)
Chronology
Related shows	Doom Patrol
External links
Official website

Titans is an American web television series created by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, and Greg Berlanti for DC Universe. Based on the DC Comics team Teen Titans, the series depicts a group of young heroes who join forces in their fight against evil. Featured as members of the eponymous Titans are Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites), Kory Anders (Anna Diop), Rachel Roth (Teagan Croft), Gar Logan (Ryan Potter), Jason Todd (Curran Walters), Donna Troy (Conor Leslie), Dawn Granger (Minka Kelly), Hank Hall (Alan Ritchson), Rose Wilson (Chelsea Zhang), and Conner (Joshua Orpin).

A live-action series based on the Teen Titans entered development in September 2014 for the cable channel TNT, with Goldsman and Marc Haimes writing the pilot. The pilot had been ordered by December 2014, but never came to fruition, with TNT announcing in January 2016 it would no longer be moving forward with the project. In April 2017, it was announced that the series was being redeveloped for DC Universe as its first original scripted program with Goldsman, Johns, and Berlanti attached. Thwaites was cast as Grayson in September 2017, and other series regulars were cast between August and October 2017.

Titans premiered on October 12, 2018, and its first season comprised eleven episodes. A thirteen-episode second season premiered on September 6, 2019, and a third season is scheduled to premiere in 2020. Characters introduced in Titans later reappeared in the DC Universe series Doom Patrol, although Doom Patrol is set in a separate continuity.

Premise

Titans follows the young superheroes of the eponymous team as they combat evil and other perils. Disbanded when the story begins, the series sees the team return when the original and new members reform the Titans. The Titans fight crime throughout various locations, with their base of operations in San Francisco.

The first members of the team to appear in the series are Batman's former vigilante partner Dick Grayson, extraterrestrial Kory Anders, empath Rachel Roth, and shapeshifter Garfield "Gar" Logan. Dick is later revealed as one of the original Titans, alongside half-Amazon Donna Troy and crime-fighting duo Dawn Granger and Hank Hall. After the Titans reform, the team is joined by Batman's new partner Jason Todd, assassin Rose Wilson, and genetic clone Conner.

In the first season, Rachel comes to Dick for protection from dangerous forces pursuing her, which leads to them meeting and teaming up with Kory and Gar. The heroes eventually learn that Rachel is being targeted by her demon father Trigon, who seeks to enslave the world. The season also depicts Dick's efforts to distance himself from his mentor and his Robin persona, while Kory struggles with a bout of amnesia that leaves her unaware of her true identity.

The second season focuses on the official reformation of the Titans as Dick leads a new team composed of Rachel, Gar, and Jason. The Titans' return, however, leads to the reemergence of feared assassin Deathstroke, whose prior conflict with the original team caused their disbanding. As Deathstroke attempts to eliminate the heroes, the original Titans are forced to face him again, while other threats emerge from the malevolent Cadmus Laboratories and Kory's younger sister Blackfire.

Cast and characters

File:Titans TV cast members.jpeg

The Titans as they appear in the first season (L–R): Gar (Ryan Potter), Rachel (Teagan Croft), Dick (Brenton Thwaites), and Kory (Anna Diop)

Main

• Brenton Thwaites as Richard "Dick" Grayson / Robin / Nightwing: The leader of the Titans and former vigilante sidekick of Batman, seeking to move past his mentor and his Robin persona. A member of the original team, he reforms the Titans while assuming the new identity of Nightwing. Viewing his character as a "reluctant leader", Thwaites said that Dick is "trying to figure out who he is at the same time he's trying to keep the crew protected and safe." Tomaso Sanelli plays the young Dick Grayson.
• Anna Diop as Koriand'r / Kory Anders / Starfire: An extraterrestrial royal from the planet Tamaran who has the ability to absorb, generate and redirect ultraviolet energy and heat from her hands. Sent to Earth to assassinate Rachel, a bout of amnesia causes Kory to forget her mission and sends her on a journey to discover who she really is. Diop commented that the character has a "really innocent, naïve, pure, fun, curious thing about her", which she sought to bring to her portrayal, and enjoyed playing an alien because of her immigration from Senegal to the United States at an early age.
• Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth: An empath born to a demon father and human mother. At first understanding little of her lineage and abilities, Rachel's powers lead her to Dick and subsequently becoming a member of the new Titans. Croft noted Rachel's relationship with Dick is "more of a father-daughter relationship" since they both "share the same feeling of abandonment."
• Ryan Potter as Garfield "Gar" Logan: A shapeshifter who developed the power to transform into animals from a drug that cured him of a lethal disease. Gar previously lived with the Doom Patrol before joining Dick's new Titans team. A fan of the character since he watched the animated Teen Titans series, Potter described Gar as bringing "a warmth to the show" through "humor and lighthearted moments".
• Curran Walters as Jason Todd / Robin (season 2; recurring season 1): Dick's successor as Batman's vigilante sidekick who is brought into the new Titans team at the request of Bruce Wayne. According to Walters, Jason has both a "fun" and a "dark side" and transitioning between the two was the most challenging aspect of portraying the character.
• Conor Leslie as Donna Troy / Wonder Girl (season 2; guest season 1): An adopted member of the Amazons sharing their enhanced physical abilities. Formerly Wonder Woman's sidekick, she befriended Dick at an early age and was in the original Titans team. Leslie noted that Donna has "a brother-sister friendship" with Dick and the two "understand each other in a way no one else ever will." Andi Hubick portrays Donna Troy as a teenager and Afrodite Drossos portrays Donna as a child.
• Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger / Dove (season 2; recurring season 1): A vigilante who serves as a tactical counterpart to her partner and boyfriend Hank. She was also a member of the original Titans team and previously in a relationship with Dick. Kelly described Dawn's fighting style as "more that of a dance" due to the character's background in ballet, jiu-jitsu, and gymnastics, whereas Hank "is a brute and just blows stuff up."
• Alan Ritchson as Hank Hall / Hawk (season 2; recurring season 1): The aggressive half in a vigilante duo composed of himself and his girlfriend Dawn. In addition to forming the Hawk and Dove team with his half-brother Don, he was part of the original Titans. Initially reluctant to take the role because he previously portrayed Aquaman on the series Smallville, Ritchson said that he accepted the part after hearing a pitch from series co-creator Geoff Johns. Tait Blum portrays the young Hank.
• Esai Morales as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke (season 2): A biologically-enhanced assassin and former Delta Force operator who has a history with the original Titans. Morales stated that Deathstroke's conflict against the Titans is "personal" for him "because you don't mess with a man's family".
• Chelsea Zhang as Rose Wilson (season 2): Deathstroke's daughter, who shares his enhanced reflexes and regenerative healing.
• Joshua Orpin as Subject 13 / Conner (season 2): A genetic clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, possessing the abilities and personality traits of both. Created at Cadmus Laboratories, he comes into contact with the Titans after escaping from the facility with Krypto. The character was previously portrayed by body double Brooker Muir in the first season.

