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Bob Goodman talks about why Batman Beyond only lasted 3 seasons

The Emmy award winning writer and producer on Batman Beyond's cancellation.

Donovan Erskine

July 22, 2019 12:40 PM

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Batman Beyond holds a special place in the hearts of kids who grew up in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Starring Terry McGinnis, this series envisioned a world in which Bruce Wayne was too old to watch over Gotham, and passes the mantle on to a young up and comer. From there, Bruce Wayne takes on a mentor role while Terry McGinnis learns how to become the Dark knight. We spoke briefly with Bob Goodman, a writer on Batman Beyond at San Diego Comic Con about his experience and the shows cancellation.

Though Batman Beyond is widely beloved and treasured by DC fans, the show had a pretty short run on air. Premiering in 1999 and ending late 2001, Batman Beyond only lasted for three seasons before it was given the axe. We asked Goodman if he had any word on why the show was discontinued. “Oh that’s way above my paygrade” Goodman said when first faced with the question. The decision to end Batman Beyond was made by executives well above him, so it was entirely out of his control. However, he did have some ideas as to what caused the decision. 

He states that the creative team was given “unprecedented freedom” when coming up with stories for the show. They determined what they believed was appropriate for a show target at children, but there were times when those views didn’t align with those of the executives in charge. In addition, Batman Beyond’s ratings were not meeting the numbers initially laid out by the WB network when pitching ad spaces to other companies. These two points were central factors in the decision to cancel Batman Beyond. 

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Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_