Is The CW the right network for DC?

[PsychoGamer8229]

No, it is not. You see, the CW is known for having content that consists of teenage angst, melodrama, bad writing, bad acting, and filler. These qualities makes up Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. The acting ranges from terrible to sub par. Many of the actors are just hired mostly for their looks while their acting ability usually comes second. Most of the time, the writing is mediocre when its at its best, due to the writers not being up to the task and are limited by the restrictions put on to them by the network. These restrictions are that they should insert many forced romances, melodrama, and concentrated amounts of teenage angst. Many times, the adults on these shows act more like emotional teenagers than grown adults. The whole Oliver and Felicity romance is just terrible and Felicy herself has become so prominent that people have began to refer to the show as "Felicity and Friends". Makes a ton of sense. Seriously, the CW is specifically aimed at teenage girls (and my mom).

The CW can never catch up to the likes of HBO, FX, AMC, and Showtime. The shows on those networks tend to be of much higher quality and are critically acclaimed. Shows like Breaking Bad and the Wire will be remembered as being some of the greats. Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, and LoT will not. They will be forgotten like Smallville. Like its demographic, only the teenage girls will remember these shows. Not my mom, she'll forget them with age. Just kidding, I love my mom. You see, as with any show that runs for too long such as Supernatural and Smallville, the "quality" decides to diminish as time goes on. There are people like Armin from ComicBookCast who actually think Smallville was an awesome show.

24 episode seasons are a bad idea. Due to the large amount, there tends to be a lot of filler that doesn't advance the story and just wastes everyone's time. It even starts to drag on and on and makes the viewer become disinterested. A show that has at most 13 episodes should do just fine and flow much better. Quality over quantity.

Having less episodes also helps the budget. The budget would spread out more evenly and allow for better things such as better actors, better writers, better sets, better effects, etc.
Making the demographic for these shows be for teenage girls was a bad idea. I can not believe that many people actually eating this stuff up. It's mediocre, there is nothing impressive about it. I have read articles where people have said that the Flash was the greatest TV show on right now. What a bold claim. If it is the best then TV must be pretty bad in comparison. Wrong. Many shows on channels such as FX and HBO easily proves this statement as being completely false. Someone even made a list where they stated that Arrow is one of the best TV shows to watch. Big thing to stay but the opinions of the article is later called to question when they mentioned Family Guy in that list, so make of that if you will.

All in all, Arrow would have fared much better quality wise, if it had been on HBO or FX. The same thing can be said about the Flash. That way, the shows would be of higher quality in terms of storytelling and acting.

[GreenLanternRanger]

Yes, yes it is. CW has treated the DC shows well, hella better then NBC ever did and heck they show more promo's for the shows then CBS did for Lois & Clark back in the 90's. So yea, CW is fine for them. Also Arrow would still be annoyingly angsty no matter what network it had been on. And "quality" arguably diminishes for every program in existence for the most part no matter what network they are on as humans are creatures with limited attention spans for the most part and we loose interest in things. And every network arguably has good and bad programming, but the quality or lack thereof of the CW DC shows is like with any other television program, subjective.

And again look at DC shows on other networks, sure FOX's Gotham is Darker, but it is just as ridiculous as the CW shows. And Powerless is well... community light set in the DCU. Overall these shows are going to be silly to some degree because superheroes and comics are beautifuly ridiculous as well. We don't need super-cereal and dark TV shows like Daredevil or BVS. Those both work for what they are, but I would hate to see everything replicate either.

[tsaimelemoni]

I'll agree that around 24 episodes is too many.

[Osiris-Rex]

It's really the only network for DC. The shows would get too low ratings on any other network. Look what happened to Supergirl on CBS, Constantine and Powerless on NBC,
and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel's Agent Carter on ABC. Gotham and Lucifer sort of work on Fox, but they are really superhero shows. Add to the fact that
both DC Comics and the CW is owned by Warner Bros. and WB just uses the CW as a platform to air first run programming to form syndication packages. And it is only
bad acting and bad writing for you. Many people feel the acting is good enough to very good and the writing is fun and clever. While the shows don't have Big Bang Theory
and NICS size audiences they are still enjoyed by millions. Millions that would have no other chance to see their favorite characters come to life if not for Warner Bros.
Much more than if the were one HBO, FX, AMC or Showtime. Excluding Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, which are sort of a phenomena not likely to be repeated,
no show on HBO gets the Flash or Supergirl's viewer numbers and most don't even get Arrow's numbers. The majority of shows on HBO, FX, AMC and Showtime don't
even get Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's numbers And the idea less episodes would mean more money per episodes is ludicrous. The episodes air to sell commercial time. Less
episodes mean less commercial time sold. Plus the Netflix deal is per episode. So again less episodes is less episodes to sell to Netflix. So where is this extra money coming
from that is theoretically supposed to make individual episodes "better"? They would spend the same amount of money per episode if they made 13 episodes than if
they make the 24 episodes.

