Sci-Fi Storm

[Minor spoilers ahead] So the big crossover episode of Supergirl aired on Monday, while we await word of renewal. Did The Flash give it a good enough boost? Time will tell, as there has been no announcement yet, but it definitely had an effect on the ratings. Overall viewers were up 21% and the all-important 18-49 demo was up 31% over last week, to see how the DC television universe would handle this network-and-multiverse-crossing episode. It also had the highest rating for any scripted show that night.

So, how did they handle the crossover, given that Flash’s Earth seems to have no awareness of Kara or her better known cousin or other aliens, while Kara’s version has no metahumans? Simple – the comic multiverse, DC-style.

The Flash has already established the multi-Earth concept, with the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, coming to Barry Allen’s Earth-One, and Barry going to Jay’s Earth-Two. So to expand a bit, Barry does something (to be explained in The Flash‘s Tuesday episode) back home that results in him arriving on Kara’s version of Earth, where he helps out and then Kara gives him a boost – literally – to get back. This now opened up a myriad of possibilities in storytelling with other DC characters, in such a way that they can be independent of shows or even the movies – we already know that a movie version of Barry Allen’s Flash will be played by Ezra Miller instead of Grant Gustin. So it sets op independent franchises that in some ways can lean on each other occasionally.

It also provides a gimmick that can unfortunately be used as an end-around to any intractable situation, so let’s hope they keep this trick in the back pocket unless it actually helps with the story.

CBS announced a whole slew of renewals yesterday…but left off all of their freshman shows, including Supergirl. So what does it mean?

Well, first thing, it’s among good company. None of the freshman shows have been named yet, Limitless, Code Black and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, which are generally believe to be getting renewed but haven’t been mentioned yet. However, all three of those shows are fully or co-owned by the network, whereas Supergirl comes from Warner Bros. TV. CBS also hasn’t made an announcement on flagship show Criminal Minds either, which is still solid but after 11 years the pricetag on another season is pretty high. But it at least shows that all the decision making is not done yet.

Numbers-wise, Supergirl is a step above its older DC siblings over on The CW – The Flash and Arrow, who are already renewed. The most recent episode for Supergirl was just shy of 6 million viewers, compared to 3 million for The Flash and 2.14 million for Arrow. Normally this would be great – but a show on CBS is different than on The CW…the latter tends to hold on to shows more as they have been struggling to find viewers in general – they are a distant fifth among the five primary broadcast networks, and those numbers are generally good for them. 6 million is OK, but not great for one of the Big Three. In addition, after a super-solid debut of 13 million viewers, Supergirl has been shedding viewers, with the last four continually dropping.

Les Moonves had already indicated that they had plans to renew their freshman shows earlier this month. Perhaps CBS is just waiting to see what happens over the final three episodes, which includes a crossover stunt with The Flash airing this Monday.

So hopefully we will hear soon – and hopefully it will be positive.

I had the fortune to chat with our friend Eddie McClintock, star of Warehouse 13, who will be making a guest appearance on Supergirl this Monday (8PM ET on CBS), and will be starring in the new USA series Shooter later this year. While drifting off on many topics, we did talk about those shows, portraying a member of the Marine Corps, working away from family, and of course, end up back at the Warehouse…

Eddie appeared last year on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the alien Vin-Tak…and now he’s entering the other side of the comic universe with the DC Comics/CBS series Supergirl, after surprising us with the announcement last week on Twitter.

Doc: You only announced it last week…

Eddie: I had to hold off on it until it was announced. I’ve been sitting on it for a couple, three months.

Doc: You had to have filmed this a while ago…they really like to keep guest stars under wraps.

Eddie: I really learned that lesson on S.H.I.E.L.D.. When you work on S.H.I.E.L.D., when you show up to the set you don’t even say, “I’m here to work on S.H.I.E.L.D.,” you say, “I’m here to work on…” and some weird name. And S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t even on any of the scripts.

Doc: They like to keep the surprises…on Supergirl you are playing a Marine Colonel…that must have been cool.

Eddie: It is…it’s cool to be able to…it was important for me to be able to make sure my uniform was correct. There’s a scene where I’m in my digital camos, and I wanted to roll up my sleeves because it was hot when we were shooting, so I texted some of my buddies who are in the Marines and I was like, “Where does my sleeves have to be?” and they were, “It has to be one inch above the elbow.” So I made sure that my sleeves were proper. It’s important for me to show respect for the Corps. I mean, there are worse things than to be hired to represent a member of the military. If I have a chance to talk about it, talk about the veterans and veterans organizations, I’m OK with that.
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CBS has found the hero they needed – Supergirl, which has been going strong since it’s debut (it has averaged over 11 million viewers each week), received an additional order for seven episodes to a full 20-episode season.

There is some speculation that it didn’t get a “Back 9” order to bring it up to a “standard” 22-episode season, but Supergirl also got a late start compared to most series this season, so it is likely just in line with co-terminating with other series before the summer hiatus.

I have to admit – when I first heard that CBS was throwing itself into the comics frenzy with an updated Supergirl, I was quite skeptical…it sounded like the network was just trying to get a slice of the pie with a property that had the potential to be hokey on the small screen, especially since the only previous attempt, the 1984 feature film starring Helen Slater, was dismal. And in the current environment of empowerment, the name itself seems to fall short.

But after seeing this, I am pleasantly surprised as it appears to take itself seriously yet still have fun with it – and even addresses the name in-show. I can’t help picture this as just a version of Arrow, where Felicity is the superhero instead, but I’m hoping that Melissa Benoist does well enough to establish herself as the character.
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The infiltration of the comics industry into the TV networks is now complete. The last U.S. broadcast network has fallen; CBS has given a series commitment to a Supergirl series from Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Tomorrow People) and Ali Adler (Chuck, Glee).

Based on the DC Comics character, the series will follow the less-famous cousin of Kal-El/Superman, Kara Zor-El, who has been hiding on Earth since the destruction of Krypton, then at the age of 24 decides to use her powers for the greater good.

The series was presented to broadcasters just Wednesday, and the deal reportedly closed last night. It is interesting for CBS, as the demographic for network skews older than the others. However, aside from being the only network lacking a comics-based series, it also has been making a heavy push for more female-driven shows, just this week having the debut of The Mysteries of Laura, another series headed up by Berlanti. He also recently sold CBS a put pilot commitment for The Things The Left Behind, based on a Stephen King short story.

Supergirl will join ABC’s Agent Carter for a female-led comics series, and it will give DC Comics presence on all networks except ABC – which shares a corporate parent (Disney) with DC’s chief rival, Marvel.