Recurring

• Rachel Nichols as Angela Azarath: Rachel's biological mother, secretly in allegiance with Trigon.
• Seamus Dever as Trigon: An interdimensional demon with the power to destroy worlds and Rachel's father. Dever also portrays Frank Finney, a Gotham City police captain, along with an ice cream truck driver and a drug supplier in the illusions created by Trigon.
• Reed Birney as Dr. Adamson (season 1): A high-ranking member of Trigon's organization.
• Jeff Clarke as Nuclear Dad (season 1): The patriarch of the Nuclear Family.
• Melody Johnson as Nuclear Mom (season 1): The matriarch of the Nuclear Family.
• Jeni Ross as Nuclear Sis (season 1): The daughter/sister figure of the Nuclear Family.
• Logan Thompson as Nuclear Biff (season 1): The son/brother figure of the Nuclear Family.
• Iain Glen as Bruce Wayne / Batman (season 2): A billionaire who moonlights as a feared vigilante in Gotham City and Dick's former mentor. The character was previously portrayed by stunt doubles Alain Moussi and Maxim Savarias in the first season.
• Michael Mosley as Dr. Arthur Light (season 2): A former physicist who turned criminal after gaining the ability to control light energy.
• Chella Man as Jericho (season 2): Deathstroke's mute son and Rose's half-brother, who has the power to possess other people's bodies through eye contact.
• Raoul Bhaneja as Walter Hawn (season 2): The vice president of special projects at Cadmus Laboratories.
• Natalie Gumede as Mercy Graves (season 2): The personal security specialist to Lex Luthor, assigned to oversee Cadmus Laboratories.
• Demore Barnes as William Wintergreen (season 2): Deathstroke's handler and friend.
• Mayko Nguyen as Adeline (season 2): Jericho's mother and Deathstroke's ex-wife.

Guest

Introduced in season 1

• Lindsey Gort as Amy Rohrbach: A Detroit police detective partnered with Dick Grayson.
• Jarreth Merz as the Acolyte: A mysterious man hunting Rachel.
• Liza Colón-Zayas as Jessica Perez: A detective in the Detroit Police Department.
• Sherilyn Fenn as Melissa Roth: Rachel's adoptive mother.
• Meagen Fay as Sister Catherine: The head of a convent that Rachel resided in as a child.
• Cara Ricketts as Becky Bond: A social worker who managed Bruce's adoption of Dick.
• April Bowlby as Rita Farr: A member of the Doom Patrol and former actress, whose cellular structure became unstable after being exposed to a toxic gas.
• Bruno Bichir as Niles Caulder / The Chief: The leader of the Doom Patrol and medical scientist, responsible for saving the lives of its members and giving them residence in his mansion.
• Hina Adbullah as Shyleen Lao: A young woman who develops the ability to control temperature from being covered in liquid nitrogen.
• Jake Michaels and Brendan Fraser as Clifford "Cliff" Steele: A member of the Doom Patrol and former stock car racer, whose brain was transplanted into a robotic body after an accident destroyed his own. Michaels physically portrays Cliff while Fraser voices the character and appears as him in photos.
• Dwain Murphy and Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor: A member of the Doom Patrol and former United States Air Force pilot wrapped entirely in bandages after being exposed to negative energy. Murphy physically portrays Larry while Bomer provides the voice of the character and appears as him in photos.
• Rachael Crawford as the asylum doctor: The head of Agnews Asylum.
• Lester Speight as Clayton Williams: A nightclub security guard who was previously a strongman at Haly's Circus and Dick's caretaker before Bruce adopted Dick.
• Kyle Mac as Nick Zucco: Tony Zucco's vengeful son.
• Damian Walshe-Howling as Graham Norris: An international poacher and contact of Donna.
• Elliot Knight as Don Hall / Dove: Hank's original partner and younger half-brother. Jayden Marine plays the young Don.
• Marina Sirtis as Marie Granger: Dawn's mother.
• Trevor Hayes as Vincent: A child molester who was Hank's football coach.
• Jeff Roop as Thomas Carson: Angela's former high school classmate who is now sheriff in their hometown
• Randolf Hobbs and April Brown Chodkowski as John and Mary Grayson: A pair of trapeze artists at Haly's Circus and Dick's parents.
• Mark Antony Krupa as Konstantin Kovar: A gangster in Vienna, Austria.
• Zach Smadu as Nuclear Stepdad: A new addition to the Nuclear Family.
• Richard Zeppieri as Tony Zucco: The gangster responsible for the deaths of Dick's parents.
• James Scallion as Johnny "John" Grayson: Dick and Dawn's son in an illusionary reality created by Trigon.

