The CW and the Arrowverse: end of an era?

[The Laughing Fish]

Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman are the latest shows to be canceled. Somewhere, Ruby Rose is having the last laugh.

https://people.com/tv/dc-legends-of-tomorrow-batwoman-both-canceled-at-the-cw/#:~:text=Legends%20of%20Tomorrow%20and%20Batwoman%20are%20saying%20goodbye%20to%20The,to%20showrunners%20for%20each%20project.

Earlier this year, there was talk that CW is expected to be sold, and the network hasn't been profitable since 2006.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/the-cw-for-sale-warnermedia-viacomcbs-1235070616/

I've only watched the first season of Legends of Tomorrow, and enjoyed it for what it was, but I stopped watching halfway through the second season, including The Flash's third season. I got tired by the formula, and judging from what I watched the Elseworlds and COIE crossovers, the quality got even worse. Flash only got renewed for another thirteen episodes for the next season, but beyond, it doesn't sound like it has a future.

With word going around that WBD wants a much more cohesive shared universe for DC, it will be interesting to see what happens next.

[thecolorsblend]

The Flash and the Superman thing are the last men standing when it comes to the Arrowverse.

Are we allowed to be practical in this thread? Because realistically, Batwoman should've been cancelled after the first season. Or maybe DURING the first season. The ratings were never all that high and the show's rep took a pretty serious hit after Rose left. Then it took ANOTHER hit when Rose started sharing all that dirty laundry.

The absolute state of the Arrowverse. And in a way, it's sad. Because the Arrowverse started off on a pretty strong note. Arrow and The Flash had a fairly easy two-part crossover where the heroes met, hung out a bit, learned from each other and then went their separate ways. Can't help thinking that the crossovers should've stayed that way.

In a way (and up to a point), Arrow is actually the best Batman TV show that never existed. Because Lord knows Arrow poached quite a few Batman characters and concepts. And then there's fan servicey stuff like seeing Arsenal in live action. To the degree I ever gave the matter any thought at all, I never expected to see Arsenal in live action. But Arrow gave us Arsenal in live action! And a pretty solid one, I must say. I have no particular criticism of how Arsenal was used on the show. My memory is that was actually a pretty solid season.

But entropy is inevitable. And entropy hit the Arrowverse like a ton of bricks. Also-ran bs like Supergirl, Batwoman, DCLOT and others rly sullied what could've been a small, simple, streamlined DC universe on TV consisting exclusively (or at least primarily) of Arrow and The Flash. And this is not to speak of the steep declines that Arrow and The Flash ultimately faced.

[The Joker]

Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman are the latest shows to be canceled. Somewhere, Ruby Rose is having the last laugh.

https://people.com/tv/dc-legends-of-tomorrow-batwoman-both-canceled-at-the-cw/#:~:text=Legends%20of%20Tomorrow%20and%20Batwoman%20are%20saying%20goodbye%20to%20The,to%20showrunners%20for%20each%20project.

Earlier this year, there was talk that CW is expected to be sold, and the network hasn't been profitable since 2006.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/the-cw-for-sale-warnermedia-viacomcbs-1235070616/

The Flash and the Superman thing are the last men standing when it comes to the Arrowverse.

Are we allowed to be practical in this thread? Because realistically, Batwoman should've been cancelled after the first season. Or maybe DURING the first season. The ratings were never all that high and the show's rep took a pretty serious hit after Rose left. Then it took ANOTHER hit when Rose started sharing all that dirty laundry.

If you want a chuckle, check this out.

https://deadline.com/2022/04/batwoma...on-1235013379/

Welp, it was never about ratings, or being a successful show, folks. Evidently, HERstory took precedence.

[thecolorsblend]

If you want a chuckle, check this out.

https://deadline.com/2022/04/batwoma...on-1235013379/

Welp, it was never about ratings, or being a successful show, folks. Evidently, HERstory took precedence.

I mean, we all saw that one coming, didn't we?

[The Joker]

I mean, we all saw that one coming, didn't we?

I would hope it was just as discernible as Zaslav coming in and finally putting the show out of it's misery, yeah.

[thecolorsblend]

I mean, we all saw that one coming, didn't we?

I would hope it was just as discernible as Zaslav coming in and finally putting the show out of it's misery, yeah.

