NBC cancelled Constantine (based on DC’s Hellblazer comic) after one shortened season last year, but the acclaimed series refuses to go down quietly. Immediately after NBC announced that they would not be producing a second season, Warner Bros. started shopping the show around. Unfortunately, though, a deal could not be worked out with one of the broadcast or cable channels or any of the streaming services. The CW seemed like a likely landing spot because of its other DC comics related shows, but supposedly that was not a viable option because the show is beyond the budget of a typical CW entry. Despite that, the character did show up on a recent episode of Arrow , which led to a notable ratings boost along with hope of further cross-overs and maybe a new series. There were some talks that Constantine would be one of the main characters on the second season of The CW’s upcoming Legends of Tomorrow, but since that show is so expensive to produce it may remain as a limited run entry and the network will do a different DC series for he 2016-17 season.
But just recently stepping into the picture is the new digital platform TVtibi which is in talks with Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment about a possible Constantine web series. This is all very preliminary at the moment and will hinge very much on how they can work out the series and character rights, but this could be the first step toward an ongoing series. TVtibi is different from Hulu and Netflix and other platforms in that it is available globally. They offer video on demand, linear channels (TV channels) and live events such as college sports. Most of their channels and live sports are free to view, and free channels/videos don’t require logging in to watch. Constantine fans can show their support by downloading the TVtibi app (at this link) to help build the audience base of that platform. It is currently available on Windows 8.1/10 with iOS is coming out in 60 days or less, Android shortly after that. I have been in contact with them and will continue to pass along updates on their efforts to bring the show back on their platform which could potentially lead to an ongoing, full series. But a surge in subscriptions which can be attributed to Constantine fans (it is free to download and join) will go a long way toward helping TVbiti to build a case for the web-series.
There is also currently an active petition trying to lobby for one of the cable channels or streaming services to pick up Constantine and as of this writing it is only a few hundred signatures short of its goal of 75k. You can sign the petition at this link.
We haven’t seen a lot of success with efforts to save cancelled shows of late, but this one definitely has some momentum and could bring back a beloved and critically acclaimed TV series. And fan support will definitely be crucial to keep this effort moving forward.