Your argument basically just boils down to the product the CW makes just doesn't appeal to you. Other people's enjoyment may vary.

I'll agree that around 24 episodes is too many.

Too many for whom? I enjoy looking forward to new episodes each week. I don't want to have to wait a whole year to see another batch of 13 episodes when
I can see almost twice that many in one year. Does anyone thing that DC should just publish 13 comic books of each title per year? In an ideal world for me there
would be 52 new episodes a year.

[Gray Lensman]

The biggest problem isn't the network - it's the repeats of the same stuff.

Arrow - which person that Ollie loves is going to get killed off this season? Who will he let into his confidence only to be betrayed by them....again? What lessons that he has learned in previous seasons will he forget in this one?

Flash - how will Barry stop the Evil Speedster Arc Villain of the Season? How will he be the cause of whatever terrible things his team is facing?

When the metaplot hits the same beats over and over again it becomes a problem.

[PsychoGamer8229]

It's really the only network for DC. The shows would get too low ratings on any other network. Look what happened to Supergirl on CBS, Constantine and Powerless on NBC,
and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel's Agent Carter on ABC. Gotham and Lucifer sort of work on Fox, but they are really superhero shows. Add to the fact that
both DC Comics and the CW is owned by Warner Bros. and WB just uses the CW as a platform to air first run programming to form syndication packages. And it is only
bad acting and bad writing for you. Many people feel the acting is good enough to very good and the writing is fun and clever. While the shows don't have Big Bang Theory
and NICS size audiences they are still enjoyed by millions. Millions that would have no other chance to see their favorite characters come to life if not for Warner Bros.
Much more than if the were one HBO, FX, AMC or Showtime. Excluding Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, which are sort of a phenomena not likely to be repeated,
no show on HBO gets the Flash or Supergirl's viewer numbers and most don't even get Arrow's numbers. The majority of shows on HBO, FX, AMC and Showtime don't
even get Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's numbers And the idea less episodes would mean more money per episodes is ludicrous. The episodes air to sell commercial time. Less
episodes mean less commercial time sold. Plus the Netflix deal is per episode. So again less episodes is less episodes to sell to Netflix. So where is this extra money coming
from that is theoretically supposed to make individual episodes "better"? They would spend the same amount of money per episode if they made 13 episodes than if
they make the 24 episodes.

Your argument basically just boils down to the product the CW makes just doesn't appeal to you. Other people's enjoyment may vary.



Too many for whom? I enjoy looking forward to new episodes each week. I don't want to have to wait a whole year to see another batch of 13 episodes when
I can see almost twice that many in one year. Does anyone thing that DC should just publish 13 comic books of each title per year? In an ideal world for me there
would be 52 new episodes a year.

If there were 52 episodes, there would be no budget. 24 episodes is already too much for the budget it has. Being on a network like HBO or FX would actually give the shows a bigger budget on accounts of it being a bigger network. Less episodes means more money to go around. More episodes means less money to go around. Also, it is too many for a lot of people. You don't represent everyone who watches television. The makings of a high quality show dictate that less episodes are better.

Look, I'm not a fanboy who goes gaga at every easter egg they put in but I do want quality television. I for one think that the stories in the comics could be made into great television shows, if in the right hands.

It doesn't matter if the adaptation is loose or not. What matters if it is an excellent show and the CW stuff just isn't meeting those standards.

Also, the acting IS bad. At its best, its average. Nothing impressive. It will never be as good as the acting in the shows from the networks I listed.

[tsaimelemoni]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I prefer quality over quantity. I like the DC shows, but they could all be improved by shortened seasons. Hell, the Marvel Netflix shows could be improved by reducing their episode counts. More episodes in a single season only provide more opportunity for filler episodes and meandering plots.

I think the DC shows have good actors (mostly) and good characters. Why not make the best of it?

