'Beware the Batman' is on hiatus until 2014 (update: Cartoon Network responds)

Update 10/23/13: When asked if Beware the Batman was cancelled, Cartoon Network issued Batman News the following statement:

Currently, Beware the Batman is no longer on our air. DC Nation will continue on Saturday mornings at 10/9c with new exclusive shorts and a full hour of encore episodes of Teen Titans Go!

Beware the Batman fans became nervous yesterday when they found out that the new episode that was supposed to air this weekend had been pulled from Cartoon Network's schedule. The good news is that the show has not been cancelled. The bad news is that it's on hiatus until January 2014. Anthony Ruivivar, the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne, confirmed the news on Twitter:

â€œ@AlexionMariano: Hey! I heard today that Beware was pulled from CN and that this week the new episode wont air? new in January. Sorry
— Anthony Ruivivar (@AnthonyRuivivar) October 22, 2013

The timing of the hiatus is very odd. A few weeks ago McDonald's introduced Beware the Batman Happy Meals and this Wednesday a comic book tie-in will be available. I'll do my best to find out exactly why the TV show is taking a few months off and let you know if I hear anything.

107 comments

Delsin Rowe

October 22, 2013

This is exactly why I never started watching this show. CN is run by a bunch of flakes. After seeing how they treated Young Justice and GL, you knew they'd screw around with this one too.

King T'Challa
October 22, 2013
I agree.
Doomm
October 23, 2013
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TRINI REAPER
October 23, 2013
they did the same thing to The Clone Wars.. but it was Disney's fault.
QuantumFX
October 24, 2013
Cartoon Network has been absolute douchebags to DC related cartoons since forever. They pulled this same shit with Justice League/Justice League Unlimited by pre-empting it with that horrible Bobobo cartoon.
ranxerox
October 24, 2013
This is why I'm afraid of superman vs. batman movie. Warner is a douchebag with its properties. How hard is it to let a batman series fly on a cartoon channel? Seriously...
1. Delsin Rowe
  October 24, 2013
  I agree.
2. Duder NME
  November 16, 2013
  They saw it was appealing to adults, and they can't have anything that sensical, not when Total Douchebag Island has airtime to siphon.
Koolbreeze
October 24, 2013
I never had a chance to watch their dc cartoons & now I'm watching BtB on my On Demand & it seems pretty interesting. Damn CN & their flakey asses. Even Adult swim isn't that interesting to me anymore, I might have to start smoking weed again in order to watch & like their shows again.

Jugo

October 22, 2013

We all saw this coming, didn't we. What else can one expect from CN.

October 22, 2013

I miss the old Cartoon Network :(

Duder NME
November 16, 2013
Yep, back when they only aired one commercial break between their programs, instead of just Adult Swim. That happened.

Unique Jenique

October 22, 2013

Glad I'm not the only one who realized the new episode didn't air on Saturday. Pfft, CN is STEWPID

Jake

October 22, 2013

Not surprised. I wasn't much of a fan of Beware the Batman but it sucks for the people who are. Maybe they're thinking about this future and how to connect it to the new Justice League TV show Bruce Timm is working on?

Batmantastic

October 22, 2013

WB really need to stop putting their shows out on CN. I'm so sick of this constantly happening to great shows.

VIC
October 30, 2013
They have the same parent, Time Warner. But CN seems to rebel by constantly taking out shows from its own company.

EdwardNygma

October 22, 2013

Those jerks. I was looking forward to seeing Magpie again. This is likely going to mean Beware the Batman will only run 13 episodes. Didn't CN wait until the second season of YJ was halfway through before doing this? Man, remember the days when shows like Samurai Jack and Justice League got 4 or 5 seasons? The days of long running action cartoons are over, I'm afraid. Only comedies run that long now...

LandonVanBus

October 22, 2013

I figured the reason it got pulled was because it's been entirely lackluster and not that great.

Pfeiffer-Pfan

October 22, 2013

To be fair... we still don't know if it's been renewed beyond it's initial 26 episodes. So claiming it hasn't been cancelled is a little misleading. Yes, CN will air (in one form or another) the episodes they have produced... but the show is by no means safe at this stage.

dw316

October 22, 2013

I really like this show. Please do not cancel it!

Septimus Prime

October 22, 2013

"The Batman" Show was better, wasn't it?