Introduced in season 2

• Drew Van Acker as Garth / Aqualad: A member of the original Titans from Atlantis possessing hydrokinetic and enhanced physical abilities.
• Robbie Jones as Faddei: A royal guard from Tamaran and former romantic interest of Kory.
• Ann Magnuson as Jillian: An Amazon monitoring Donna.
• Genevieve Angelson as Eve Watson: A scientist at Cadmus Laboratories who created Conner.
• Damaris Lewis as Blackfire: A Tamaranean royal and Kory's sister.
• Evan Jones as Len Armstrong: A prison guard at the Kane County Correctional Facility.
• Orel De La Mota as Rafi: A Kane County inmate who illegally entered the United States after he fled Corto Maltese.
• Julian Works as Luis: An undocumented immigrant from Corto Maltese detained in Kane County with Rafi and Santos.
• Rey Gallegos as Santos: Rafi and Luis's cellmate and fellow Corto Maltese undocumented immigrant.
• McKinley Freeman as the psychiatrist: A psychiatrist who encounters Kory in Las Vegas.
• Currie Graham as Stuart: The creator of Dick's costume, posing as a shoemaker.
• Peter MacNeill as Lionel Luthor: A retired scientist and Lex Luthor's father.
• Curtis Lum as Benny: A contact of Dick.
• Elizabeth Whitmere as Ellis' sister: The sister of Hank and Dawn's farmhand.
• Drew Scheid as Faux Hawk: A teenager who poses as Hawk.
• Patrick Garrow as cage announcer: The announcer for Hank's cage fights.
• Hanneke Talbot as Selinda Flinders / Shimmer: A metahuman criminal with the ability to alter compounds and elements.
• Sarah Deakins as Martha Kent: Superman's adoptive mother.
• Olunike Adeliyi as Mati Matisse: A burlesque dancer formerly in a relationship with Wintergreen.
• Sydney Kuhne as Dani: A runaway fleeing from an abusive household.
• Ishan Morris as Caleb: Dani's abusive father.

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally released
			First released	Last released
	1	11	October 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)	December 21, 2018 (2018-12-21)
	2	13	September 6, 2019 (2019-09-06)	November 29, 2019 (2019-11-29)

