This fall is seeing a huge crop of comic-book TV shows, and one of the most promising is Constantine. The trench-coated antihero who copes with the unsavory side of magic is getting a more faithful portrayal. Except he won’t smoke. And now we’re hearing his sexuality will be toned down too. Does it matter?
At the Television Critics Association Q&A over the weekend, executive producer David Cerone was asked if Constantine would be bisexual, the way he is in the comics. In response, Cerone broke down all the different versions of the character who’ve appeared over the years, to prove bisexuality wasn’t a major part of the character. And then, according to EW, he added:
In those comic books, John Constantine aged in real time. Within this tome of three decades [of comics] there might have been one or two issues where he’s seen getting out of bed with a man. So [maybe] 20 years from now? But there are no immediate plans.
The producers also said that it wasn’t as if Constantine would be a non-smoker — we might see him stubbing something out from time to time.
For the record, I’ve read dozens of Hellblazer comics over the years, and I can’t remember seeing much indication that John Constantine was bisexual or pansexual. But he’s a character who’s appeared in hundreds and hundreds of comics over the years, so who knows? But it’s fair to say that smoking is more integral to the character than sexuality is. At the same time, we don’t have nearly enough queer characters on television — especially not heroic ones.
[Edited to add: I didn’t mean to skate over this issue quite so glibly — blame deadlines and pre-Comic-Con phone calls. I do think erasing queer people from pop culture is a shitty thing to do, and we desperately need more pop culture that represents the whole range of human sexuality. And it really wouldn’t have cost much for them to include an aside about ex-boyfriends along with ex-girlfriends. At the same time, to me the most important aspect of John Constantine is not who he fucks, but who he fucks over. ]
At the same time, it looks as though Constantine is taking over the Friday night slot previously occupied by Dracula, a show in which it appeared as though every single character was A) bisexual and B) into some pretty weird edgeplay. So you would expect this show to have a bit of leeway. Plus isn’t that also the Hannibal timeslot?
In any case, it’s way too early to tell how this will wind up affecting the show — we’ll know more when we’ve watched a half season of it. I’m more worried by the reports that they’re reshooting a scene in the pilot to make Liv, the show’s original lead, less of a badass and more of a “damsel in distress” — because they want to make it easier to write her out of the show after a few episodes.
https://gizmodo.com/the-constantine-tv-show-has-already-had-a-major-change-1603733266
But the larger question — and the one we won’t know the answer to until the show’s been on for a while — is how much are they toning down the character of John Constantine, in an attempt to make this a show that will appeal to the wider audiences that watched Grimm but not Dracula? And can a Constantine show work if he’s not kind of an asshole?
I definitely think the “asshole” thing is integral to the character, and if there’s one thing standing in the way of networks that want to reach the critical acclaim (and ratings) of cable shows like Game of Thrones or True Detective, it’s the unwillingness to let characters have rough edges. We’ve all learned that television characters don’t have to be admirable, or lovable, to be fascinating — but to make a severely flawed character fascinate audiences requires really great acting, and enough space to let it shine. Something network TV has a hard time providing.
That’s why, for example, a show like Under The Dome starts out looking like a character study of people who go to some pretty dark places — Junior chaining up his ex-girlfriend, Barbie sleeping with the woman whose husband he murdered — but then veers into an endless series of plot devices and mysteries. What do the butterflies mean? How about the glowing egg? Why is the dome changing colors? Etc. etc.
To some extent, I blame the idea of “watercooler television” — the notion that the best way to get people to watch a network show live instead of a week or a month later is by making sure everybody’s talking about it the next day. And somehow, this turns into having lots of emphasis on surprising turns of events, or plot twists, instead of striking character moments.
I don’t have much more to say about this, but luckily Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles creator Josh Friedman had some comments last night on Twitter about why it’s so hard to make room for small character moments on network TV shows, and I’m just going to cherry pick some of the best bits below, because it’s all such great stuff:
One of things I am most proud of in tscc is how much fun there is in scenes. Not just information exchanged. To networks chagrin.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
One of the many downsides to network hours getting shorter is the lack of real estate for joyful, whimsical scene work.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
That's why writing terminators was always fun. They're random, weird, curious, obtuse. They're aliens. Or super smart deadly toddlers.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
There's nothing worse than cutting a joke or a character line to make room for info or exposition. But nets require so much explaining.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
Especially shows with world building. Just setting rules and defining terms can eat up your show. I try to ignore all that bullshit…
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
…but it's a necessary evil. Even in the writers' room. Hours and days sucked up. I'd rather drop audience in deep end and let them swim.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
One of the things networks don't take into account is how much visual storytelling their auds have metabolized. How fluent they are.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
Also, episodic skeds so tight as to make that level of execution really hard. Hannibal is most successful. @BryanFuller is a beast.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
They must be conceived in writers' rooms to work in story. Many rooms not visually oriented. Hard to pitch images, easy to pitch dialogue.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
The fact that @BryanFuller is stuck in canada for length of shoot is huge part of Hannibal's visual success. Pretty sure post is there too.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
Obviously Mad Men another great example. But for network, can't think of one besides Hannibal. Great design but also great filmic language.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
The other problem is execs who don't value visual storytelling in scripts because it's hard to read after 5 other scripts that day.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
A powerful image in a script might be two lines of description. And most execs still read up to down, not across.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
Ie I love low light, fast lenses and shooting wide open. But the tiny dof is brutal for a focus puller on a network tv schedule.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
The new hd cameras are so sharp u have to work hard to make sure your sets and props are tonally controlled. Cuz it's all gonna be in focus.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
And networks want a lot if light tones. God forbid your show is dark. So it's a battle to tell a color/light story if people are afraid.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
On Locke/key, @markromanek insisted there wasn't a single black item in entire pilot except for hair and dress of Dodge. Not 1 other thing.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
Granted these are niche concerns re net tv. I know very successful show runners who couldn't care less. W/o great characters you're dead.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
I think I started this binge by saying: it's important to find room in network tv for idiosyncrasy, detail, whimsy, and joy in the words.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
If the marketing says your show is one thing and it's something else entirely, your going to get pressure to change the show.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) July 14, 2014