EBo Rises
October 22, 2013
Correct ! ' The Batman ' was a million times better !
1. Septimus Prime
  October 22, 2013
  Thank you! :) The only thing I like outta this show is his suit is now completely black. :P
Vid Koritnik
October 22, 2013
The Batman was awesome. My only complaint is the change of opening theme song after season 2. Other than that, pure awesome.
1. samuel
  October 22, 2013
  Oh man! I hate that they changed the theme song but i do have both on my iPhone
Jake
October 23, 2013
Awesome show. I still watch it today actually.
Jugo
October 23, 2013
Definitely! I like the tone of Beware a lot though.
NotWhoYouThink
October 24, 2013
LOVED THAT SHOW. It actually took me a few episodes to get into it since they reworked characters like Joker and Bane but once I got over that it became such a good show. I wish they would have kept it going a couple more years instead of season five becoming "The Brave and the Bold" practically. They never got to do The Red Hood, Hush, or Two-Face.

EBo Rises

October 22, 2013

Are we realy surprised here people ? I got through 1 and a half episodes then called it a day ! It just wasn't very good on any level .

Rod
October 24, 2013
Well that was your loss. It started slowly, but the last few episodes were terrific. I understand if someone didn't like the animation--I had to get used to it--but the narrative was top notch. Nice touches with the offbeat villains, the Bruce/Batman identities were skillfully played and Katana was turning into a interesting sidekick. (Didn't like her romance story, but they threw a nice curve into it at the end of the last episode.) After Batman: The Animated Series, this is my favorite screen Batman. It seemed to be turning into a classic presentation of the character. I hate to see that it will never come to fruition now.

Ratman

October 22, 2013

I'm fine with it, won't really miss it (I prefer Teen titans go... Don't judge me).

RICHARD WROBO
December 18, 2013
you prefer Teen Titans Go ? Come back to the discussion when your age hits double digits.

lethargicj

October 22, 2013

Typical Cartoon Network. Even if it's not cancelled now this isn't going to help anything. Taking the show off for months will do nothing but erode ratings.

Re'Nell Glover
October 23, 2013
I've seen networks like this do this without telling us.
1. Re'Nell Glover
  October 23, 2013
  In fact, we all have.

Oscar Nigma

October 22, 2013

Don't worry, as long as we buy all the toys, comics and related merchandise we can probably save it for another year, then they will put it on another hiatus and cancel it.

Brad Brady

October 22, 2013

I was really starting to enjoy this show and watched the new episodes every Saturday. Another let down from CN.

Shawn J.

October 22, 2013

Never watched the show but if you're gonna put a show on hiatus why not just cancel it? CN is only slowing that process down. CN isn't going to just suddenly spark interest/ratings in the show when it returns in January. People will forget this show even existed and then it will get the ax. Horrible execution on CN's part.

EdwardNygma

October 22, 2013

I've been reading the comments and see some of you haven't watched more than the first few episodes. My advice: stick with it. Check out the rest on Demand. It starts getting stronger with each episode. Gordon gets a much bigger part and Katana is pretty awesome, especially when she "joins the team." Pig and Toad are lousy villains IMO and it was a bad idea to lead with them. Magpie, Anarky, Metamorpho and Lady Shiva are much better. One of Batman's best rogues shows up briefly at the end of the latest episode and his story is taking an interesting turn. So check it out, skeptical Bat-fans. I think you'll end up liking it.

rql
October 24, 2013
agree 100%

RH3ZA

October 22, 2013

We all saw this coming from CN but Beware the Batman isn't that good so it doesn't surprise me.

Scott Thompson
October 22, 2013
"Beware the Batman" is the best animated Batman series since "The New Adventures" debuted in the second half of the 90s - this series features a modern sensibility that updates the character for the times, a thoughtful attention to narrative continuity, complex characterization, and the employment of new and/or obscure villains from the comics, instead of recycling the same old characters (despite their new appearances), like "The Batman" did...this from a 56 year-old follower of Bruce Wayne and the Batman mythology.
1. RH3ZA
  October 23, 2013
  I feel like it tries to do all that you mentioned but they failed because of time constraints, The team is unable to show the as much depth because they don't know how to work with the time constraints. Batman TAS knows how to tell a story in a 30 minute window; either way I've watched most Batman tvshows and this one is better then some but it fell short.
  1. Rod
    October 24, 2013
    On one level I see your point, but the long-form storytelling--how the episodes began to intertwine--was impressive. This had the potential to be as exciting as the best DCAU season-long stories.
    1. Joel
      October 24, 2013
      It is a good show. Although, CN made the same mistake it did with YJ they put a show that is not intended to be put on a saturday morning. This is more like friday night or saturday night.
  2. Scott Thompson
    October 27, 2013
    Uh, I respectfully disagree; if you had specific examples to support your analysis, I might understand your point. I believe it did achieve those standards, where "The Batman" did not; for example, I really admire BTB's use of modern (though probably obscure, to the general TV audience) villains like Magpie and Professor Pyg - in contrast, "The Batman" focused on the classic, most overused rogue characters, and compounded that impression with multiple stories featuring Penguin, Joker, Catwoman, Riddler, etc.in each season...in fact, I thought the best episodes were the ones with the least-used villains (Ragdoll and Killer Moth come to mind)...and, though some changes were made in appearances, the show recycled the very familiar origins of Robin, Batgirl, etc...Also, the backstory and characterization of Katana/Silver Monkey/Lady Shiva in BTB has been carefully threaded through these first 10-11 episodes, in a very clever fashion, IMO. I agree that the original BTAS remains the best animated version of the Dark Knight, but I put "Beware the Batman" in second place.
    1. RH3ZA
      October 28, 2013
      Either way Green Lantern and Young Justice were a much more enjoyable show in my opinion compared to BTB and so I couldn't see it surviving for that long and I was right.
2. rql
  October 24, 2013
  indeed

