| Season Number: | 3 |
| Bgcolour: |
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| Showrunner: | Greg Walker |
| Network: | HBO Max |
| Num Episodes: | 13 |
The third season of the American superhero streaming television series Titans premiered on HBO Max on August 12, 2021, and concluded on October 21, consisting of 13 episodes. It was executive produced by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Walker, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Richard Hatem, with Walker serving as showrunner for the third consecutive season. Developed by Goldsman, Johns, and Berlanti, the series is based on the DC Comics team Teen Titans. Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, Ryan Potter, Conor Leslie, Curran Walters, Joshua Orpin, Minka Kelly, and Alan Ritchson return to the main cast from the previous season, joined by season 2 guest star Damaris Lewis and series newcomers Savannah Welch and Vincent Kartheiser. The season also introduces Jay Lycurgo, who would join the main cast the following season. It is the final season to feature longtime cast members Leslie, Kelly, and Ritchson, the final to feature Lewis, and the only to feature Welch and Kartheiser.
In the third season, the Titans team of Dick Grayson (Thwaites), Kory Anders (Diop), Gar Logan (Potter), Conner (Orpin), Dawn Granger (Kelly), and Hank Hall (Ritchson) travel to Gotham City after learning that their former teammate Jason Todd (Walters) was murdered. Tasked with protecting the city in the absence of Bruce Wayne (Iain Glen), the Titans find themselves targeted by a resurrected Jason, now calling himself Red Hood. Dick, working alongside former vigilante partner and love interest Barbara Gordon (Welch) in her new role as police commissioner, is forced to receive assistance from incarcerated criminal Jonathan Crane (Kartheiser) in stopping Jason. Further tensions emerge when Kory's younger sister Blackfire (Lewis) takes up residence with the team, despite conflict between her and Kory. Meanwhile, Titan Rachel Roth (Croft) trains with the Amazons in Themyscira as she attempts to resurrect fallen teammate Donna Troy (Leslie).
Titans third season was confirmed shortly before the conclusion of the second season in 2019. Filming was scheduled to begin by the spring of the following year, with the season premiering on DC Universe in late 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production was delayed before the start of filming. Production resumed by October 2020 and concluded by June 2021. The third season was the first to release on HBO Max following its acquisition of DC Universe's original programming and the repurposing of DC Universe into comic distributor DC Universe Infinite. In addition to having elements from Marv Wolfman and George Pérez's 1980s The New Teen Titans and Johns' 2003 Teen Titans comics, the season is inspired by the Batman comic storylines "A Death in the Family" (1988) by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo, "No Man's Land" (1999) by Jordan B. Gorfinkel, and "Under the Hood" (2004–2006) by Judd Winick and Doug Mahnke.
Reviews of the third season have been positive, with critics regarding it as an improvement over past seasons.
See main article: List of Titans characters.
Dog actors Pepsi, Wrigley, and Ziva portray Krypto in the third season.[2] [3]
A voice over of poet W. H. Auden is provided by Benedict Campbell. The Joker is portrayed by an uncredited stand-in. Esai Morales and Chella Man appear in archive footage from the second season as Deathstroke and Jericho, while April Brown Chodkowski appears as Mary Grayson in archive footage from the first season.
A few weeks before the second season concluded, Titans was renewed for a third season in November 2019. The filming was scheduled to begin earlier in 2020,[4] [5] but the COVID-19 pandemic in March forced production to be temporarily shut down. Executive producer Akiva Goldsman stated two months later that filming on the third season had not yet occurred, but would begin "as soon as possible".[6]
During the production delay, DC Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee revealed that the series would be moving from DC Universe to HBO Max, which launched in 2020.[7] The third season was the first to premiere on HBO Max.[8]
Writers Prathi Srinivasan, Joshua Levy, and Stephanie Coggins joined the third season in 2020, alongside returning writers Jamie Gorenberg, Tom Pabst, Kate McCarthy, and Richard Hatem.[9] The third season takes place in Gotham City and introduces Red Hood, Jonathan Crane, and Barbara Gordon.[10] [11] San Francisco was originally intended to be setting from the second season, but filming being pushed into the fall and winter months resulted in the story being moved to Gotham.[12] Donna Troy was brought back for season 3, despite the character's death in the previous season.[13] [14]
Walker described Gotham as "a huge character" in season 3 that "brings out leadership qualities that [Dick] has to assess to see whether they're his own - true Nightwing - or are they patterns [inherited from] a father who he needs to differentiate himself from?". For Barbara, Walker noted she and Dick would be reckoning with the legacy of James Gordon and Bruce Wayne in the third season. He also compared Crane to Hannibal Lecter as an incarcerated villain who helps the police capture other criminals, while being able to exploit fear.[15]
Series regulars Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, Ryan Potter, Conor Leslie, Curran Walters, Joshua Orpin, Alan Ritchson, and Minka Kelly reprise their roles as Dick Grayson, Kory Anders, Rachel Roth, Gar Logan, Donna Troy, Jason Todd, Conner, Hank Hall, and Dawn Granger, alongside Damaris Lewis as Blackfire, who was promoted to series regular status after guest starring in the previous season.[16]
Iain Glen returns as Bruce Wayne for the third season,[17] alongside McKinley Freeman as Justin Cole from the second season.[18] Other casting additions include Savannah Welch as Barbara Gordon,[19] Jay Lycurgo as Tim Drake,[20] Vincent Kartheiser as Dr. Jonathan Crane,[21] and Kimberly-Sue Murray as Lady Vic.[22]
The third season was the last to feature Leslie, Kelly, and Ritchson.[23]
After being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, filming began on October 13, 2020, and concluded on June 15, 2021.[24] [25] [26]
Shortly after the season premiere, Kartheiser was allegedly investigated twice over accusations of disruptive behavior and inappropriate comments on set. Kartheiser denied the allegations.[27]
The third season premiered in the United States through HBO Max on August 12 and concluded on October 21, 2021.[28] [29] The first three episodes aired on the premiere date, while the remaining episodes were released weekly.[30]
Reception to the third season has been positive. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 100% approval rating based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. Its critical consensus reads: "With bolder storytelling and deeper characterization, Titans third season hits the show's sweet spot to deliver the best season yet".[31]