Had a series like The Tick originally aired today, it almost certainly would have had a better chance at success. Superheroes have since saturated the American zeitgeist, where in 2001 they’d only begun taking over the summer box office. Digital streaming outlets like Hulu allow new series to find their audience, rather than the other way around, giving struggling shows a better chance.
Luckily for The Tick, today is also the age of once canceled series getting second chances. With the growing number of digital streaming outlets, the odds a once canceled show can be resurrected are only increased as member-hungry streaming services compete to offer exclusive content for their subscription fee.
When The Tick live-action series first aired, it only lasted nine episodes, yet thanks to the character’s strong following and the show’s place as a cult favorite, The Tick‘s popularity has grown. Most recently, thanks to the show’s addition to streaming outlets like Netflix and iTunes, The Tick is being discovered by many who never even knew of its extremely limited original run.
A renewed interest in The Tick is also tied to recent reports Amazon has ordered a pilot for a new Tick series as part of its Amazon Originals brand. While not yet officially confirmed, a recent tweet from series creator Been Edlund seemed to imply a new Tick series was in fact in development. Series’ star, Patrick Warburton is also reportedly on board The Tick revival, and recently made comments to MovieWeb that might give insight to the new series’ tone and direction:
“I’m really not at liberty to discuss anything in regards to ‘The Tick’ right now. I will say, isn’t it ironic that Captain Liberty’s friend isn’t at liberty? Are there discussions? I would say things look very interesting and positive.
“I love ‘The Tick.’ I’d love to do it again. I never would have thought I’d have the opportunity to do this again. I think it would be a blast to do it again. We’ll see what happens.
“One thing about The Tick, he is an insane character. I guess he doesn’t have to be 29 years old like Thor. He’ll be 50 battling evil. I’d love to see what Ben Edlund’s new vision for it is. I think it’ll be different. Perhaps a little darker and a little edgier. We’ll see what happens.”
For not being allowed to say much, Warburton sure did have a lot say about Amazon’s rumored Tick revival. Though it sounds more like conjecture and not necessarily the opinion of someone who’s actually read a treatment or script for a new Tick series.
“Darker” and “edgier” are go-to buzzwords whenever discussing a superhero property being revived for modern audiences. The Tick, however, isn’t so old that it’s out of touch with today’s audiences, and to darken the show simply for the sake of it would likely cheapen the revival. Besides, The Tick‘s ridiculousness was part of its charm; losing that might alienate the show’s core fans.
Then again, perhaps Warburton is suggesting it will be “edgier” with regard to its humor, in which case we can only hope a Tick revival would take advantage of the fewer restrictions placed on streaming content and push the jokes in a slightly more adult direction.
Warburton continued to discuss the possibilities of a new show, including a new costume, calling the original costume “not the most fun.“
“I would assume there would be a new design. Let’s say hypothetically that ‘The Tick,’ we’re going to attack it again. It would be all-new. It would be a new conception. There are so many advantages to the creatives today that there weren’t 12 years ago. As far as doing things, and creating a whole new world for ‘The Tick,’ it would have been too costly and hard to do 12 years ago.”
A reason Fox axed The Tick so early in its original run was its high production costs, something that wouldn’t likely be as large of an issue today. The Tick live-action series always put emphasis on the relationships between its characters – fostering something of a Seinfeld vibe between its heroes – over big action scenes. The few necessary visual effects would likely be cost effective with today’s technology.
How excited are you about the possible return of The Tick? Would you like to see the series made “darker” or “edgier“? Or would you rather have more of the same? Let us hear from you in the comments below!
We’ll keep you updated on The Tick as more information becomes available.