I'm very curious to know who made the decision to pull the plug. I said in another thread that a new CEO usually makes a BIG change in his first 60 days. Frankly, I thought that Zaslav's play was going to be firing Ezra Miller from EVERYTHING in order to show everyone that there's a new sheriff 'round these parts.

But pulling rank and cancelling two unsuccessful shows (one of which is a sacred cow to the SJW's) is some major league big dick energy that could very well lead back to Zaslav for all I know.

The problem with that theory is that I'm not necessarily convinced that Zaslav could make a powder keg decision like that unilaterally. Because The CW is partly owned by other companies totally unaffiliated with the AT&T/WB media empire. Such as ViacomCBS. Yes, AT&T indirectly owns the characters. But you'd think the other companies would have some kind of say over the shows themselves. Not to mention the production companies involved with the shows, etc.

I'm not saying this isn't Zaslav's doing. I'm just saying that I see some possible complications going on there.

[The Joker]

I'm very curious to know who made the decision to pull the plug. I said in another thread that a new CEO usually makes a BIG change in his first 60 days. Frankly, I thought that Zaslav's play was going to be firing Ezra Miller from EVERYTHING in order to show everyone that there's a new sheriff 'round these parts.

But pulling rank and cancelling two unsuccessful shows (one of which is a sacred cow to the SJW's) is some major league big dick energy that could very well lead back to Zaslav for all I know.

The problem with that theory is that I'm not necessarily convinced that Zaslav could make a powder keg decision like that unilaterally. Because The CW is partly owned by other companies totally unaffiliated with the AT&T/WB media empire. Such as ViacomCBS. Yes, AT&T indirectly owns the characters. But you'd think the other companies would have some kind of say over the shows themselves. Not to mention the production companies involved with the shows, etc.

I'm not saying this isn't Zaslav's doing. I'm just saying that I see some possible complications going on there.

Could very well be, but with David Zaslav practically rushing to have informal meet and greets/"town hall" meetings across the country with WarnerMedia employees, CNN activists, ect that just so happens to coincide with addressing cost savings and impending layoffs (to which there's been plenty of evidence of in recent days), and it would appear that Zaslav has indeed been given some authoritative leeway in what's clearly 'dead weight' since the merger has been finalized.

I mean, Zaslav is said to be the kind of guy who wants to ask you a question, and get a direct answer. Effectively making him the equivalent of Bob & Bob over at Initech. I'm sure Zaslav would have been absolutely dumbfounded over any hypothetical phone call he might, and probably had, concerning continual Batwoman HERstory renewals over on CW.

[Silver Nemesis]

[The Laughing Fish]

If you want a chuckle, check this out.

https://deadline.com/2022/04/batwoma...on-1235013379/

Welp, it was never about ratings, or being a successful show, folks. Evidently, HERstory took precedence.

HERstory...sounds like the album title Janet Jackson would've gone for, if her brother never did HIStory.

The absolute state of the Arrowverse. And in a way, it's sad. Because the Arrowverse started off on a pretty strong note. Arrow and The Flash had a fairly easy two-part crossover where the heroes met, hung out a bit, learned from each other, and then went their separate ways. Can't help thinking that the crossovers should've stayed that way.

Agreed, I definitely think the Arrowverse should've focused on only Arrow and The Flash. Sure, none of them were as good as Daredevil, but given the constraints they had and only had to work on two shows, they did well for what it was worth. The earlier crossovers were a fun novelty too. I remember it used to be a fun time to watch those shows back to back.

I've always thought the Arrowverse bit way too much they could chew, however. Superman and Supergirl are characters that are far too big to satisfy on a cheap TV network, and the more characters they introduced and the increasingly stale formula each show maintained, the worse off the Arrowverse became. As I said, I may have enjoyed the first season of LoT as a dumb adventure show, but the novelty wore off fast.

I'm very curious to know who made the decision to pull the plug. I said in another thread that a new CEO usually makes a BIG change in his first 60 days. Frankly, I thought that Zaslav's play was going to be firing Ezra Miller from EVERYTHING in order to show everyone that there's a new sheriff 'round these parts.

It seems they're going to stick with Miller, for now. The problem is they will be hoping he behaves for the whole year, and seeing how volatile Miller has become lately, there's no guarantee he'll stop being a liability.