WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Less than a week after its premiere, the Warner Bros. DC Comics streaming service, DC Universe, announced the cancellation of the Wilmington-filmed series, Swamp Thing.

  • The television series, Swamp Thing, was canceled by Warner Bros.' DC Universe
  • It was filmed in Wilmington.
  • Social media posts point to the series being canceled due to it not receiving enough state funding, but the Department of Commerce denies this. 

The series, based on the DC Comics character, stars Crystal Reed, Virginia Madsen, Andy Bean, Henderson Wade, Maria Sten, Jeryl Prescott, Jennifer Beals, and Will Patton.

 

 

Most industry trade publications, such as The Hollywood Reporter, said that creative differences and WarnerMedia’s re-evaluation of the streaming service could have played a part in the series being axed.

However, a new theory emerged on social media, citing reports that North Carolina was unable to give the show a $40 million tax rebate due to a clerical error, and that was the real reason why the show got its series order cut, and was inevitably canceled. 

If you remember correctly, one of the stars, Madsen, caused a stir on social media about the status of the show when she posted on Instagram that the series order would be cut and number of episodes for the first season lowered. 

 

 

However, David E. Rhodes, the communications director for the N.C. Department of Commerce, told Spectrum News that this is not true. Rhodes addressed the rumor circulating saying that the cancellation was due to an error on the state’s part regarding the N.C.’s film grant program.

“No, there was no error. The production company had a clear understanding of the resources available from the state under the grant program, and proceeded with the production here on that basis,” Rhodes said.

Swamp Thing is acclaimed by critics, standing at a 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of publishing. It will finish the remainder of its season on DC Universe before wrapping.

The show was one of the first major projects to film in Wilmington after NC's controversial House Bill 2. Another big project currently filming on NC's coast is Hulu's Reprisal, which will star Abigail Spencer.