Michael John Petty

October 22, 2013

COME ON!!!

lethargicj

October 22, 2013

Hard to do when Time Warner owns everything.

lethargicj
October 23, 2013
At least Gotham will be on Fox who has a track record of giving all their shows a chance.
Dammit.
1. lethargicj
  October 23, 2013
  No. It was in reference to every show on Fox. haha

samuel

October 22, 2013

I don't watch beware the batman but do the producers just hate the new52 and punishing DC by canceling their shows?

JJ
October 23, 2013
Yeah I'm sure it's a bunch of nerdy Warner Bros. executives who are getting back at DC for The New 52 relaunch............................

DAVID WALSTON

October 22, 2013

Thanks Chris for clearing this up after other sites ran away with it.

The 2.5th Doctor

October 22, 2013

I just want to see more BTAS.

Re'Nell

October 22, 2013

I don't even WATCH CN/Adult Swim/Boomerang anymore because of all this. Blame Stuart Snyder, current CEO of CN since 2007.

October 22, 2013

I recommend people pick up the new comic series "Beware the Batman #1" because this could show WB/DC that people are interested and save the show.

I guarantee most nay-sayers on here haven't watched the show. Or maybe they watched episode one and got turned off by Pyg and Toad.

Give the show a chance. It has THE BEST detective work of any animated series out there, yes, even better than the original Batman: The Animated Series which had some detective work but things were often spelled out for Bruce Wayne thanks to the batcomputer. The Batman in "BEWARE THE BATMAN" is the ultimate detective and you really get a feel for how seriously Bruce takes his crusade as Batman.

SAVE THIS SHOW!!!

Rod
October 24, 2013
I loved the bit in the second Pyg and Toad episode where it was "Bruce" knowledge that saved the day. That was smart detective work and narrative work. So perfect for the Batman world. This team knows how to tell a Batman story.

batman continues

October 23, 2013

I Hate Cartoon Network

Re'Nell Glover

October 23, 2013

You know, this is similar to the statements "Hey DC Nation fans! Have you heard?? DC Nation will return in January with all new episodes!" and "DC Nation isn't going anywhere!"

TJW

October 23, 2013

Don't know if you watch the show Chris, but there was a name drop you might be interested in on Arrow today

BatmanNewsChris
October 23, 2013
I don't watch Arrow, what happened?
1. BatJake
  October 23, 2013
  SPOILERS!
  they name-dropped Ra's!
  1. Jake
    October 24, 2013
    Simply because of that, it ended up being my favorite episode aha. Caught me completely off guard. I wonder if he'll show up soon.
    1. BatJake
      October 24, 2013
      If he does, I wonder who will play him.
    2. BatFan3000
      October 24, 2013
      My guess is, due to the popularity of AGENTS OF SHEILD, WB/DC is going to incorporate ARROW into the MoS movie universe. So, when they do JLA, you'll have the big screen Batman and Superman with the TV Green Arrow, Black Canary and Flash (who will be introduced on ARROW later this season). I would not be surprised if whoever they end up casting as Wonder Woman will do a cameo in BVS and do an episode of ARROW. The one big question is Green Lantern. I think Geoff Johns said the movie will not be rebooted, but the role will get recast (essentially blaming Ryan Reynolds for the films' failure and not the writers, producers, and director), so that means the GL movie is also part of the MoS DC movie universe.

lethargicj

October 23, 2013

Wow. That statement sure sounds like bad news. They didn't say anything like "don't worry, the show will return soon" or anything? They're not even showing reruns?

BatmanNewsChris
October 23, 2013
Nope, all they said was what I posted. They kind of dodged the question.

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'Beware the Batman' is on hiatus until 2014 (update: Cartoon Network responds)

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