Season 1 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
1	1	"Titans"	Brad Anderson	Story by: Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns & Greg Berlanti Teleplay by: Akiva Goldsman & Geoff Johns	October 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)	T15.10146
Following her mother Melissa's murder at the hands of a mysterious assailant, troubled teen Rachel Roth exhibits telekinetic powers and flees town. Detroit police detective Dick Grayson fights crime at night using his vigilante persona, Robin. Rachel is picked up by Detroit police, recognizes Dick from her nightmares, and asks him for help. By the time he realizes that she was telling the truth about her mother, Rachel has been drugged and abducted. Meanwhile, in Vienna, Austria, Kory Anders awakens in a bullet-ridden car wreck with no memory of her identity. She finds her way to gangster Konstantin Kovar, whom she has apparently betrayed in her search for a certain girl—Rachel. When Kovar attempts to shoot her, she releases a fiery power that incinerates him and everyone else in the room. About to be ritually slain by the man who killed her mother, Rachel blacks out as a dark version of herself emerges and kills her would-be murderer. Dick arrives, and takes her off to safety. In Covington, Ohio, a green tiger is on the prowl in an electronics store at night and transforms into a human boy.
2	2	"Hawk and Dove"	Brad Anderson	Akiva Goldsman	October 19, 2018 (2018-10-19)	T13.20902
Dick takes Rachel to Hank Hall and Dawn Granger, masked vigilantes known as Hawk and Dove, with whom Dick fought crime years earlier. Though Hank and Dawn are in a committed relationship, Rachel senses that Dick and Dawn were previously involved, and still have unresolved issues. When a jealous Hank fights with Dick, Rachel's dark self manifests to stop it. The Nuclear Family is "activated" to retrieve Rachel, and they torture Dick's new partner, Detective Amy Rohrbach, to find him. Hawk and Dove take down an arms dealer with Robin's brutal assistance. Rachel is upset to discover that Dick intended to leave her with Hank and Dawn and not return. The Nuclear Family defeats Dick, Hank, and Dawn, capturing Rachel and leaving Dawn gravely injured.
3	3	"Origins"	Kevin Rodney Sullivan	Richard Hatem, Geoff Johns, Marisha Mukerjee & Greg Walker	October 26, 2018 (2018-10-26)	T13.20904
Kory tracks down Rachel, and watches the Nuclear Family abduct her. Rachel's dark self refuses to help her, but Kory arrives, incinerates Nuclear Dad with her powers, and convinces Rachel to leave with her. Rachel and Kory find their way to a convent where Melissa had supposedly hidden from Rachel's father when she was a baby, and which Kory had visited in search of Rachel a year before. Dick recalls learning that his parents' death was not an accident, and being taken in by billionaire Bruce Wayne, who offers to teach Dick "another way to deal with the pain." Rachel meets Garfield Logan briefly, and Dick arrives. After Rachel's dark self manifests again, Dick and Kory take her back to the convent, where the sisters secretly lock her in the basement. Kory discovers that before her memory loss she was researching various doomsday prophecies concerning the advent of an apocalyptic "raven". Rachel's dark self taunts her and then manifests, leading to an explosion that allows Rachel to flee.
4	4	"Doom Patrol"	John Fawcett	Geoff Johns	November 2, 2018 (2018-11-02)	T13.20905
Rachel comes across Gar, in his tiger form, as she flees through the woods. Gar takes Rachel to his house, where she meets Cliff Steel / Robotman, Larry Trainor / Negative Man, and Rita Farr / Elasti-Woman. Dr. Niles Caulder / The Chief arrives, furious with Gar for bringing a stranger to their home—where they are living in secret—but interested in running tests on Rachel. She agrees, but then demands to be unstrapped from the table. Niles refuses, and shoots Gar with a tranquilizer dart when he tries to intervene. Rachel's dark self emerges and attacks Niles. Meanwhile, Dick and Kory find the convent in ruins, and track Rachel to the Caulder house. Dick calms Rachel down and promises he will protect her. He departs with Rachel and Kory, and Gar goes with them, encouraged by Cliff to live his own life.
5	5	"Together"	Meera Menon	Bryan Edward Hill & Gabrielle Stanton	November 9, 2018 (2018-11-09)	T13.20906
Dick makes the alliance with Kory, Gar, and Rachel official, and they all demonstrate their powers. Rachel and Gar connect, and Dick and Kory have sex. Dr. Adamson sends a new Nuclear Stepdad to the family. The Nuclear Family attacks, but together the group is able to subdue them. Dick also reveals himself as Robin to the group. Dick visits Adamson, who kills the family via a remote detonator. When a strike team comes to kill Dick, the new Robin appears and saves him.
6	6	"Jason Todd"	Carol Banker	Richard Hatem & Jeffrey David Thomas	November 16, 2018 (2018-11-16)	T13.20907
Dick and Jason Todd, the new Robin, take Adamson to one of Bruce's safe houses in Chicago, where they are later joined by Kory, Rachel, and Gar. Learning that Bruce implanted a tracker in his arm at some point in the past, Dick removes it with a scalpel. Jason tells Dick that someone is murdering everyone who worked with his parents at the circus. Dick seeks out Clayton Williams, the only performer still alive and the likely next target. Clayton is abducted by Nick Zucco, son of Tony Zucco, the mobster who killed the Graysons. Nick wants revenge against Dick, who he blames for the Maronis' murder of his entire family. Jason helps Dick neutralize Nick, but Dick is disturbed by his needless brutality. Meanwhile, Adamson tells Kory that he will only talk to Rachel.
7	7	"Asylum"	Alex Kalymnios	Bryan Edward Hill & Greg Walker	November 23, 2018 (2018-11-23)	T13.20908
Adamson slashes his own throat to force Rachel to use her empathic powers to revive him. He then informs Dick and Kory that Rachel will "purify" the world. Adamson tells them about Angela Azarath, Rachel's birth mother, who is being held at an abandoned asylum. They are captured when they arrive at the asylum, and Dick, Kory, and Gar are subjected to torturous examinations. Adamson promises to end their suffering if Rachel calls to her father, but Rachel kills Adamson instead. Rachel finds Angela, showing her birthmark to prove she is actually Angela's daughter. Taking Angela with her, Rachel frees the others, although Gar is traumatized by having killed an asylum doctor. They escape; Kory burns the asylum down, and Dick burns his Robin suit.
8	8	"Donna Troy"	David Frazee	Richard Hatem & Marisha Mukerjee	November 30, 2018 (2018-11-30)	T13.20909
While Rachel, Kory, and Gar accompany Angela by train to the house she owns in Ohio, Dick goes off on his own to reconnect with an old friend, Donna Troy. The FBI stops the train in search of Kory, but she and the others escape after she causes a train car to explode. While Rachel uses her powers to unlock Kory's memories, Donna translates text that Dick photographed in Kory's storage unit. Donna's interpretation of the lost ancient language is that Kory's mission is to kill Rachel. Kory has a flash of memory, and grabs Rachel by the throat.
9	9	"Hank and Dawn"	Akiva Goldsman	Geoff Johns	December 7, 2018 (2018-12-07)	T13.20910
With Dawn still in a coma, Hank remembers his childhood, when he was manipulated and sexually abused by his football coach, who also threatened to molest his little brother Don. In college, Hank and Don become vigilantes, Hawk and Dove, to punish sex offenders. An unconscious Dawn remembers her life as a ballerina, and the last time she saw her mother. Dawn's mother and Don are killed in the same accident, and Dawn and Hank get to know each other in grief counseling. Dawn discovers Hank's past as Hawk. He tells Dawn about the abuse, but admits that he never sought retribution against the coach because he could not face what happened to him. Dawn finds the abuser and demands that he confess; when they have beaten each other brutally, Hank arrives and finishes off the coach. Hank and Dawn sleep together. In the present, Dawn awakens, and tells Hank they need to find Jason Todd and help Rachel.
10	10	"Koriand'r"	Maja Vrvilo	Gabrielle Stanton	December 14, 2018 (2018-12-14)	T13.20911
Donna stops Kory from killing Rachel. Dick and Donna follow a remorseful but confused Kory to an abandoned warehouse, where a spaceship uncloaks itself for Kory. She is Koriand'r, from the planet Tamaran, on a mission to destroy Rachel before she brings about the destruction of Earth and Tamaran. Rachel's father is Trigon, a being from another dimension who devours worlds. Rachel is both Trigon's doorway back to our dimension, and a means to destroy him. Dick, Donna, and Kory realize that Angela is assisting Trigon. Gar begins seeing apparitions in Angela's house, and collapses. With Gar dying, Angela convinces Rachel to call Trigon to help her. She does, and Trigon and Angela are reunited. Trigon heals Gar and tells Angela that they can begin destroying the world once Rachel's heart breaks. Dick, Donna, and Kory arrive, but only Dick can pass through the mystical barrier that now surrounds Angela's house.
11	11	"Dick Grayson"	Glen Winter	Richard Hatem	December 21, 2018 (2018-12-21)	T13.20912
Five years in the future, Dick is living happily with Dawn and their son John, with another baby on the way. Rachel and Gar are at college. A paraplegic Jason asks Dick to stop Batman who is intent on killing Joker. Dick travels to Gotham and is reunited with Kory, who has joined the FBI. Batman murders Joker as well as every patient and staff member at Arkham Asylum. Dick feels compelled to reveal Batman's secret identity to the police so they can apprehend him. Kory and a SWAT team raid Wayne Manor, but Batman slaughters them all. An enraged Dick demolishes the mansion with explosives. When he finds Batman alive but trapped in the rubble, Dick kills him. In the present, Rachel is horrified to see Dick enslaved by Trigon's power and the dark future and Dick's murder of Batman is revealed to have been a fantasy created by Trigon to lead Dick to embrace darkness. In the Project Cadmus facility located somewhere in Metropolis during the mid-credits, a man designated as "Subject 13" and bearing a Superman logo tattoo escapes containment in a laboratory. He also frees a Labrador Retriever, whose eyes glow red.

