The second season of the American

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...

series ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

'' premiered on

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

on September 6, 2019, and concluded on November 29, consisting of 13 episodes. It was executive produced by

Akiva Goldsman Akiva Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client (1994 film), The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel ''Batman & Robin (film), Batman ...

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash (comics), Flash, and Superman has drawn critical accl ...

Greg Berlanti Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', ''Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series), Brothers & Sisters'', ''Everwood'', ''Political ...

, Sarah Schechter, and Greg Walker, with Walker serving as showrunner for the second consecutive season. Created by Goldsman, Johns, and Berlanti, the series is based on the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

team

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

. Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, and

Ryan Potter Ryan Potter (born Ryan Kenichi Hagimoto; September 12, 1995) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as the lead of the Nickelodeon action comedy series ''Supah Ninjas'' (2011–2013). As a voice actor, he voiced Hiro Takachiho, Hiro Ham ...

return to the main cast from the previous season, joined by season 1 guest stars Curran Walters, Conor Leslie, Minka Kelly, and Alan Ritchson and series newcomers Chelsea Zhang,

Joshua Orpin Joshua Orpin (born 15 April 1994) is an Australian actor. On television, he is known for his roles in the DC Universe series ''Titans'' (2019–2023) and the Seven Network soap opera ''Home and Away'' (2024–present). Early life Orpin was bo ...

, and Esai Morales. The season also introduces

Damaris Lewis Damaris Lewis (born October 10, 1990) is an American model and actress. During her modeling career, she appeared in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues'' from 2009 to 2011. As an actress, she portrayed Blackfire (DC Comics), Blackfire on the ...

, who would join the main cast in the following season. It is the only season to feature Zhang and Morales. The season sees

Dick Grayson Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman, Teen Titans and Justice League. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ' ...

(Thwaites) form a new Titans team comprising Rachel Roth (Croft), Gar Logan (Potter), and

Jason Todd Jason Peter Todd is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #357 in March 1983, he was created to succeed Dick Grayson as Robin (character), Robin, Batman's partner ...

(Walters) in his original

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

base. Concurrent with the Titans' return, an old enemy resurfaces in the form of

Deathstroke Deathstroke is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character first appeared in ''The New Teen Titans'' #2 (December 1980) as Deathstroke the Terminator. In his co ...

(Morales), whose past conflict with the original Titans team of Dick,

Donna Troy Donna Troy is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is the original Wonder Girl, and later temporarily adopts another alias, Troia. Created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, she first appeared in ''The Brave an ...

(Leslie), Dawn Granger (Kelly), and

Hank Hall Hank Hall is a fictional character that appears in DC Comics. He first appeared in '' Showcase'' #75 (June 1968) as Hawk of Hawk and Dove. After that, he became known as Extant, and appeared in the limited series '' Zero Hour: Crisis in Time'', ...

(Ritchson) caused them to disband. As Deathstroke looks to eliminate the Titans, with his daughter

Rose Wilson Rose Wilson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Art Nichols, first appearing in a 1992 issue of ''Deathstroke the Terminator'' #15. She is usually por ...

(Zhang) also taking part in the fight, the heroes face another threat from Cadmus Laboratories when they encounter runaway test subject Conner (Orpin). Meanwhile, Kory Anders (Diop) discovers she is being hunted by her sister Blackfire (Lewis). A second season of ''Titans'' was confirmed in 2018 prior to the premiere of the first season. Filming began the following year and 13 episodes were announced, two more than the 11 episodes of its predecessor. The season was originally planned to feature

H.I.V.E. The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination (H.I.V.E.) is a fictional terrorist organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The H.I.V.E. organization has appeared in ''Teen Titans (TV series), Teen Titan ...

as the Titans' enemies, while Dick would operate under his new mantle of

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...

after assuming the identity in the initially intended season 1 finale. Before the start of filming, however, the original season 1 finale would be removed and reworked into the second season, which provided a new resolution to the previous season's story in its premiere episode. The second season was subsequently re-envisioned to depict Dick's gradual transformation into Nightwing, with Deathstroke replacing H.I.V.E. Its story was influenced by the 1984 comic arc " The Judas Contract" from

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...

and

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...

