The DC TV Universe is about to explode as the multiverse continues to commandeer the primetime spectrum and DC Entertainment is preparing for more series launches in 2017!
It was the tweet heard around the globe, at least among all genre-fanatics and especially fans of the works generated by DC Entertainment. Chief Creative Office Geoff Johns has started out 2017 by promising via Twitter in a look to the New Year a cavalcade of new shows going into production based on DC Comics favorites! Joining an already impressive primetime line-up that includes The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl and the team show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, will The CW be welcoming another DC property to expand on the television universe?
It’s no secret that producer Greg Berlanti has already teased that he and his team have a potentially shocking new series coming up when Black Lightning based on the electrifying Outsider goes into production. That series has been committed to have been picked up for a pilot by FOX which currently has the Batman prequel Gotham leading their Monday night hour, along with the live action adaptation of the Vertigo character Lucifer. Whether or not lightning will strike again and give rise to another cross-network crossover remains to be seen.
The latest DC Comics hero coming to life will be Black Lightning. Produced by Greg Berlanti and set to join Gotham on FOX, there is no word on whether the electrifying urban avenger will part of the largely connected DC TV universe on The CW.
On The CW, room is being made for the return of iZombie in its third season, and Tuesday nights are looking pretty powerful when DC’s Legends returns after its midseason hiatus to join its lead-in The Flash certainly giving the network a run for their money! Landing in the coveted Thursday night 8pm slot will be Riverdale an updating with some largely dark overtones of the “Archie Comics”. The teaser trailer is already setting up this series to be unlike anything fans of the long-running could have anticipated.
Although the network has often let on in the media that isn’t looking to become “DC TV” in primetime, The CW has been rumored to be looking for another DC related property (hopefully also produced by Berlanti) to slip into its Friday night hour, giving fans of the genre 5-nights of of comic book, live-action series. The CW does appear to have embraced its superhero series and continues to see some powerful numbers. Though numbers are strong for the network’s DC related series, many speculate that the bubble of appeal for superhero shows may be near bursting.
Until that time comes expect more from DC Entertainment including the new series Powerless the comedy starring Vanessa Hudgens has been green lit and will air on NBC and follows the exploits of the “ordinary people living in the extraordinary DC Universe”. Whether there exists room for overlap with other DC properties remains to be seen, but as had been the case with Constantine (which aired on NBC and only ran for one season) that series’ title character returned in a spectacular episode of Arrow on The CW.
FOX’s Batman prequel “Gotham” and The CW’s “The Flash” have certainly stood out from the competition, though “iZombie” is preparing another deliciously tempting Third Season coming soon, many fans are hoping that Matt Ryan will be lured back into the fold to reprise his role of “Constantine” in a new series.
Fans are still hopeful that the crass magic wielder played by Matt Ryan might return from the ether, and rumors are already circulating that a Season 2 of the series may see the light of a new day, or that Ryan will reprise the role of Constantine in a future episode of Arrow or join the line-up on DC’s Legends. In the meantime, Constantine Season 1 has found a new audience with all the original episodes now available to stream on The CW Seed. Still, there’s plenty of room for everyone as far as fanatics are concerned!
With no shortage of material to rely on, other networks continue to draw from the DC Comics well. SyFy has long been attracted to bringing Krypton to life, and with Supergirl touching on several storylines based on the home planet of both herself and the Man of Steel, no doubt there is plenty to mine from that universe. Krypton has been the focus of many classic stories published by DC, none more engaging than the revelatory perspective provided by comics great John Byrne in the 1980s during the post-Crisis revamp of the Man of Steel.
And there’s no shortage of DC animated projects in the works! The Cartoon Network hit favorite Teen Titans Go! is still in production, the newly minted Justice League Action and DC Superhero Girls are generated great buzz, and the highly-anticipated Third Season on Young Justice will also be premiering. In the meantime, you can expect Johns to continue to tantalize eager audiences with more announcements sure to follow. After all this only the beginning of 2017, and for DC TV the future has never looked brighter!
