For a long time, fans of DC’s TV universe were left wondering whether Supergirl would live to see season 2. Its ratings weren’t terrible by any means, but they still routinely came up short when matched against other CBS programs. Thankfully, Supergirl ended up saved by a force perhaps even more powerful than her: corporate synergy. With a successful line-up of three existing DC-based dramas already on The CW’s schedule, CBS – the C in CW – opted to make a lateral move, sending Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) off to save innocents on the smaller, but perhaps better-suited-to-superheroes network. The decision makes sense for many reasons, not the least of which is the well-received Supergirl/The Flash crossover episode from earlier this year.
Of course, seeing Supergirl crossover with The Flash naturally led fans to wonder when they’d get to see Kara interact with the other heroes on the DC TV roster. With Supergirl now officially part of The CW family, one would think that Kara showing up in Star City on either Arrow or Legends of Tomorrow is probably more likely now than ever before. For his part, Arrow star Stephen Amell agrees with this assessment, as he made clear when asked about the subject during a recent interview.
Talking with Loaded, Amell had this to say:
While Marvel is already preparing to combine its various Netflix heroes into The Defenders team-up series, Amell is right on as far as this being the first opportunity of its kind to realistically combine multiple DC franchises into one big (live-action) TV mega-property. Considering that The CW has already managed to intertwine Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow’s narratives, it would seem like a shoo-in for the newly acquired Supergirl to join that club on a more full-time basis, provided Greg Berlanti and company can come up with a good excuse for characters to travel between dimensions more often than once a season.
“Do bears you-know-what in the woods? I think that it’s highly likely that if you have four DC superhero properties on one network, that is an opportunity that may not exist again and certainly hasn’t ever existed in the history of television. I would expect that we would do something.”
Expanding on Amell’s remarks, The CW eventually commissioning a Defenders-style event series involving its various DC heroes seems like it should be a possibility as well, with a Supergirl/Arrow crossover perhaps being an early step towards that ultimate goal. The latter is more likely than the former to become a reality any time soon, as incorporating all four shows together would require some delicate creative tinkering to balance the various locations and timelines involved. Still, as Amell says, it may be a long time – if ever – before another network gets an opportunity comparable to what The CW currently possesses.
Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8pm on The CW. Supergirl season 2 airs on The CW this fall.
Source: Loaded (via CBM)