's ''The New Teen Titans'' and the 2003 ''Teen Titans'' comics by Johns. Critical reception to the second season was mixed. While episodes in the first half of the season received positive reviews, the premiere and later episodes were met with a more negative response for the plot, writing, character arcs, and story resolutions. The second season was the last to release on DC Universe following the repurposing of the service into comic distributor DC Universe Infinite and

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

's acquisition of its original programming.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

* Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson / Robin / Nightwing: The leader of the

and member of the original team * Anna Diop as Koriand'r / Kory Anders: An extraterrestrial royal with the ability to absorb and redirect solar energy * Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth: An empath deriving her powers from her demon father and member of the new Titans team *

as Gar Logan: A shapeshifter capable of transforming into animals who joins the new Titans team * Curran Walters as Jason Todd / Robin: Dick's successor as Robin, who becomes part of the new Titans team at Bruce's request * Conor Leslie as Donna Troy / Wonder Girl: A half-

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

who helped form the original Titans team ** Afrodite Drossos as young Donna Troy * Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger / Dove: The tactical half of her and Hank's vigilante duo, previously with the original Titans * Alan Ritchson as Hank Hall / Hawk: A vigilante and former Titan serving as the aggressive half in his and Dawn's crimefighting duo * Chelsea Zhang as

: Deathstroke's daughter, who shares his enhanced reflexes and regenerative healing *

as Subject 13 / Conner: A genetic clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, possessing the abilities and personality traits of both * Esai Morales as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke: A biologically-enhanced assassin who has a history with the original Titans

Recurring

Iain Glen Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil (film series), ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont, Jorah Morm ...

Bruce Wayne Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. In t ...

: A billionaire who moonlights as a feared vigilante in

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

and Dick's mentor * Michael Mosley as Dr. Arthur Light: A former physicist who turned criminal after gaining the ability to control light energy * Chella Man as

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

: Deathstroke's mute son and Rose's half-brother, who has the power to possess other people's bodies through eye contact * Mayko Nguyen as

Adeline Adeline may refer to: People *Adeline (given name) *Yves-Marie Adeline (born 1960), French Catholic writer Places *Adeline, Illinois, village in Maryland Township, Ogle County, Illinois, US Arts and entertainment *Adeline Records, recording lab ...

: Jericho's mother and Deathstroke's ex-wife *

Raoul Bhaneja Raoul Bhaneja is an English-Canadian actor, musician, writer and producer. Early life and studies Bhaneja was born in Manchester. His father is an Indian Sindhi, and his mother is Irish. A graduate of The National Theatre School of Canad ...

as Walter Hawn: The vice president of special projects at Cadmus Laboratories * Natalie Gumede as Mercy Graves: The personal security specialist to Lex Luthor, assigned to oversee Cadmus Laboratories * Demore Barnes as William Wintergreen: Deathstroke's handler and friend Dog actors Digby, Lacey, and Wrigley portray

Krypto Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a superhero dog appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the character Superman. In most continuities, Krypto is Superman's pet dog, usually depicted as a ...

, a dog possessing

Kryptonian Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to ref ...

powers who accompanies Conner.

Guest

* Seamus Dever as Trigon: An interdimensional demon with the power to destroy worlds and Rachel's father. Dever also portrays an ice cream truck driver and a drug supplier in the illusions created by Trigon. * Rachel Nichols as Angela Azarath: Rachel's biological mother, who holds allegiance to Trigon * Drew Van Acker as Garth / Aqualad: A member of the original Titans from

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

possessing hydrokinetic and enhanced physical abilities * Robbie Jones as Faddei: A royal guard from Tamaran and former romantic interest of Kory * Ann Magnuson as Jillian: An Amazon monitoring Donna * Genevieve Angelson as Eve Watson: A scientist at Cadmus Laboratories who created Conner *

as Blackfire: A Tamaranean royal and Kory's sister * Evan Jones as Len Armstrong: A prison guard at the Kane County Correctional Facility * Orel De La Mota as Rafi: A Kane County inmate who illegally entered the United States after he fled

Corto Maltese ''Corto Maltese'' ( ; ) is a series of adventure comics named after the character Corto Maltese, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most arti ...

