DC Comics had an extremely successful year on TV and all shows have been renewed, except for Supergirl . The Flash , Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow all live on The CW, but CBS has yet to give Supergirl , its most expensive new show, the green light for Season 2. As the No. 1 new CBS drama and No. 4 new network series overall, the question at hand is not Supergirl’s proven success. If CBS can’t figure out Supergirl’s budget issue fast, another network will and The CW has first dibs.
The transition would be super smooth seeing Supergirl’s EP, Greg Berlanti, is also the brain behind CW’s live action Arrow-verse. CW is co-owned by CBS and Warner Bros, and Supergirl’s pilot was originally thought to settle down with the rest of Berlanti’s DCEU babies. The CW and CBS have a proven working relationship. Berlanti surprised fans with a cross-network cameo this spring when the The Flash awkwardly landed in Earth-CBS to meet Supergirl. CW President Mark Pedowitz’s had previously expressed interest in Supergirl , going so far to say he regrets not picking up the pilot.
If CBS can’t figure out Supergirl’s production cost issues and the CW doesn't pick it up, it will likely make its way to another network or even streaming service. Probably not Netflix considering its deal with Marvel, which would give Hulu a massive opportunity to compete and strike a deal with DC Comics.
CBS has a few options to reduce the budget. Supergirl’s first season is 20 episodes long. Simply chopping down the series order would cut down costs, but that could piss of fans since Arrow has long set the standard for 23-episodes per season. To make matters even more complicated, Supergirl is not owned by CBS nor does the network have The CW’s reputation in the comic world. CBS has to shell out licensing fees just to air, and Supergirl was left walking uphill after steadily declining viewership. However, CBS isn’t going to let its first superhero show get stolen by a competing network without a fight.
You may be thinking, why wasn’t Supergirl on The CW in the first place? Supergirl moving to The CW is actually the best case scenario for fans who weren't crazy about the way Kara Danvers was adapted to live-action in comparison to Barry Allen and Oliver Queen. It's hard to say whether the show's negative reception among comic fans was CBS' doing, or if Superigrl's tired storyline was actually Berlanti's vision. The CW has an increasingly young following, unlike CBS. This would only benefit the series since its struggled to attract new viewers on a network that has barely any shows geared toward younger audiences.
CBS should be securing its fall lineup in the coming weeks so stay tuned for updates.
(via Deadline )
