WB Announces "Metropolis" TV series for DC Digital

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 01/30/2018 - 12:43

From DC:

Have you ever wanted to visit Metropolis? That bustling City of Tomorrow, known to comic book fans worldwide as one of the biggest cities in the DC Universe and home to the high-flying Man of Steel. Well, in 2019, you’ll get the next best thing—a weekly live action TV series set in Metropolis before the arrival of its most famous resident.

Metropolis will follow Lois Lane and Lex Luthor as they investigate the world of fringe science and expose the city’s dark and bizarre secrets. Airing exclusively on DC’s upcoming digital service, it promises to show us a wondrous and awe-inspiring City of Tomorrow, before the emergence of Superman, and establish much of the Man of Steel’s world leading up to his arrival.

If all of this is reminding you a tad of Gotham, the hit FOX #DCTV series set in Gotham before Batman was on the scene, that may be because Metropolis is being overseen by Gotham executive producers John Stephens and Danny Cannon. Both will executive produce this series, and Cannon will also direct the first episode, from a teleplay by Stephens, with story by Cannon and Stephens.

All that said, while the basic setup may be similar, fans know that there’s a world of difference between the cities of Metropolis and Gotham, suggesting that Metropolis will likely have a considerably different tone than Gotham. Superman’s villains are also more powerful, cosmic and rooted in science fiction than Batman’s, so one can only imagine there will be much less emphasis on street level gangsters and crime families in this forward-thinking city.

Metropolis is the second live action series to be announced for DC’s upcoming digital service, which promises to offer an immersive experience designed expressly for DC fans. The first series, Titans, is scheduled to debut later this year. In addition, two highly anticipated animated series, Young Justice: Outsiders and Harley Quinn, have also been announced for the service.

Metropolis, which will debut in 2019, has received a direct-to-series order for a first season of 13 episodes and will go into production later this year.

Source: DC

Commentary: To be honest, when I first saw this announcement, I thought I was looking at The Onion. But then I realized it was DC's homepage, so it was definitely true. As much as I enjoy GOTHAM, Metropolis never really grabbed me all that much as a setting. It's always felt like a real generic city. My favorite part of any SUPERMAN story is Superman and how the other characters relate to him, so I am just not quite feeling the hook here.

On top of that, I am just opposed to shows only being available on exclusive digital-only services. I am a huge TITANS and YOUNG JUSTICE fan, and those series aren't enough to convince me to try DC's digital service. Adding in this METROPOLIS series isn't going to put this over the top for me. I genuinely hope that I am wrong here, and METROPOLIS becomes must-see TV and DC Digital is just amazing...but it's going to take quite a bit for them to convince me.

Now that we have GOTHAM, METROPOLIS, and KRYPTON, how about a DC series set in my favorite place...OPAL CITY!