* Julian Works as Luis: An illegal immigrant from Corto Maltese detained in Kane County with Rafi and Santos * Rey Gallegos as Santos: Rafi and Luis's cellmate and fellow Corto Maltese illegal immigrant *

McKinley Freeman McKinley Freeman (born June 9, 1976) is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films and on television series, including the starring role of Derek Roman in the drama series '' Hit the Floor'', portraying the role of Dominic in the OWN ...

as Justin Cole: A psychiatrist who encounters Kory in Las Vegas *

Currie Graham Currie Graham (born February 26, 1967) is a Canadian stage, film and television actor. While primarily recognized as a TV actor, he has numerous film credits, including the action thrillers '' Rancid'' and '' Assault on Precinct 13''. Early li ...

as Stuart: The creator of Dick's costume, posing as a shoemaker * Peter MacNeill as

Lionel Luthor Lionel Luthor is a fictional character portrayed by John Glover in the television series ''Smallville''. The character was initially a special guest in season one, and became a series regular in season two and continued until being written out ...

: A retired scientist and Lex Luthor's father * Curtis Lum as Benny: A contact of Dick * Elizabeth Whitmere as Peg: The sister of Hank and Dawn's farmhand * Drew Scheid as Faux Hawk: A teenager who poses as Hawk * Patrick Garrow as cage announcer: The announcer for Hank's cage fights * Spencer Macpherson as Ellis: A recovering drug addict hired by Hank and Dawn to help manage their farm * Hanneke Talbot as Selinda Flinders / Shimmer: A metahuman criminal with the ability to alter compounds and elements * Sarah Deakins as

Martha Kent Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent (often referred to as "Pa" and "Ma" Kent, respectively) are fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are the adoptive parents of Superman, and live in the rural town of Smallville (co ...

: Superman's adoptive mother * Oluniké Adeliyi as Mati Matisse: A burlesque dancer formerly in a relationship with Wintergreen * Sydney Kuhne as Dani: A runaway fleeing from an abusive household * Ishan Morris as Caleb: Dani's abusive father * Natalie Morgan as Paris: A pregnant woman who becomes Blackfire's host body on Earth Payne Novak portrays

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

and

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

as children.

Production

Development

Ahead of the series' premiere at

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,00 ...

in October 2018, ''Titans'' was renewed for a second season. Greg Walker returned as showrunner from the first season, who also served as an executive producer alongside

, and Sarah Schechter. The season was the last to release on DC Universe due to its original programming moving to

in 2021 and the repurposing of the service into comic distributor DC Universe Infinite.

Writing

The second season was initially planned to follow the events of the original season 1 finale, which would have seen

assume the identity of

and establish

as the Titans' next adversaries. After the original season 1 finale was pulled, elements of the episode were given to the season 2 premiere, which became the resolution of season 1's Trigon story. H.I.V.E. was replaced by

, while Dick's arc into Nightwing was re-envisioned to conclude in the season 2 finale.

Casting

Series regulars Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, and

reprise their roles from the first season as

, Kory Anders, Rachel Roth, and Gar Logan. Season 1 guest stars Curran Walters, Conor Leslie, Minka Kelly, and Alan Ritchson return as

, Dawn Granger, and

, after being promoted to series regular status. An additional cast for the second season was rounded up between February and October 2019.

was cast as Conner, taking over for body double Brooker Muir in the first season. After the character was teased by co-creator

, Esai Morales was cast as

, with Chella Man and Chelsea Zhang portraying his children

and

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

was cast as

, marking the character's first physical appearance after being portrayed by stunt doubles in the first-season finale. Natalie Gumede and Drew Van Acker were cast as Mercy Graves and Garth, respectively. Other casting additions include Genevieve Angelson as Cadmus Laboratories scientist Dr. Eve Watson, Michael Mosley as Dr. Light, Oluniké Adeliyi as burlesque dancer Mati Matisse,Non-loginwalled link at bibliogram.pussthecat.org
/ref> Hanneke Talbot as Shimmer, Demore Barnes as

Wintergreen Wintergreen is a group of aromatic plants. The term ''wintergreen'' once commonly referred to plants that remain green (continue photosynthesis) throughout the winter. The term ''evergreen'' is now more commonly used for this characteristic. ...

