Constantine Is Officially Dead

Sorry Hellblazers, but it looks like NBC’s Constantine series – which was cancelled last month but has been searching for a home elsewhere – is officially dead. Despite fans (and fellow superheroes) rallying for the cause to drop the supernatural series into a Lazarus Pit, the show will not be returning, as announced by showrunner Daniel Cerone:

“I promised I’d share news when I had it — sadly, that news is not good. The cast and writers of Constantine are being released from their contracts. The studio tried to find a new home for the show, for which we’re forever grateful, but those efforts didn’t pan out. I’m sorry, I wasn’t provided any information on the attempts to sell the show elsewhere. All I can report is that the show is over.”

This news doesn’t come as a particular shock; the series never had great ratings, despite all-around goodwill and positive reviews from fans. The first nail in the coffin came in November, when NBC opted not to extend the series’ original 13-episode order, and since then the chances of Constantine finding another network were slim, despite the sudden uptake in comic book adaptations on television.

Cerone wrote a heartfelt letter to all the Hellblazers who gave Constantine a shot, and the cast and crew who worked so hard to bring the show to life. Check it out below and let us know what you think.

“Many ingredients went into this TV series. From the dedicated cast that breathed these characters to life, led by Matt Ryan as the comic-made-flesh embodiment of John Constantine, to the exceptionality talented crew that put unreal images on screen, to the original Hellblazer writers and artists who gifted us a universe.

As a general principle, writers don’t choose a writing career to achieve stardom. Whatever demons or insecurities drove them to find freedom of expression through written words generally keeps writers comfortably obscure behind their words. Nor do people choose writing as a means to financial freedom. I’d venture to guess that most who set out to write professionally never receive a paycheck for their hopeful scribbles or key strokes.

In fact, nobody I know ever chose a writing career — it chose them. You write because that’s what you do. Like breathing, it just happens and you have to do it and you just hope that someday somebody out there notices what you’re trying to say.

If that’s the dream of writers, than the writers of Constantine lived the dream, because we’re leaving behind wild and passionate fans who believe in and were moved by what we tried to do. To leave such a significant, dedicated and active fan base on the table — that’s the real sadness. You all deserve many years of the series we set out to make, and we’re disappointed that we couldn’t deliver that to you. The good news is that Constantine will live on for years in many more forms. But our time as caretakers has ended.

Thank you for letting us in.”