Season 2 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
12	1	"Trigon"	Carol Banker	Akiva Goldsman & Geoff Johns & Greg Walker	September 6, 2019 (2019-09-06)	T13.21651
Hank, Dawn, and Jason arrive at Angela's house, joining Donna and Kory in attempting to stop Trigon, but they all succumb to Trigon's powers. Trigon breaks Rachel's will by having the heroes seemingly beat Gar to death. With Rachel under his control, Trigon begins to destroy all life around him, starting with Angela. However, Gar survives and uses his friendship with Rachel to free her from Trigon. In turn, Rachel saves Dick before defeating her father and freeing the rest. Afterwards, the heroes go their separate ways, with Dick accompanied by Jason, Rachel, and Gar. Dick meets with Bruce to reconcile and reestablish the Titans at Titans Tower, their original San Francisco base. Bruce agrees to have Dick lead a new team under the condition that Jason joins. Meanwhile, Deathstroke comes out of retirement when he learns that the Titans have resurfaced.
13	2	"Rose"	Nathan Hope	Richard Hatem	September 13, 2019 (2019-09-13)	T13.21652
Three months after Trigon's defeat, Dick continues to train his team in San Francisco where Rachel's powers begin to act strangely. Dick rescues a female metahuman on the run and attempts to recruit her into the Titans, despite her resistance to receiving help. Jason and Gar identify the young woman as Rose Wilson, Deathstroke's daughter. Hank and Dawn have retired to Wyoming, but tensions ensue when Hank discovers that Dawn is continuing to operate as Dove. In Chicago, Kory and Donna fight crime together and capture rogue metahuman Shimmer. Dawn, Hank, and Donna are forced to reunite with Dick when Dr. Arthur Light escapes from prison and begins targeting the Titans. Kory encounters fellow Tamaranean Faddei, who takes her captive.
14	3	"Ghosts"	Kevin Tancharoen	Tom Pabst	September 20, 2019 (2019-09-20)	T13.21653
Donna, Hank, and Dawn meet Dick at the Titans Tower, who notifies them that Deathstroke is in the city and pursuing Rose. Rose reveals to Dick that she is attempting to assassinate Deathstroke because he killed her brother Jericho. Working together against the Titans, Deathstroke tells Dr. Light of his plan to lure the heroes to them by separating the weaker members from the group. After Dr. Light escapes from the original team, Jason convinces Gar to search for him on their own. Jason defeats Dr. Light, but is ambushed by Deathstroke. Meanwhile, Faddei informs Kory that her sister Blackfire has ordered her return to Tamaran to become queen. A call from Rachel about losing control of her powers, however, prompts Kory to trap Faddei in her ship and travel back to her friends.
15	4	"Aqualad"	Glen Winter	Jamie Gorenberg	September 27, 2019 (2019-09-27)	T13.21654
Five years before the present day, an assignment sends Deathstroke to San Francisco where Jericho and his mother Adeline are hiding. Assisted by new member Garth, the original Titans capture Dr. Light. Garth and Donna harbor romantic feelings for each other, but Donna has resisted Garth's advances because the Amazons require that she return to Themyscira. After the two ultimately have a sexual encounter, Garth learns from Dick that Donna will be leaving immediately. When Garth appears before Donna at an airport to persuade her to stay, he is shot by Deathstroke. The surviving members of the team identify Deathstroke as Garth's killer and dedicate themselves to hunting him down. A week later, Jericho is befriended by Dick, unaware that Dick seeks revenge against his father.
16	5	"Deathstroke"	Nick Gomez	Bianca Sams	October 4, 2019 (2019-10-04)	T13.21655
Following Jason's abduction, Deathstroke kills Dr. Light and informs the heroes that he will release Jason in exchange for Rose. The original Titans explain their situation to Kory after she arrives, as Gar, Rachel, and Rose eavesdrop on the conversation. Rose attempts to escape when she learns that the team is considering surrendering her and is nearly killed by Rachel's unstable powers. After Dick tells his teammates that they will ambush Deathstroke under the guise of making the exchange, he secretly meets with Deathstroke in a skyscraper to offer his life for Jason's. Unmoved, Deathstroke reveals that he has bound Jason to a scaffold rigged with explosives. Kory intervenes, but she and Dick are unable to stop Deathstroke from activating the explosives, sending Jason falling from the skyscraper.
17	6	"Conner"	Alex Kalymnios	Richard Hatem	October 11, 2019 (2019-10-11)	T13.21656
In Metropolis, Subject 13 escapes from Cadmus Laboratories with Krypto, calling himself "Conner" after the nametag on a uniform he takes. Memories bring Conner to Lionel Luthor's Kansas home before Mercy Graves' team, accompanied by Dr. Eve Watson, attacks him. Defeating the team, Conner confronts Eve, who reveals that she created him from the DNA of Superman and Lex Luthor. Eve takes Conner to the original Cadmus facility in San Francisco to help him better understand himself and the traits that he shares with his DNA hosts. Urging him to flee, Eve also warns Conner not to draw attention to himself by using his powers, but Conner disregards her warning when he sees Jason falling. Upon saving Jason, Conner is shot with kryptonite bullets as Graves' team recaptures Krypto.
18	7	"Bruce Wayne"	Akiva Goldsman	Bryan Edward Hill	October 18, 2019 (2019-10-18)	T13.21657
