After Superman and Lois ended, it felt like an era ended with it. The CW is known for bringing some of the best superheroes to our small screens giving us hours of entertainment. The CW wasn’t always perfect during its tenure with the DC characters but we’ve had some moments I’ll never forget.
I whinged a lot during the runs of some of these shows but in the end, when I look back on it, I’m incredibly thankful of what The CW brought to my life even in the poorer times. I don’t think we’ll ever get anything as close to this ever again either from DC now or Marvel for that matter.
11. Gotham Knights
Dear Lord, I don’t know what happened in the boardroom for this show to be greenlit. It was one of, if not the worst TV shows I’ve ever watched. It was no surprise that Gotham Knights lasted a measly one series. It didn’t even focus on the proper Gotham Knights and when this show came off the back of the Gotham Knights video game which featured characters such as Red Hood and Nightwing, this show was an utter embarrassment.
The CW didn’t always get things right, this was, unfortunately, the final nail in the coffin as a lot of the Arrowverse shows came to an end. This show never deserved to see the light of day and I’m still upset I invested my time into this as it’s time I will never get back. I hoped it would get better but it got gradually worse as it went on. This is definitely the bottom of the barrel when it comes to what magic The CW has been known to bring out.
10. Naomi
Naomi debuted on the CW in 2022 and was a letdown from the first moment. I’m still not sure as to why the greenlit a show like Naomi. The series debuted with around 800,000 people in the US tuning into the premiere episode and this quickly dwindled.
The series was filled with a boring story, bland characters, bad acting, and even worse CGI. Which makes you question as to what the budget was. As other episodes of other DC Arrowverse shows had decent-sized budgets for the seasons. Ultimately, this was a failure as soon as it was greenlit.
9. Batwoman
Batwoman was doomed from the beginning. All of the marketing didn’t do the show any justice and it fell apart in a major way after Ruby Rose made a shock exit from the show after just 1 season. This meant The CW had to scramble to replace her and they did to be fair with a decent choice – Javicia Leslie. The issue the show had after that was making it believable that this random woman could just don the mask and become Batwoman.
The issue is, that it took too long for that to happen. Only in its final season did it get interesting but it was a little too late for that as the show was already canceled. How a season 4 would’ve played out is anybody’s guess but I honestly firmly believe I don’t think they could’ve done well moving forward. I think season 3 was good but only because of the Joker they had within it more than anything else.
8. Black Lightning
Black Lightning was a unique show. The premise didn’t truly focus on “world” threats. It stayed in it’s own lane and stayed with the “neighborhood” hero-type storyline which worked in the show’s favor, it didn’t get too messy with the storylines either.
Black Lightning delivered some of the most powerful scenes within the Arrowverse, not from a superhero power perspective but from emotional speaking scenes which were some of the best. My only real issue with Black Lightning was that it simply Black Lightning was too “old”. Meaning this hero would have been so much better had he been young and just starting out as a hero. In the end, this show didn’t match up with the likes of The Flash or Arrow, as it should have.
7. Legends of Tomorrow
I remember getting the tease for Legends of Tomorrow within an episode of The Flash. I remember the reaction online as people were confused as to what it meant. Come to realize it was the introduction to a new TV series. Legends began strong with 2 fantastic seasons but unfortunately, that did not last.
Over the course of the remaining seasons, Legends took an “interesting” turn. The story, writing, and acting all got on the end of the comedic side of things rather than the serious tone that the first two seasons were. This was the downfall of the show, although they still introduced some great characters.
6. Supergirl
I honestly don’t even know where to begin with Supergirl. The show had a great opening 3 seasons, not quite as good as openers as the others after this but still great nonetheless. The problem with Supergirl is it fell so unbelievably hard after season 3. It got too political and it fell off making it completely ridiculous.
Melissa Benoist was a perfect Supergirl but it felt like the direction of the show was continuously getting worse. They had a decent Lex Luthor in Jon Cryer but they couldn’t write these characters in a good enough way. I struggled to stay on board for the latter seasons because it got worse. I appreciate what they did in the beginning but they couldn’t do enough to capitalize on that. A show will never be good if half of the known cast leaves and is replaced with other characters, there’s always going to be that void, and Supergirl unfortunately never recovered from that.
5. Stargirl
Stargirl’s an odd show for me here and I’ll explain why. It’s forgettable. It sounds odd considering the show was great but it was a show I always forgot about even when It was airing and it’s a show I still forget about now. That’s why I’ve put it down under 5th. Don’t get me wrong, despite that side the show was great. It’s still one of only 3 shows we’ve reviewed that scored a perfect 10/10 season with the first one. That holds close but I do think the show could’ve been better.
When the show came out, it felt like The CW was constantly trying to distance itself from the likes of Arrow and The Flash for whatever reason. Understandably this show did begin on the DC Universe but Supergirl also featured on CBS before moving over – I think introducing this show into the universe would’ve done wonders but the show stood on its own I guess and that’s what matters. It’s a shame we didn’t get more after only 3 seasons.
4. Smallville
The show that started it all. I think it somewhat poetic that the DC TV universe that was on The CW Network started with Superman on Smallville and ended with Superman on Superman & Lois. For it’s time, Smallville was truly groundbreaking. It debuted many DC characters within live-action.
Smallville ran for 10 seasons. For a show like this, especially back then, it was hard to last 10 seasons. Many DC shows have only lasted a few seasons. Smallville was the catalyst for what was to come with the Arrowverse. Smallville truly was ahead of it’s time.
3. The Flash
Seasons 1-3 were magical. They were still some of the best TV seasons in history but I want to start with the negatives above all else here and why it’s #3. The Flash never got back to its peak after season 3. It fell apart and continually got worse as the show went on. If you literally just watch the first 3 seasons and leave it there, it’ll be an unforgettable experience and this is why it falls short of the top 2.
However, though, the first 3 seasons were a pleasure. It’s not very often a show has me on the edge of my seat but The Flash did so multiple times. With the reveal of Savitar and Reverse Flash, Zoom breaking Barry’s back in the public eye was just some mesmerizing and entertaining television. It’s a shame The CW never quite reached those heights again but I’ll do anything to watch seasons 1-3 for the first time again.
2. Arrow
The first and second on this list were rough choices. It took me over an hour to truly decide which was to be the first two but Arrow just fell behind into the second slot. Arrow holds dear to my heart. I’ve talked about it numerous times that Arrow quite literally allowed me to escape my mental health issues and divulge into this incredible universe.
Now, Arrow wasn’t perfect but some of the notable seasons were 1, 2, 3, 5, and maybe the last season. Arrow could’ve been the best superhero show in history but unfortunately, it pandered to a relationship that never existed in the comic books which meant it fell short in some of the later seasons. Overall though, maybe due to sentimental reasons but because of how incredible it was in the beginning more specifically, it deserves #2 and a very close first.
1. Superman & Lois
What an experience Superman and Lois was. We already got a taste of Tyler Hoechlin as Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane in previous crossover events. Never did I ever expect that this series would be as great as it was. The first 2 seasons were perfect, the third season wasn’t the best but it wasn’t horrific and the 4th season was the best all round season from The CW in regards to DC.
It’s a close first but I think when it comes to the overall consistency of the shows, Superman and Lois had it nailed on from the very beginning even despite an okay season with 3, it was still all very well connected and enjoyable. I’m happy that the finale ended the way it did, it felt like a close to what’s been one hell of an era even if there’s been so many ups and downs.
