Once seen as nothing more than a niche genre, superhero content has come to be a dominant force on screen.
But with audiences having seemingly infinite options of what to watch, long gone are the days of the simple hero origin stories or watching the hero fight a bunch of small-time bad guys while ramping up to take on a Big Bad being enough to capture attention.
Big swings are always a risk, with some fans more comfortable with the same old tropes, rather than experiencing something new.
Another show that has found a massive fanbase despite its often oddball nature is Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” based on the graphic novel of the same name.
Steve Blackman, who developed the show for television and serves as showrunner, says that he believes the show has found success due to its focus on its family elements.
Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, two of the co-creators and executive producers of the DC Entertainment-HBO Max adult animated series “Harley Quinn,” say that they also approached the show from a different perspective.
You absolutely cannot do that.’ They’re like, ‘Heroes don’t do that.’ So, we said, ‘Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?’ They were like, ‘No, it’s that we sell consumer toys for heroes.
For many of them, who grew up reading comics and consuming genre films and earlier television, the excitement is in adding to the conversation by offering a more mature take and diving deeper with characters who previously never saw much time in the spotlight.
“WandaVision” was Marvel’s first outing for Disney Plus, for example, but “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” was right on its heels, and “Loki” premiered right after “Falcon.” Additionally, DC has a number of series on the CW and is plotting an expanded television universe at HBO Max.