After nearly five months away, The CW has finally revived its original series, launching new shows like military drama ‘Valor’ and fresh seasons for returning champs like ‘Riverdale’, ‘Supernatural’ and of course its Arrowverse shows.  But unfortunately, things weren’t terribly rosy for the DC Comics champs.  ‘Legends of Tomorrow’, on a new night and time, Tuesdays at 9pm following ‘The Flash’, is the only show of the four to maintain steady ratings, with ‘Supergirl’, ‘The Flash’ and ‘Arrow’ all seeing drops of varying degrees.  Let’s take things in order.

Things were the bleakest for ‘Supergirl’, whose ratings were down over 50% in the key 18-49 demographic and 40% overall.  The premiere pulled in 1.9 million viewers which equals a 0.5 rating.  It was the lowest rated show on Monday night with the exception of its follow-up, ‘Valor’.  This ties a series low for the Girl of Steel.

‘The Flash’ outpaced ‘Supergirl’ with a 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demo, equaling 3M.  That is down 20% in the demo and 10% overall compared to the Season 3 premiere.  But ‘The Flash’ S4 premiere is roughly on par with the S3 finale and the S3 overall average.  ‘The Flash’ actually zipped past FOX’s ‘Lethal Weapon’ in the key demo, despite being the lowest rated show in its time slot overall.

The same is true of ‘Legends’.  Following ‘The Flash’ at 9pm, ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ had a 0.6 rating with 1.7M viewers, on par with its Season 2 premiere.  FOX’s ‘The Mick’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (and every other show) beat ‘Legends’ but ‘Brooklyn’ just barely, by .1M.  Paradoxically, ‘Legends’ did better in ratings than ‘Supergirl’ but ‘Supergirl’ had more viewers.

Of all of the DC shows, though, ‘Legends’ was the only one to hold strong season-to-season.  While ‘Supergirl’ may have had the most significant drop, ‘Arrow”s might be the most damaging.

‘Arrow’, the show that started it all, has unfortunately been on a downward slide for a few seasons now.  It may simply be that the show, in its sixth season, has run its course. Possibly due to waning numbers, The CW moved it to a new night and time, Thursdays at 9pm, after ‘Supernatural’.  Not only is this the first time switch for ‘Arrow’ but it is now separated from the other shows by a day.  (It will air on Monday night during the four-part crossover ‘Crisis on Earth-X’.)

So what does this mean?  Sadly, it means that ‘Arrow’ is now the least viewed of the four DC shows.  The Season 6 premiere was watched by 1.57M and earned a 0.6 rating, the latter of which at least tied ‘Legends’.  And the emphasis is on “at least,” because up til now, ‘Legends’ was the lowest rated of the four on a consistent basis.

However, ‘Arrow’ was up against an almost unbeatable opponent– Thursday night football.  Fans of both would have watched the NFL live and recorded ‘Arrow’ for later.  The same could apply to the time switch.  Once DVR and streaming views are factored in, ‘Arrow’– and the other DC shows– could climb higher.

At this point, the ratings slips are no reason to panic.  The CW regularly ranks fourth behind the bigger networks.  Even shows with middling ratings can squeak by for years.  It helps that their lineup is aimed at a younger audience– an audience that falls outside of the “desired demographic”– that shells out more on licensed merchandise based on their favorite shows.

The problem arises in that The CW has gone all-in on DC superheroes.  It’s a bit different now.  Last season, the shows monopolized the sweet 8pm time slot for four nights in a row.  At least now, with the shifts for ‘Legends’ and ‘Arrow’, the lineup is free for more diversity, but keep in mind there’s a fifth, ‘Black Lightning’ coming mid-season.  So if TV viewers are tiring of superheroes, that could be a bad thing for this freshman series.

Are you still tuning in to The CW’s DC shows?  If not, why?

Source: Cinema Blend