The chances of Young Justice season 5 have just received a massive boost from exceptional streaming statistics on HBO Max, says showrunner.
Series finales; we love them, we hate them…
On the one hand, fans instinctively feel a sigh of relief after the excitement from a finale wears off, but we also immediately look to the future and what the next season could entail. This is especially the case for HBO Max’s hit animated series Young Justice, which has already had a decidedly hurtful history with renewals and cancellations.
As of the season 4 finale airing just a few short hours ago, HBO Max is yet to publicly confirm that Young Justice season 5 is being planned; however, the chances of the series return just got a massive boost from the streaming stats.
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No Young Justice season 5 news takes fans back to the ‘dark ages’
As previously noted, Young Justice season 5 has yet to be publicly confirmed to be in production or development by either the showrunners or HBO Max; however, fans can expect the series to return for another set of missions at some point in the future.
Of course, long-time fans of the show will remember all too well the ‘dark ages’ after Young Justice was cancelled after just two seasons back in 2013 on Cartoon Networks, the series’ original network.
In 2016, showrunner Greg Weisman revealed that Young Justice was cancelled because the associated toy lines were not selling enough units, leading to the line being withdrawn by Mattel and funding for the TV show pulled.
Thankfully, between constant lobbying from the fans and a steely determination for more content from the showrunners, Young Justice seasons 3 and 4 would follow – eventually with the show moving to DC Universe and then to HBO Max.
Whilst fans are still waiting for news of the next instalment, our hopes for season 5 have just received a massive boost through a recent hint of the streaming statistics garnered by Young Justice season 4, see below.
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Streaming numbers hint at season 5 continuation
Unfortunately, Weisman and the incredible team at Young Justice were not always as confident that a fifth season will be produced by HBO Max as fans may have wanted. In April 2022, he responded to a fan question on Twitter by stating “I think the first question is ‘if’ [Young Justice will get a renewal season] not ‘when’.”
The good news is that the hopes of another broadcast have just received a significant boost. On June 7th, 2022, Greg Weisman responded to a viewer’s question talking about fan criticism of the show on the S8 website. As part of the answer, Weisman revealed that Young Justice season 4 has received an exceptional number of streams over the past year on HBO Max – even beating out many of its competition in terms of viewership.
“Even if the nay-sayers are only a small (but vocal) minority. And that must be all they are, because our numbers this season on HBO Max are stunningly good. Today, I saw numbers that indicated we have more views this year than any other animated super-hero series on ANY streaming service. (Because, yes, we still have super-heroes in YJ, despite what you believe are my best efforts!) We even beat out a couple of prestige live-action super-hero series. Thus, not everyone thinks we suck. Most clearly don’t.” – Greg Weisman, via S8 Ask Greg Forum.
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If this information is correct and Young Justice really is among the very highest-streamed animated superhero series out there (even amongst some live-action content), it’s a sure thing that HBO Max would want to continue production into a fifth season.
Viewership is often the deciding factor for season renewals in the modern streaming industry and if Young Justice is puling the numbers claimed by Weisman, it’s surely only a matter of time before season 5 goes into development.
Interestingly, YouTuber Comic Book Nostalgia has given some much-needed context to this debate in a recent video.
“The streaming numbers and streaming subscriptions are where Warner Brothers is drawing their revenue. And the fact that this show not only has great numbers but is outperforming every superhero series on any service, at least the animated ones, is a great indicator of the prize they have in their possession. I can’t imagine a show that sits at the top of the heap of every other show will not get renewed.” – Comic Book Nostalgia, via YouTube.
Comic Book Nostalgia then adds that budget to profit numbers are also in favour of a Young Justice renewal, explaining how “season 4 cost around $10 million, which is about 5% of what shows like Peacemaker cost, meaning that the return on the show is absolutely incredible.”
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When could Young Justice season 5 release?
Now comes the all-important topic; when could Young Justice season 5 release on HBO Max assuming that the series is renewed as expected?
Well, with the official renewal remaining TBA, no information has yet been made public regarding a potential return date; however, we can use the production cycle from seasons 3 and 4 to give us a rough indication on its resumption.
Season 3 was confirmed in November 2016 after the aforementioned cancellation on Cartoon Network, premiering in January 2019 on DC Universe. Then, a fourth season was announced in July 2020 with the title of Young Justice: Phantoms being confirmed later in September of that year.
Season 4 would then premiere in October 2021, with a second part making its TV debut on March 31st, 2022, giving us a rough production cycle of 15-months.
Assuming that the fifth season would utilise a similar production cycle, potentially even slightly improved with added resources from HBO Max, HITC predicts that Young Justice season 5 will premiere part 1 in Q2 2023, with a second part dropping in Q4 2023.
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This article will be updated with more information as news is shared from reputable sources concerning season 5 of the Young Justice animated series.
By Tom Llewellyn – [email protected]
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