[Osiris-Rex]

If there were 52 episodes, there would be no budget. 24 episodes is already too much for the budget it has. Being on a network like HBO or FX would actually give the shows a bigger budget on accounts of it being a bigger network. Less episodes means more money to go around. More episodes means less money to go around. Also, it is too many for a lot of people. You don't represent everyone who watches television. The makings of a high quality show dictate that less episodes are better.

Look, I'm not a fanboy who goes gaga at every easter egg they put in but I do want quality television. I for one think that the stories in the comics could be made into great television shows, if in the right hands.

It doesn't matter if the adaptation is loose or not. What matters if it is an excellent show and the CW stuff just isn't meeting those standards.

Also, the acting IS bad. At its best, its average. Nothing impressive. It will never be as good as the acting in the shows from the networks I listed.

How exactly does less episodes mean a bigger budget? Less episodes means less money being made off of commercials because there is less airtime to air the commercials. So where is this
extra money coming from to spend on the less episodes? Also you need to take into account that a show needs around 88 episodes to have enough episodes to sell into syndication packages.
So 22 episodes a season gives that number in four seasons. Cable shows don't need as many episodes because they are already fulfilling the same purpose as a show in syndication.

And why would the show have a bigger budget on FX? FX is just a basic cable network. Only two shows on it get higher ratings than even Arrow. Most don't even do as well as Jane the Virgin.
How exactly is FX a bigger network? For that matter over half the shows on HBO don't even get as many viewers as Jane the Virgin. Just because HBO has a lot of money to blow on
Game of Thrones doesn't mean they are going to throw that kind of money at all their other shows. Look at the other shows on HBO: Divorce, Vice Principals, Ballers. Or FX: Atlanta,
Better Things Louie. Not exactly the kind of show dependent on a lot of VFX and stunt work that would require a lot of money to make. About the only show FX has that comes close
is Legion. And it doesn't do much better than Jane the Virgin far as viewer numbers. The last episode had 1.133 million viewers. The last episode of Jane the Virgin had 1.068 million.

As for the rest. Your opinion. Other people feel otherwise.

[PsychoGamer8229]

How exactly does less episodes mean a bigger budget? Less episodes means less money being made off of commercials because there is less airtime to air the commercials. So where is this
extra money coming from to spend on the less episodes? Also you need to take into account that a show needs around 88 episodes to have enough episodes to sell into syndication packages.
So 22 episodes a season gives that number in four seasons. Cable shows don't need as many episodes because they are already fulfilling the same purpose as a show in syndication.

And why would the show have a bigger budget on FX? FX is just a basic cable network. Only two shows on it get higher ratings than even Arrow. Most don't even do as well as Jane the Virgin.
How exactly is FX a bigger network? For that matter over half the shows on HBO don't even get as many viewers as Jane the Virgin. Just because HBO has a lot of money to blow on
Game of Thrones doesn't mean they are going to throw that kind of money at all their other shows. Look at the other shows on HBO: Divorce, Vice Principals, Ballers. Or FX: Atlanta,
Better Things Louie. Not exactly the kind of show dependent on a lot of VFX and stunt work that would require a lot of money to make. About the only show FX has that comes close
is Legion. And it doesn't do much better than Jane the Virgin far as viewer numbers. The last episode had 1.133 million viewers. The last episode of Jane the Virgin had 1.068 million.

As for the rest. Your opinion. Other people feel otherwise.

We have streaming services now. Syndication is a thing of the past when you can just watch the show on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Video.

Again, I'm not a fanboy, so I am not going to blindly love a show (aimed at teenage girls) just because it has a comic book character I like. That is idiotic. People are saying The Flash is the best show on right now. So, is it better than Better Call Saul, Legion, Game of Thrones, Bojack Horseman, Mr. Robot, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Man in the High Castle, Veep, The Americans, Stranger Things, etc? No, it is not.

What bothers me is that people are so into this CW craze that they're thinking, "They should bring back Constantine on the CW". No, they shouldn't bring back Constantine on the CW because they would severely neuter him. He is a very adult character from a very adult comic book series. He should therefore be in an adult show on a network like HBO. Not the CW where he would be plagued with things that the teenage girls would like such as teenage angst, melodrama, love triangles, bad acting, bad writing, the works.

Also, having more viewers doesn't make you a bigger network. It just means you're popular, and hasn't history taught us that popular doesn't always equal good?