, and

as Kory's sister Blackfire.

Filming

Filming for the second season began on April 2, 2019, and concluded on September 20. Production was temporarily put on hold in July due to accidental death of special effects coordinator Warren Appleby; the season 2 premiere is dedicated in his memory.

Release

Broadcast

The second season premiered in the United States through

on September 6 and concluded on November 29, 2019. Outside the United States, the second season became available for streaming via

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on January 10, 2020.

Home media

The second season was released digitally and to DVD and Blu-Ray on March 3, 2020.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the second season holds an 81% approval rating based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 7 out of 10. The critical consensus reads: "Though ''Titans''s sophomore season suffers from a slight slump at the start, it quickly resets itself, building on the momentum from its first season while laying fascinating framework for where the show could go". The premiere episode "Trigon" was criticized for having story elements originally intended for the season 1 finale. Kevin Yeoman of ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' wrote that the premiere "feels like two distinct episodes roughly stitched together, rather than a proper start to a new season" and "the show's simply carrying too much baggage at the start and is reaching for a conclusion too long after the ostensible end of season 1 to deliver much in the way of a fulfilling resolution or a promising new beginning". Giving the episode a 5.8/10, Jesse Schedeen of

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

called it "an extremely messy episode, with one half tasked with wrapping up Season 1's Trigon storyline and the other laying the groundwork for a new status quo and new villain" and "delivers a very anticlimactic finish to Season 1's story", although he found promise for future episodes.

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...

reviewer Aaron Sagers said the premiere "would have served as an excellent season 1 finale", but concluded that "it feels quite a bit like a much-needed course correction for this series" and gave it a 3.5/5. Following the premiere, early episodes of the season earned a positive reception. In a review for the second episode "Rose", ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' contributor Linda Maleh called it "the real season premiere" and wrote, "season 2 has taken the best things about season 1, and elevated them". Praising the sixth episode "Conner" and Joshua Orpin's performance in the titular role, Sagers said that "it is a strong introduction of the anticipated character, and ''Titans'' makes up for the fact we've waited so long in the season for it". Schedeen gave the eighth episode "Jericho" a 9.3/10, which he described as "easily the strongest installment of ''Titans: Season 2'', and a clear contender for the series' best episode overall". However, the later episodes were received more negatively. In a review for the 11th episode "E.L._.O.", Charles Pulliam-Moore of

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...

wrote that "''Titans'' seemingly lost its focus" after the eighth episode and "with just two episodes to go, it doesn't seem possible that the writers are going to be able to wrap things up in satisfying or interesting ways". For the finale "Nightwing", Pulliam-Moore called it "a travesty of epic proportions", criticizing how the episode concluded the season's storylines. The death of

in the finale was widely panned as illogical and unnecessary, with several reviewers questioning if electrical discharge from a transmission tower would have been sufficient to kill the character. Although giving the overall episode a 3.5/5, Sagers commented: "Even if I were to accept that Donna couldn't withstand that electrical charge, and even if I could explain why the super-boy onnerdidn't rush to stop the falling tower, the death played out in cheap fashion, like yet another box that had to be ticked for the finale". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'''s Christian Holub said that "Donna Troy's last-minute death felt so stupidly unnecessary that I can't help but throw up my hands at this whole season finale", describing the scene as "such a stupid death I honestly thought it was a joke at first". Donna's actress Conor Leslie agreed with the criticism during a 2021 interview, noting the episode aired shortly before a '' Wonder Woman 1984'' trailer that depicted

Diana Prince Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

unaffected by lightning.

References

External links

* * {{Teen Titans Titans (2018 TV series) seasons 2019 American television seasons