Last year, following the announcement of NBC not to renew for Season 2 the American supernatural drama TV series “Constantine,” showrunner Daniel Cerone lobbied hard with the network to reconsider its decision.
He also went out of his way to offer to other networks and streaming services the opportunity to rescue “Constantine” from cancellation and continue on with the show’s second season.
Unfortunately, all his efforts went for naught, thus eventually accepted the reality that it is all over for the TV series. Welsh actor Matt Ryan, who played the titular John Constantine character on the TV series expressed his disappointment for the cancellation of the show, saying that it was unfair to the fans because the Season 1 finale left a major cliffhanger.
When Cerone realized that a Season 2 of “Constantine” would no longer happen, he decided to publish the script of episode 14 on his Twitter account just to give the fans of the show a closure of what really happened and put everything to a wrap.
Cerone also got excited when Matt Ryan, played John Constantine once again in a cameo appearance during episode 5 of the current fourth season of the American superhero drama TV series “Arrow” on The CW.
While Ryan’s guesting on “Arrow” momentarily opened the possibility that “Constantine” may get revived by another network, the former showrunner eventually accepted the fact that the show is over and done with.
Thus, he has moved on to become one of the writers of the American crime drama TV series “The Blacklist” also on NBC which is now in its third season. The show has already been renewed for Season 4 so it is likely that Cerone will have a bigger role in the next season, perhaps as one of the show’s executive producers, notes the Christian Today.
A one-off deal
Following Matt Ryan’s guesting on “Arrow” in an episode of Season 4 late last year, there have been talks that his John Constantine character may appear again in future episodes of “Arrow” or the other superhero drama TV series on The CW based on DC Comics including “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow.”
However, it seems that John Constantine would not be appearing on “Arrow” anytime soon or perhaps even in the future.
According to “Arrow” executive producer Marc Guggenheim, Constantine’s appearance on The CW series has been planned even before NBC cancelled “Constantine” in the spring of last year.
Guggenheim said that it was just a one-off deal which came out as a result of the previous discussion of a crossover between “Constantine” and “Arrow.” But since “Constantine” has already been cancelled, Ryan and Stephen Amell pushed through with the deal just the same just for one time.
The rumors of the possible return of John Constantine of “Arrow” started when the episode that featured his character was well-received by fans and critics alike, even recording an 11% jump in the ratings of “Arrow” during that November 4 episode.
Wrong place at the wrong time
It’s water under the bridge now but “Constantine” would have been in the second half of its supposed Season 2 by this time on NBC had the show not been cancelled in May last year, just weeks after its Season 1 finale.
Apart from the fact that the show was actually in the wrong channel, “Constantine” executive producer David Goyer explained that the TV series, although a DC Comics lore, has not been given the right promotions by the network.
Goyer cited the half-hearted acceptance of NBC to the TV series because the network is no longer as dominant as in the past years, which is why “Constantine” only received a token promotion during its 13-episode Season 1 run.
Cinema Blend thinks that Goyer has a valid point because “Constantine” was unlike any other show on NBC. Unlike its active strategy before, the network simply does not have the same dominance on the airwaves in the past years to guarantee the success of an experimental series in its lineup.