Our favourite badass (or just bad?) antiheroes are back for Season Three of Doom Patrol and we couldn’t be happier to be reunited with our f*bomb-dropping group of crazy superbeings.
Doom Patrol reimagines one of DC’s most beloved groups of superheroes: Robotman aka Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser), Negative Man aka Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), Elasti-Woman aka Rita Farr (April Bowlby), Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero) and Cyborg aka Victor Stone (Joivan Wade), all led by modern-day mad scientist Niles Caulder aka The Chief (Timothy Dalton).
Each member of the Doom Patrol suffered a horrible accident that gave them superhuman abilities but also left them scarred, disfigured, and ostracized – until Niles Caulder brought the outcasts together.
Season Three opens on the culmination of the Doom Patrol’s confrontation with the Candlemaker that leads to a devastating loss. The Doom Patrol is at a difficult crossroads and each member struggles to face who they are and who they want to be. And things get a whole lot more complicated when Madame Rouge (Michelle Gomez) arrives in a time machine with a very specific mission, if only she could remember it.
We spoke to the wonderful April Bowlby back in 2020 to discuss Season Two of the series and now we touch base with her again for Season Three to see what new crazy situations we’ll find the Patrol in…
What was it like getting back with all the Doom Patrol family again for Season Three?
Oh my god it’s amazing. It’s amazing because we thought it was the end of the world, so when it wasn’t we were really delighted. Also this season, I feel like the story is very special. Sometimes I feel like a lot of shows kind of fall apart in Season Three because they haven’t quite found their footing, but our show really shines in Season Three. So, to get the scripts, week after week we were super stoked.
What makes Season Three stand out for you?
We have this unity. Everyone is really coming into their own this season, and there are no excuses. Everyone is facing what they need to do. It’s like the climactic part of a movie they were like, ‘go, go, go!’ Also, we have an introduction to a new character named Madame Rouge and she shocks the Doom Patrol into a completely different world. Not to mention there’s some time travelling this season, which is fascinating, and they made it work! Time travel is such a confusing construct, but they did it!
The gang had a tough time in Season Two. How are they for this season?
Not great. Everyone’s a little scattered to the wind, but in a sense it needed to happen because I think that we relied so much on Niles that it was impeding our growth. We kept going back to a dysfunctional person to get functional and that never really worked so now we’re on our own and I think that freedom is really good for the team. Although, obviously, things happen, and we have challenges.
Are they still quite reluctant to be superheroes?
Yep! Even in episode three of our new season, poor Vic is like ‘come on, there’s Garguax, there’s the Brotherhood of Evil, something weird is going on!’ and Crazy Jane is like, ‘we’re not a superhero team dude!’ haha. So it’s still resistance, resistance, resistance. And of course, with that resistance, everything falls apart, because we have to stand up and fight for our lives!
We saw Rita take more of a leadership role in Series Two – do we see more of that this season?
Yes! Dare I say Rita is the leader of the season! It’s very exciting! I mean you’ll have to tell me, but from my point of view I feel like she definitely takes charge. I think she’s had too many false starts, and I think she’s frustrated at this point. She gets challenged one too many times and she just takes her fate into her own hands and makes things happen and leads the way. She makes big choices without apologising for them. There are consequences to that but she really shines this year.
We’re sure we can ask the showrunners to just rename the show ‘Rita’…?
Haha yes! I also want to write a rock song too, Rita And The Doom Patrol!
We’re in for that! We saw some of Rita’s past in Season Two, do we get to see more of that this season?
There is some time travelling in this season and Rita also falls in love, so you get to see a completely different side of her this season, where she’s full of joy, and there’s no shame in her life and she’s free to be who she is. It’s a very magical moment. It’s nice to see her happy instead of pumping herself up and then all of a sudden, falling apart and then being reclusive again. You get to see Rita actually in joy, and it lasts for a little while, so that’s nice.
So, in Season One we had a giant cockroach and a rat making out, Season Two we had sex ghosts… what do we have in store for us in Season Three?
In Season Three we have zombie butts! Because why not?! We’re Doom Patrol!
Do you ever question how they’re going to show these crazy elements?
I literally have no idea! When it’s written I’m like ‘no’ I can’t even imagine, my brain is like, ‘I don’t get it’ and then you see it when they do it and you’re like, ‘oh my god, they did it, they did it, I don’t know how they did it!’ haha.
What was it like shooting during the pandemic?
I think everyone was very excited to be back on set. I think also, we honoured and respected all of the rules that were in place to keep us safe because we wanted to finish our season.
We wanted to have a good, healthy, happy season, and luckily we did. It was a hard adjustment because we’re huggers. Sets are a very lively community. But we toned it down and we adjusted and luckily we just kept right on shooting. So thank goodness everyone was safe. But it was challenging. Like the cast didn’t even get to have lunch together. But in that spirit everyone was safe, and then we felt safe enough to get to play and give you the most magical scenes that you’ve ever seen in your entire life so that’s cool.
What would you say are the main themes for this season?
The main themes of this season are time travel, brains, a lot of unity and really people finding out their true selves. Also there’s a love story for me, my character. And Scottish women who throw teacups haha. It’s amazing.
Doom Patrol Season Three will air from 14 November on STARZPLAY. New episodes will stream every Sunday, and the first two seasons are also available on the service. Check out our Top Ten Moments from Season One.