On April Fool’s Day, a viral post spread through Twitter announcing that the original “Teen Titans” was finally getting a sixth season. When fans found out the announcement was a hoax, many expressed open hostility at the realization, as they had been ecstatic to hear that one of their favorite childhood shows would be returning to the big screen.
“Teen Titans” was a popular Cartoon Network series that ran for five seasons between 2003 and 2006. Since it went off the air, fans have petitioned for a revival of the series, especially after the series’ spinoff, “Teen Titans Go!” aired.
Although there are no current plans from Cartoon Network to revive the show, there are several reasons why now would be a fantastic time for the network to bring back one of its most popular shows.
First, the original “Teen Titans” still has a huge fan following, meaning that any revival would see a large viewership. The (fake) announcement for Season 6 had hundreds of tweets expressing fans’ excitement for the show, and a petition to get an official Season 6 has already received more than 16,000 signatures.
Although the show has been off air for 12 years, fans have not given up hope that new episodes of the show will be released, so the show will likely be successful.
Other revivals and reboots of television series have been successful, and it is likely that “Teen Titans” would follow in their footsteps. Other shows with long-lasting fan followings, such as “Will & Grace” and “Gilmore Girls,” have both been revived in the last few years, each of which drew viewership and accolades similar to “Teen Titans” during their original runs.
Although “Teen Titans” was more geared toward a younger audience than “Gilmore Girls” and “Will & Grace,” there is a solid potential, based on comparable popularities among their target demographics, that a “Teen Titans” revival will be as successful as other mainstream revivals.
Such was the case when Toonami and Cartoon Network rebooted “Samurai Jack” on Adult Swim in 2017. Before ending its initial run in 2004, “Samurai Jack” had a similar target demographic to “Teen Titans.” It was rebooted for a fifth season in 2017 and was praised as being the best season of the show.
If another Cartoon Network original could also have a successful revival, “Teen Titans” should be no different than “Samurai Jack” was. There is good reason to assume, based on an overall trend with Cartoon Network and broader pop culture, that a revival series for such a well-received show like “Teen Titans” would be successful.
Yet, even if a reboot of the original “Teen Titans” series was not popular in terms of viewer numbers, fans of the series still deserve a more definitive ending than the one that was received.
From the events of the final episode, “Things Change,” and the events of the “Teen Titans” movie, “Trouble in Tokyo,” viewers deserve a more in-depth examination of some events that happened.
In the television series, one of the major conflicts was between the Titans and Terra, a former Titan who switched her loyalties between the group and Slade, the Titans’ archnemesis.
Beast Boy, one of the Titans, had an on-again off-again relationship with Terra, something that often placed Beast Boy and the other members of the Titans in danger, and often left Beast Boy with a broken heart. The series finale attempted to address the relationship that Beast Boy had with Terra.
In the finale, Beast Boy attempts to convince a girl that he believes is Terra in her human form to remember her time with him and the Titans, but she cannot bring herself to relive her memories. Eventually, she tells Beast Boy that she is not the girl that he remembers her to be, and leaves him.
For a character that was so central to the plot of “Teen Titans,” having Terra’s storyline end with her deciding that she is going to completely give up her old life does a great disservice to her and her relationships with the other Titans. There needed to be more closure to Terra and her character development, which the sixth season could explore more in-depth.
Additionally, the finale was followed by a movie, “Trouble in Tokyo,” in which Starfire and Robin finally confirmed their romantic interest in one another. But the series never got the chance to explore the relationship that they had been hinting at since the beginning.
Leaving the relationship between Starfire and Robin out of the main series denied fans the opportunity to finally see a long-awaited romance and how the new dynamic would impact the Titans’ crime fighting. The show missed out on an opportunity to examine this dynamic, and give fans that insight.
The “Samurai Jack” reboot was able to tie up a lot of loose ends from its previous conclusion, and a “Teen Titans” reboot would allow Cartoon Network to also address and explore segments of the Titans’ lives that were not as fleshed out when it ended in 2006.
There are several compelling reasons why now is the best time for Cartoon Network to bring back its hit “Teen Titans” series. Fans of the series have waited over a decade to see the Titans return to fight crime and to see how the events of the last season and movie could play out even further.
A revival of the show is sure to be one of Cartoon Network’s most-anticipated and popular shows, and it would be beneficial for the network and “Teen Titans” fans if a revival were to be announced.
