As expected, The CW renewed all of its Arrow-verse shows this season (in fact, it renewed pretty much all of its shows), though the tent-pole series Arrow did wrap up with its eighth year. That has The Flash, Black Lightning, Batwoman, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow returning next season (though not until January due to the production shutdowns), and they will be joined by new series Superman & Lois. But the ratings are down for all of the Arrow-verse shows including The Flash and they take up a large chunk of The CW’s limited Prime Time programming hours. So, how much longer will we have this many superhero shows airing on The CW?
Some of the Current Shows Could Be on Their Way Out
I would say that by the end of next season, at least two of the current Arrow-verse shows could be gone. The most likely candidates are Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow as they are the lowest rated entries in the franchise. Both also have enough episodes for a syndication run, so they will continue to make money for the network in linear repeats as well as through streaming. However, The CW rarely cancels a show that has gone past its third year without a final season announcement in advance. The network has not indicated that either show will wrap up next season yet, but those two do not return until Spring 2020, so it’s still possible that the announcement could come in the next few months.
The Flash should be guaranteed to stick around until at least its eighth season. Grant Gustin currently does not have a contract beyond the show’s upcoming seventh year, but negotiations are currently in place. While its ratings are down, it is still the highest-rated show on The CW and the most popular of the Arrow-verse entries, so the network will want to keep that one as the new tent-pole series.
Black Lightning should be safe for at least one more season. Its numbers are not great, but once a show makes it past its second season on The CW, it usually is allowed to go to at least seventy episodes despite its ratings. It will reach that mark in its fifth season, so I expect the show to last until at least that point.
Batwoman is an interesting case seeing as series lead Ruby Rose has decided to leave the show. The plan is to recast the lead role, but if the network cannot find someone they are comfortable with donning the cape and cowl, it’s not impossible they could just cancel the show. That seems unlikely at this point, and I do expect it back for a second season. But if viewers do not react favorably to the new lead actress, that could doom the show after two seasons.
The new Superman & Lois is a wildcard at this point because we don’t know how it will be received. From the description, it sounds like it will be less like the other Arrow-verse shows and more like the 90’s series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman which focused on the relationship of the lead characters. But should this one prove popular enough to get a second-year renewal, it could merge over some of the characters from Supergirl if that one ends this coming season.
So really, only two shows are a safe bet to continue beyond next season at this point: The Flash and Black Lightning. It surely seems like Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow are nearing their end points. And Batwoman is uncertain because of the change in leads. And we have nothing to gauge Superman & Lois by at this point. So this puts the Arrow-verse at the biggest point of uncertainty it has been at in years.
Some New Shows Could Be on the Horizon
But I do not expect the franchise to fade away completely within a couple of years. The Crisis on Infinite Earths teased the formation of the Justice League, and that could easily become its own series picking up characters who’s shows have ended while merging in others from shows still airing. And I still believe they should try a Brave and Bold anthology team-up series that can introduce new characters, offer cross-over stories, and/or focus on characters from previous shows.
It’s also possible that Stargirl could join the Arrow-verse lineup at some point. The premiere for the encore run of that show did well in the ratings last week, and the future of the DC Universe streaming service is currently in doubt. Stargirl could make the leap to HBO Max if DCU goes away, but it could also become a regular on The CW. Those characters exist on Earth 2 which was established in the Crisis event series, and could have cross-overs with the other shows.
So even though the popularity of the Arrow-verse shows is in decline, the franchise still has several more years left in it. The Flash and Black Lightning should carry on into the 2021-22 season, with possibly others following as well. And a Justice League and/or Brave and the Bold team-up show could be on the way to keep the franchise viable for several years beyond that.
Which Arrow-verse shows are you still watching, and would you like to see a Justice League or Brave and the Bold team-up series? Chime in below with your comments.
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