Dick leaves Titans Tower to search for Deathstroke while a hallucination of Bruce torments him over guilt that he feels. In Dick's absence, the team find items planted around the Tower that remind them of painful memories. Jason is accused by the other Titans of being responsible, until Dick's search uncovers that Deathstroke has infiltrated the Tower. With Jason contemplating suicide over the recent events, Dick admits to him that he is at fault for what has transpired because he killed Jericho. Eve arrives at the Tower after freeing Krypto, where she finds Conner dying from kryptonite poisoning. When Eve informs Kory that Conner can only be healed by solar radiation, Kory uses her powers to save him.
19	8	"Jericho"	Toa Fraser	Kate McCarthy	October 25, 2019 (2019-10-25)	T13.21658
In 2014, the Titans use their friendship with Jericho to obtain information on Deathstroke. Against Dawn's advice to leave him out of their battle, Dick recruits Jericho into the team upon discovering the powers that he possesses. Jericho agrees to join when Dick tells him the truth about his father and the heroes' search for him. Deathstroke learns of the Titans' contact with Jericho and after completing his hit on Jillian, severely injures Donna as a warning to stay away from his son. Dick responds by confronting Deathstroke amid a private meeting between him and Jericho, prompting a fight that ends in Deathstroke's favor. Before Deathstroke can kill Dick, however, Jericho jumps in front of his father's blade and is stabbed instead. Afterwards, the Titans disband.
20	9	"Atonement"	Boris Mojsovski	Jeffrey David Thomas	November 1, 2019 (2019-11-01)	T13.21659
After Dick reveals the truth about Jericho's death to his team, all of the Titans except Gar leave Titans Tower. Jason and Rose depart together and Kory reunites with Faddei, while Rachel accompanies Donna before escaping to be on her own. Gar takes Conner out in public, which ends disastrously when Conner attacks a group of police officers. Dick encounters Deathstroke, who declares that their fight is over so long as Dick remains isolated from his friends and he will eliminate the Titans if they reform. Heeding Deathstroke's warning, Dick allows himself to be arrested. Believing that their presence together harms others, Hank breaks up with Dawn. Faddei informs Kory that they are being hunted by Blackfire, who became queen after murdering their parents. Kory is forced to kill Faddei when Blackfire takes over his body and vows to pursue her sister.
21	10	"Fallen"	Kevin Sullivan	Jamie Gorenberg	November 8, 2019 (2019-11-08)	T13.21660
Incarcerated at the Kane County Correctional Facility, Dick helps undocumented immigrants Rafi and Luis escape prison before they can be deported to Corto Maltese. Rachel joins a group of runaways led by Dani after she uses her powers to save Dani from her abusive father Caleb, unaware that she also caused his death. Conner is found at Titans Tower by Mercy, who convinces him to return to Cadmus by assuring him they can fix his personality shifts. Mercy takes an interest in Gar when he is brought to Cadmus with Conner and Krypto. Searching for Rachel, Donna uncovers the aftermath of Cadmus' assault on the Tower.
22	11	"E.L._.O."	Millicent Shelton	Bianca Sams	November 15, 2019 (2019-11-15)	T13.21661
While in isolation, Dick realizes that Jericho is still alive inside of Deathstroke's body. Kory, Rachel, Donna, and Dawn are lured to the Elko Diner by Bruce in an effort to reunite the team. Learning of Dick's incarceration, Rachel and Kory head off to rescue him, while Donna and Dawn leave to search for Gar. When they raid the prison, Rachel and Kory find Dick missing from his cell and a message about Jericho being alive. Rose, growing close to Jason, informs Deathstroke that she is done helping him manipulate the Titans. Mercy has Gar subjected to an experiment that causes him to involuntarily turn violent upon command.
23	12	"Faux Hawk"	Larnell Stovall	Tom Pabst	November 22, 2019 (2019-11-22)	T13.21662
Gar is unwillingly used by Cadmus to violently unleash his powers in public, which Mercy plans to culminate with an attack on a carnival. Donna and Dawn plan to stop Cadmus when they learn about Gar's and Conner's brainwashing. Unable to find Dick, Kory and Rachel return to San Francisco to also rescue Gar, while Kory's powers begin to diminish. Rose admits to Jason that she had been helping Deathstroke, causing Jason to leave her. With the Titans reuniting, Deathstroke prepares to eliminate them and contacts Rose to join him. After Adeline informs Dick of Deathstroke's plans and asks him to save Jericho, Dick obtains a new costume. In Wyoming, Hank struggles with drug addiction while working as a cage fighter.
24	13	"Nightwing"	Carol Banker	Richard Hatem & Greg Walker	November 29, 2019 (2019-11-29)	T13.21663
Rose helps Dick fight Deathstroke and kills him, while Jericho jumps into her body. Advertising him as a supersoldier to potential bidders, Mercy has the brainwashed Conner defeat Gar at the carnival before sending him after the Titans when they intervene. The team frees Gar and Conner from their brainwashing and defeats Cadmus, but Donna is killed when she prevents a damaged transmission tower from landing on civilians. In the aftermath, Rachel leaves for Themyscira with Donna's body in an attempt to resurrect her, while Jason departs by himself, and Dick, Kory, Gar, Hank, Dawn, Rose, and Conner form a new Titans team. Elsewhere, Blackfire arrives on Earth by taking over the body of an unsuspecting woman.

