Fans of the DC Arrowverse shows gave a collective shout yesterday as The CW announced series renewals for next season. Returning to the slate are Arrow, Black Lightning, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and The Flash.
The announcement also included that the channel will add a sixth night of original programming expanding to a Sunday through Friday lineup. In addition to the five Arrowverse shows, CW also renewed Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Dynasty, Jane the Virgin, Riverdale, and Supernatural. Network President Mark Pedowitz commented during the announcement, “By picking these 10 series up for next season, we have a terrific selection of programming to choose from when we set our fall schedule in May, with more still to come.”
The most exciting news of this is the anticipation of more Arrowverse crossovers. These usually happen about a quarter of the way into the season and with some dynamic interactions. The longest crossover came in basically a four-hour movie between Arrow and The Flash with the “Crisis on Earth-X” episodes.
This announcement also solidifies previous reports about the addition of new characters to the shows. John Constantine (Matt Ryan) had made a previous appearance on Arrow then turned up on Legends of Tomorrow this season with news that he would be added as permanent fixture on season 4. Fans of the character can only hope he stirs up some trouble as part of the crossovers.
While Black Lightning is a character within the DC realm, it has yet to make any connections to the other shows. However, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. In an interview with Legends executive producer Marc Guggenheim, he told Comicbook.com, “My preference actually would be to start talking about it sooner rather than later.”
The most logical crossover for the next set of seasons would be The Flash. With its 100th episode occurring in line with episode 8 of season 5, the CW could certainly play that one to its advantage.
In the meantime, set your reminders for Legends of Tomorrow’s season finale on Monday, April 9 at 8/7c. Supergirl picks up that timeslot the week after. Tuesday and Thursday are the days to find The Flash and Arrow, respectively.