The CW went on a slash and burn this season with a pending sale in the works, and among the shows that got the ax were three Arrow-verse entries: Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and Naomi. With Supergirl and Black Lightning wrapping up last season, that is five shows in that franchise bowing out since last year. That currently leaves only three active Arrow-verse entries: The Flash, Superman & Lois, and Stargirl (the upcoming Gotham Knights is not linked to the franchise). The first of those could be wrapping up with its upcoming ninth season, and there has been no word on a fourth season of Stargirl (its third season premiere has been shifted to Fall). So with an ever-dwindling number of shows and nothing new in the works, is the Arrow-verse on its way out?
Kicking off with Arrow in Fall of 2012, this franchise of DC Comics-based shows grew to the point that it had as many as eight separate shows airing in one season (after Stargirl was retconned into the universe following the Crisis on Infinite Earths event). And even more shows were planned at one point, making it look like The CW would become the Arrow-verse channel. Last season saw Supergirl and Black Lightning come to an end (with final seasons for both announced in advance), but there were talks of more shows on the way with hints towards a Green Lantern and Justice League series. All of that appears to be on the back-burner, though, now that The CW could be on the verge of a sale to Nexstar or another buyer.
The writing certainly appeared to be on the wall when both Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman wrapped up their current seasons with a hint of finality. That was followed by the creative teams for both shows encouraging fans to lobby for renewal on the social networks. The fans definitely responded, but that did little to influence the network execs and both shows were cancelled, followed a couple of weeks later by the axing of freshman entry Naomi.
The remaining three Arrow-verse shows are the highest rated entries in the franchise, but it is unclear how much longer they will remain on the air. There had been talks of The Flash wrapping up with its ninth season for a while, and that still seems like a very real possibility at this point. Stargirl was shifted to Fall for its third season debut, but not given the reassurance of a fourth-year renewal. Superman & Lois has been a strong performer for the network and it could stick around for a couple more seasons (a fourth-year will get it close to a syndication-friendly count of episodes), but will it become the lone-standing Arrow-verse show?
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I’m sure many fans are wondering why the cancelled shows did not just shift to HBO Max seeing as Warner Bros. owns them and the streaming service. But that goes back to the lucrative deal The CW made with Netflix years ago. That network’s shows were shifting to the streaming service for an encore run once they wrapped up their seasons, and Netflix was paying good money for that. The exclusive deal ended a couple of years back, but Netflix still has the streaming rights to shows like Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and The Flash. It is unclear how long they will keep those, but I am guessing at least a couple more years.
It would certainly seem that HBO Max would be the logical place to carry on the franchise, but that streamer may not be interested in moving in that direction. If they were, they almost certainly would have snatched up Batwoman and Naomi after the cancellations because they have the streaming rights to those shows. There may also be complications with bringing in characters from shows where Netflix owns the streaming rights, so something like a Justice League series or any sort of cross-over may not work while the franchise is split across streaming platforms.
So what is the future of the Arrow-verse at this point? It’s pretty murky if you ask me.
I believe that Superman & Lois will carry the torch for at least a couple more seasons, and Stargirl could hang on as well. There is nothing new officially in the development queue despite the fact that I thought a Justice Leagues series might be in the works. I would love to see a Brave and the Bold-style team-up show and/or a Showcase-style anthology, but those seem unlikely as well, in part because of the platform conflicts. There are rumors that the John Diggle-led Justice U series could still happen, but it was not mentioned for the 2022-23 season. Perhaps once the Netflix rights lapse for shows like The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, HBO Max will be interested in ramping the franchise back up. But in the absence of that, I expect that The Flash will be speeding towards the horizon soon and one or two Arrow-verse shows may be all we have with new episodes on the schedule for the next year or so.
Are you still watching the Arrow-verse shows and do you want the franchise to continue on a new venue? Chime in with your thoughts below.
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