Production

Development

A potential live-action Titans project for cable channel TNT was announced in September 2014. By December 2014, a pilot written by Akiva Goldsman and Marc Haimes had been ordered that would feature Dick Grayson emerging from Batman's shadow to become Nightwing, the leader of a band of heroes including Starfire, Raven, Hawk and Dove, and Oracle. The pilot was set with filming to occur in Toronto in mid-2015. In May 2015, TNT president Kevin Reilly said that they hoped to have the casting locked down by the start of filming and that the show would be "very true" to the comics and "groundbreaking". The series, called Titans and then Blackbirds, was first set to begin shooting in Toronto in mid-2015. Production was then postponed to October. In January 2016, it was announced that TNT would no longer be moving forward with the project. In February 2016, Geoff Johns stated "We [at DC] have known about [TNT nixing Titans] for months and months and months. That's not new news to us. We have plans for Titans. It's a huge piece of DC and we have plans." Johns, who had spent seven years developing the material with Goldsman, said in October 2018 that the project depended on securing the rights to Dick Grayson. He said, "You couldn't do Titans without Robin ... So there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work that went into that." Previous Titans projects had been hampered by the rights to Batman being locked up.

In April 2017, Warner Bros. announced that Titans would debut in 2018 on DC Comics' own direct-to-consumer digital service. The series is developed by Goldsman, Johns, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, with Goldsman, Johns and Berlanti writing the pilot episode. All are also executive producers of the series for Weed Road Pictures and Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros Television. Though twelve episodes were initially announced, the eleventh episode was billed as the first-season finale in December 2018.

Ahead of the series' premiere at New York Comic Con in October 2018, Titans was renewed for a second season and the twelfth episode of the first season was moved to become the second season's premiere. For the season, Greg Walker and John Fawcett were added as executive producers. The second season premiered on September 6, 2019, and will consist of 13 episodes. Production of season 2 was temporarily put on hold in July 2019 due to the accidental death of special effects coordinator Warren Appleby; the season 2 premiere is dedicated in his memory.

In November 2019, DC confirmed a third season, which is scheduled to premiere in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Writing

Johns noted the series was inspired mostly by the Teen Titans comics of the 1980s, since that comic's run "had so much drama" and "was so revolutionary for its time". He added, "We really wanted to lean into the idea that every Titan of these Titans is a doorway into another genre. With Rachel [a.k.a. Raven], it's the supernatural and the horror, and the first season really focuses on who Raven is and how the Titans galvanize around her." Johns also felt the series would be "a little more adult" than the television series Riverdale, calling it "not necessarily a teen drama, [but] more of an adventure piece." He said that tonally, "We wanted to do something different from everything else out there. We wanted to arrive at a tone that wasn't as welcoming as some of the DC shows have been, nor as nihilistic as some of the films have been." Goldsman said that as the series continues, it will ask "How are these broken people going to cohere? Or will they?" Johns noted that Robin's infamous line in the pilot—"Fuck Batman"—was a late addition to the script. Thwaites said of the line, "I thought it was perfect ... This is not a show about Batman. It's a show about Dick."

Casting

In early August 2017, Teagan Croft was cast as Rachel Roth, followed at the end of the month with the casting of Anna Diop as Kory Anders, and Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson. Ahead of the series premiere, Diop reduced her presence on social media because of racist attacks towards her casting. The main cast for the first season would be rounded out by Ryan Potter as Gar Logan, who was announced in October 2017.

In early September 2017, Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly were cast in the recurring roles of Hank Hall and Dawn Granger, respectively. By the end of the month, Lindsey Gort had been cast as Amy Rohrbach. In January 2018, Seamus Dever was cast in an undisclosed role that would later be revealed as Trigon, and a month later, members of the Doom Patrol were announced with Bruno Bichir as the Chief, April Bowlby as Rita Farr, Jake Michaels as Cliff Steele, and Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor. Curran Walters and Conor Leslie appear as Jason Todd and Donna Troy, respectively. In August 2018, Elliot Knight was cast as Don Hall.

