Yahoo Movies Doom Patrol star Mark Sheppard says season 4 is 'really good as an ending'
The news that Doom Patrol will end with its current season 4 may be sad to fans who have been watching the surreal superhero show ever since it premiered on the now-defunct DC Universe streaming service, but the show's producers have known for some time that they were approaching the end.
In a new interview, actor Mark Sheppard tells EW that Doom Patrol showrunner Jeremy Carver (who Sheppard has known since their days working together on Supernatural) figured the finale was approaching and planned for it.
"Genuinely, I do know that Jeremy was prepared for this," Sheppard tells EW. "So the end of Doom Patrol, season 4B, is really good. It's really good as an ending."
Dan McFadden/HBO Max Mark Sheppard as Willoughby Kipling on 'Doom Patrol.'
Over the course of its four seasons, Doom Patrol has featured butt monsters, inter-dimensional portals hidden inside of a donkey, time travel, a living street block who identifies as non-binary, and a superpowered version of dissociative identity disorder, among other things. When EW spoke with Carver way back at the end of season 1 in 2019, he said "we went full steam into season 1 with a 'smoke 'em if you got 'em' attitude," and it's safe to say that Doom Patrol continued that same attitude through its subsequent seasons.
It also may have revived interest in the acting skills of Brendan Fraser, who voices Robotman and plays his human self, Cliff Steele, in flashbacks (actor Riley Shanahan wears the robot suit on set in present-day scenes). Fraser is now a first-time Oscar nominee for his work on The Whale, where he also plays a character who views their own body as monstrous.
"We got four years of Doom Patrol out under the wire, and we made something beautiful. That was a joy," Sheppard says. "I mean, it was an absolute joy. And after season 1, everyone was asking: Why isn't Brendan Fraser in everything? And it's true, because he's just so wonderful."
Sheppard continues, "If you put your heart into something, it doesn't matter what it is. If you put your heart and your passion into something, it is its own reward."
For his part, Sheppard plays the recurring role of occult detective Willoughby Kipling on Doom Patrol, and has appeared in every season. When we last saw him in the season 4 mid-point cliffhanger, he was trying desperately to assemble the Doom Patrol to defeat the looming apocalyptic threat of Immortus. As usual, they weren't really listening to him.
In a statement accompanying the cancelation announcement, Carver thanked HBO Max, Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions, and DC Studios for "indulging us these past four seasons. Also, what were you smoking? To our brilliant cast, indomitable crew, fearless writing staff and, most of all, to our beautiful fans: thank you all the more. You made this a once-in-a-lifetime ride."
We'll see what ending Carver has in mind when the final batch of Doom Patrol episodes hit HBO Max later this year.
Additional reporting by Samantha Highfill.
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