Batman: The Brave and The Bold Cancellation

Early this morning, Batman: The Brave and the Bold made its final appearance at San Diego Comic-Con. The gracious panel more than entertained the packed room, and gave us some hints at what's to come in the rest of the season, as well as some sad news as to the fate of the series. The panel for the event consisted of moderator Sam Register, and panelists James Tucker (producer), Michael Jelenic (producer), Diedrich Bader (voice of Batman), John DiMaggio (voice of Aquaman) and Andrea Romano (voice director).

As it is always easier to give the bad news first: it was reported at this panel that the remaining 13 episodes of the second season will be the show's last. [Update: Sorry guys, we somewhat misheard this. The show is indeed ending, but they still have the second half of Season 2 to air. There will then there will be a 13-episode Season 3, which will be the final one. Season 1 and 2 each consisted of 26 episodes each.]

Fans of the series were vocally upset at the end of this loved program, with those sentiments being shared by the talent on the panel - especially by the voice of Batman, Diedrich Bader, who called it the best gig of his career. Fortunately for the panel, everybody has future projects to go to, so nobody will be left without a job - this announcement included a hint James Tucker was working on an all new Batman series.

To liven the mood, we were immediately treated with an impromptu session between Batman and Aquaman discussing the end of the series. This funny bit went a long way in bringing the crowd back, and opened up for a brief Q&A session. With the basic questions out of the way, two bits of information did surface. For one, with the popularity and Emmy nomination of the musical episode "Mayhem of the Music Meister!", we were told that the final 13 episodes would include the occasional song and dance number. Another piece of interesting info, was that two of DC's heaviest hitters, Superman and Wonder Woman, have been cleared to be used in upcoming episodes. While we were given no confirmation on what episodes would feature musical numbers or the appearance of two of DC's super trinity, this is exciting information for series' fans bummed out by the cancellation news.


To end The Brave and the Bold's portion of the panel, we were treated to a screening of the future episode "Emperor Joker." Straying away from spoilers, we can tell you that the episode features an opening which pays homage to Detective Comics #241 and the rainbow Batman suit, while the episode itself brings back fan favorite Bat-Mite who desperately wants to see his favorite hero go up against his arch-nemesis The Joker. With plenty of humor, a musical number and the possible death of Batman at the hands of the Clown Prince of Crime, this episode had everything that fans of the series want from The Brave and the Bold. Unfortunately no air date was given for the episode, but you can expect to see it when the remaining 13 episodes air starting in August.

Our Batman: The Brave and the Bold panel at ComicCon went well but, as usual, we were misquoted. We are currently working on the third season of 13 episodes which will bring the series up to 65 episodes. It's been incorrectly reported that we'll be stopping at the end of our second season. Get it right, IGN.com!!

Me: DX Does it really have to be cancelled, sir? I'm a huge fan of the show... >.< Also reminds me of Teen Titans - also got cancelled after 65. Do all series like this automatically gets cut after 65? (But I'm wondering why the case is different with Justice League... *confused*)

JT: Rianna: That's just the reality of most animated shows that aren't owned outright by the networks they're on. Cartoon Network owns 'Ben:10' therefore you'll see a lot more episodes of that than any DC related show they may run on their air. The other reality is these show are for kids, in the eyes of the people who pay for them, and kids tend to watch reruns with no problem (as anyone who was a kid the 70s and 80s can recall). And lastly, after 65, quality does suffer. I'm fine with 65 episodes that meet my standards and end while the show still is enjoyable and exciting to produce. We're still a looooong way from the show's last episode so think of this glass as half full rather than half empty.

Me: Ooh. But - just out of curiosity I need to ask - how come Justice League got more than 65 and continued with JLU? Wasn't it owned by WB too?
Brave and Bold's awesome and one of the best, just letting you know. At least now that we know the limit is 65, the show won't leave us with a cliffhanger (like Teen Titans) XP Looking forward to see more awesome episodes! :3

Me: Oh and one last question (sorry XD), does this mean this year is the last year of Brave and Bold being at SDCC or do we still have next year?

JT: Rianna, Justice League got 65 episodes and JLU only got 39. Since they technically are different series even though connected, it may seem like Justice League was on longer.
As far as being at SDCC next year, I suppose it depends on if we're still showing new episodes we need to promote. Hard to say right now.

JT: Actually, I was wrong... Justice League only had 52 episodes, so Batman: The Brave and the Bold has had a longer run than any show I've worked on.

Me: Ooh, I see. So they could've made something like Teen Titans Unlimited back then, lol.
Thanks for an awesomely awesome show, sir! You'll always have a loyal one right here.