In February 2019, it was announced that Joshua Orpin had been cast as Conner Kent for season two. After the character was teased by Johns, Esai Morales was cast as Deathstroke in March 2019, with Chella Man and Chelsea Zhang announced as his children Jericho and Rose. Iain Glen was cast as Bruce Wayne / Batman on April 11, 2019, marking the character's first physical appearance after being portrayed by stunt doubles in the first-season finale. In June 2019, Natalie Gumede and Drew Van Acker were cast as Mercy Graves and Garth, respectively. In July 2019, Genevieve Angelson was announced as Cadmus Laboratories scientist Dr. Eve Watson. In August 2019, Michael Mosley was revealed to be portraying Dr. Light. The same month, Olunike Adeliyi announced on her Instagram she had joined the cast in an undisclosed role that was later revealed as burlesque dancer Mati Matisse and Hanneke Talbot was revealed to be Shimmer. In September 2019, Demore Barnes was revealed to be portraying Wintergreen. Following the character's appearance in an October 2019 trailer, Anna Diop confirmed on her Instagram that Damaris Lewis would be portraying Kory's sister Blackfire, which was also confirmed by Lewis.

In December 2019, it was announced that Damaris Lewis had been promoted to series regular for season three.

Filming

Filming for the first season began on November 15, 2017, in Toronto, and Hamilton, Ontario, concluding on June 28, 2018. Filming for the second season began on April 2, 2019, and concluded on October 8, 2019. Production was put on hold due to the July 18 accidental death of special effects coordinator Warren Appleby, but resumed on July 24, 2019.

Release

Broadcast

Titans premiered on October 12, 2018, with new episodes releasing on DC Universe every week. The first season comprised eleven episodes. The first episode of Titans was screened on October 3, 2018, at New York Comic Con. The first season became available for streaming via Netflix outside the United States on January 11, 2019.

On July 17, 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that the second season was set to premiere on September 6, 2019.

Home media

The first season of Titans was released digitally on March 21, 2019, and on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 16, 2019.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Titans holds a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 80%, with an average rating of 6.66 out of 10 based on 45 reviews. The site's critical consensus states, "Despite a few tonal growing pains, Titans does justice to its source material and truly shines when its titular ensemble finally assembles." Metacritic gave the series' first season a score of 55 out of 100 based on eight critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Susana Polo of Polygon praised Titans for "tempering brutal violence and dark subject matter with humor—and by giving its characters plenty of time to stretch, breathe and become attached to one another". Charlie Ridgely of Comicbook.com wrote that Diop "conveys so much wonder and intrigue with her subtle and genuine expressions, but there is a consistent fierceness and tenacity that is always lurking just beneath the surface". Rosie Knight of Nerdist wrote that the "cast is at the core of what makes Titans so enjoyable", while giving praise to the script as well. Forbes contributor Merrill Barr compared the show to The CW's Riverdale, describing it as "a dark and gritty series very far removed from the image the Teen Titans have garnered through a variety of animated outings over the last decades". Barr argued that viewers "that take the tone in stride are going to find themselves in the middle of a series dialed directly into their interests". Rob Salkowitz of Forbes wrote that Titans "somehow managed to deliver on the dark-and-foreboding tone that the early DC movies so conspicuously got wrong."

Kevin Yeoman of Screen Rant was critical of the show's excessive violence, writing that Titans "doesn't put forward any new or particularly compelling thoughts about its characters or about superheroes in general". Similarly, Vinne Mancuso of Collider said that "if you're just a fan of some good old-fashioned ultra-violence and moody storytelling, this simply isn't a well-done example of that".

The second season holds an 85% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews. Its critical consensus reads, "Though Titans's sophomore season suffers from a slight slump at the start, it quickly resets itself, building on the momentum from its first season while laying fascinating framework for where the show could go."

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2019	Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards	TV Drama Cinematography	Boris Mojsovski for ("Pilot")	Won
		TV Series Cinematography	Brendan Steacy for ("Dick Grayson")	Nominated
	Golden Trailer Awards	Best Action TV Spot/Trailer/Teaser for a Series	Titans “So Dark (Deadpool)”, Warner Bros., WB Worldwide Television Marketing In House	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Action TV Actor	Brenton Thwaites	Nominated
	American Society of Cinematographers Awards	Episode of a Series for Non-Commercial Television	Brendan Steacy for ("Dick Grayson")	Pending

Further media

Spin-off

Main article: Doom Patrol (TV series)

In May 2018, DC Universe announced the live-action series Doom Patrol had received a direct-to-series order as an intended spin-off to Titans. Despite the initial order and sharing characters and actors, however, Doom Patrol occupies a separate continuity. Developed by Jeremy Carver (who wrote the pilot), Berlanti, and Johns (who also serves as executive producers along with Schechter) for Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions, the series features the Chief, Cliff Steele, Larry Trainor, Vic Stone, Rita Farr, and Jane as the members of eponymous Doom Patrol. April Bowlby, Matt Bomer, and Brendan Fraser reprise their roles as Rita, the voice of Larry, and the voice of Cliff, while Matthew Zuk and Riley Shanahan replace Dwain Murphy and Jake Michaels for the physical portrayals of Larry and Cliff and Timothy Dalton replaces Bruno Bichir as the Chief. The cast is also joined by Diane Guerrero as Jane, Joivan Wade as Vic, and Alan Tudyk as Mr. Nobody. Production began August 2018 and the series premiered on February 15, 2019.

Arrowverse

Main article: Crisis on Infinite Earths (Arrowverse)

The Titans incarnations of Hank Hall and Jason Todd make cameo appearances in the Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths", with Alan Ritchson and Curran Walters appearing in their respective roles. The event establishes Titans as being set on the world of Earth-9, which is among several Earths destroyed by the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) during the Crisis.

External links

• Titans at IMDb