Look, I'm not a teenage girl, I'm a grown man. I do not enjoy soap operas that happen to feature super heroes in it. I like to have higher quality storytelling in the shows I watch.

[Dr. Skeleton]

Agree 100 percent. The DC shows is with CW for both being under Warner Bros. so's there's that. And yeah there's way too much angst and drama, but CW knows that the teenaged demographic would relate to that. Not to mention hiring Ken and Barbie types for those roles to appease to that kind of audience but their acting would be sub par and cliched. Yet, they would try to give these actors that big push should these shows be cancelled and would try to get bigger roles afterwards but it's usually not the case. When was the last time you've heard from most of the actors from Smallville?

[MindofShadow]

CW is the worst

[Killercroc357]

What bothers me is that people are so into this CW craze that they're thinking, "They should bring back Constantine on the CW". No, they shouldn't bring back Constantine on the CW because they would severely neuter him. He is a very adult character from a very adult comic book series. He should therefore be in an adult show on a network like HBO. Not the CW where he would be plagued with things that the teenage girls would like such as teenage angst, melodrama, love triangles, bad acting, bad writing, the works.

I'm one of those that cheered in seeing Constantine/Matt Ryan show up on Arrow. Even was hoping Supernatural was coming to an end finally, leading to a slot for one of my favorite characters. But then I have also thought about how that would go over on The CW.

It's a real challenge seeing it succeed knowing how dark these stories need to be in order to exist in the magical and paranormal world of Constantine.

[The Darknight Detective]

I'm enjoying all of the WB/DC shows on the CW so far, so no problem there for me. I also think the stereotype regarding CW shows is way overblown and isn't that much different than the network shows.

[Midvillian1322]

It's really the only network for DC. The shows would get too low ratings on any other network. Look what happened to Supergirl on CBS, Constantine and Powerless on NBC,
and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel's Agent Carter on ABC. Gotham and Lucifer sort of work on Fox, but they are really superhero shows. Add to the fact that
both DC Comics and the CW is owned by Warner Bros. and WB just uses the CW as a platform to air first run programming to form syndication packages. And it is only
bad acting and bad writing for you. Many people feel the acting is good enough to very good and the writing is fun and clever. While the shows don't have Big Bang Theory
and NICS size audiences they are still enjoyed by millions. Millions that would have no other chance to see their favorite characters come to life if not for Warner Bros.
Much more than if the were one HBO, FX, AMC or Showtime. Excluding Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, which are sort of a phenomena not likely to be repeated,
no show on HBO gets the Flash or Supergirl's viewer numbers and most don't even get Arrow's numbers. The majority of shows on HBO, FX, AMC and Showtime don't
even get Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's numbers And the idea less episodes would mean more money per episodes is ludicrous. The episodes air to sell commercial time. Less
episodes mean less commercial time sold. Plus the Netflix deal is per episode. So again less episodes is less episodes to sell to Netflix. So where is this extra money coming
from that is theoretically supposed to make individual episodes "better"? They would spend the same amount of money per episode if they made 13 episodes than if
they make the 24 episodes.

Your argument basically just boils down to the product the CW makes just doesn't appeal to you. Other people's enjoyment may vary.



Too many for whom? I enjoy looking forward to new episodes each week. I don't want to have to wait a whole year to see another batch of 13 episodes when
I can see almost twice that many in one year. Does anyone thing that DC should just publish 13 comic books of each title per year? In an ideal world for me there
would be 52 new episodes a year.

Off the top of my head Bill Mahers real time averages over 4million. Its not scripted but still and HBO isnt hung up on just live viewing and when you count across all platforms westworld finale got like 12m viewers. HBO wants to bring in new subscribers so ratings arent everything.

I do think as long as they are on the CW the quality of the actors will be sub par compared to bigger networks. That said i like these shows as they are. and some of these actors work magic with what they are given.

[Killercroc357]

I'm enjoying all of the WB/DC shows on the CW so far, so no problem there for me. I also think the stereotype regarding CW shows is way overblown and isn't that much different than the network shows.

Now THIS I would go with as well. I have really enjoyed Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. Then when Supergirl came along, that made it even more fun. And even the standalone iZombie was a twist for The CW, as how they make that show so funny with a topic so awful (someone that eats brains to experience their memories) is beyond me. I'm not a regular show watcher. But when I do see it, there are some really funny lines on that show.