The Flash & iZombie Picked up by CW

[Winghead]

That is indeed how most pilots work. Flash was slightly different in that they'd cast the lead actor long before shooting the pilot and by introducing him in Arrow allowed everyone to feel like they now know who Barry Allen is. The initial plan would have been to do an entire episode of Arrow all about Barry and his wacky friends, but by going the traditional pilot route that means that the first episode will have a bigger budget than an average episode of Arrow would.

Right, but what I'm asking is, will the pilot come out early and whether the show continues will be determined by the ratings/success of the first episode, or is a full season already guaranteed?

[FlashEarthOne]

Right, but what I'm asking is, will the pilot come out early and whether the show continues will be determined by the ratings/success of the first episode, or is a full season already guaranteed?

Pilots are never aired on network TV early. You'll see the pilot in the Fall. The continued run of all shows is always determined by the ratings.

[Lee Stone]

Usually how it works is:

1. The pitch or the premise.
2. If that's good enough, there will be a pilot. Pilots are used to show the networks what to expect in a typical episode.
3. If a network bites, then a series will be ordered based on the pilot. Though some things may be asked to be changed (see Star Trek).
4. Once the show begins airing, then the ratings determine if the gamble pays off.
If it's not a flop, all the episodes of the season are shown and if it's a success, the network will order another season.

Oh, and for a time, prior to the 90's, I believe, networks would run pilots they passed up on during the summer and if one strikes a chord in the audience, it will be given a second chance.
But that was back before FOX began and cable networks started competing with broadcast networks.
They probably don't do that anymore for two reasons:
1. They don't want to give their competitors a chance to snatch something up after realizing that it may actually be good. If they play a pilot they passed up on and everyone's talking about it the next day, they may well miss their opportunity because someone else might have contacted the studio first.
2. There's more networks looking over shows now days. With ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW as well as USA, AMC, TNT and others, if a pilot is passed over it sometimes gets taken to another network as a proposal. FOX began with mostly shows that ABC, CBS and NBC passed over the pilots of.

That is indeed how most pilots work. Flash was slightly different in that they'd cast the lead actor long before shooting the pilot and by introducing him in Arrow allowed everyone to feel like they now know who Barry Allen is. The initial plan would have been to do an entire episode of Arrow all about Barry and his wacky friends, but by going the traditional pilot route that means that the first episode will have a bigger budget than an average episode of Arrow would.

True. If there is a spin-off series, it can be common practice to write an episode of the parent show that focuses more on the proposed show than the regular cast. This is in effect, getting the foot in the door, since the network is already running the first series and will be able to gauge interest based on ratings as well as the normal pilot process.
This can be tricky these days, however, because if CW passed up Flash for some reason (unless it's specified in an exclusive contract) then another network could snatch it up and have a new series that would already have an audience.

[Big Geek]

My only concern will be what days and what times are these babies airing. I'll watching all of them. I think I am most excited for the Flash series seeing what a similar production team has done with Arrow. If it's even 1/2 as good I'll be very happy.

My only concern is that there might be a Comic Book Show burnout coming up by the masses soon. We'll have 6 TV shows based on Comic Books in the Fall of 2014.

[Lee Stone]

My only concern will be what days and what times are these babies airing. I'll watching all of them. I think I am most excited for the Flash series seeing what a similar production team has done with Arrow. If it's even 1/2 as good I'll be very happy.

My only concern is that there might be a Comic Book Show burnout coming up by the masses soon. We'll have 6 TV shows based on Comic Books in the Fall of 2014.

You're just counting the new ones, right?

But yeah, I fear the same thing.
Especially movie-wise.
The general public can handle the Avengers franchise but will they be able to keep up with a DC cinematic universe, a Spider-Man one, an X-Men one and a Fantastic Four one?