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Post by Feologild Oakes on Sept 27, 2020 18:08:32 GMT
Supergirl Ending As Superman & Lois Starts Is A Bad Look For The ArrowverseIt's a bad look for the Arrowverse to let Supergirl end just as Superman and Lois is starting up, given The CW's emphasis on equality of the sexes. Supergirl coming to an end hot on the heels of the Arrowverse version of Superman getting a spin-off series, Superman and Lois, is a bad look for the Arrowverse and The CW. While the timing was unintentional, it still seems incongruous that a network famed for its reputation as an equal-opportunity employer could bring a show centered around one of its most prominent heroines to a close just as her male equivalent is getting a show of his own. The announcement that the upcoming Supergirl season 6 would be its last sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry and superhero fandom alike. The past year has been a tumultuous one for the Arrowverse, with Arrow ending after eight seasons, Elongated Man actor Hartley Sawyer being fired from The Flash, and Ruby Rose deciding to leave Batwoman after a single season of playing Kate Kane. No official reason was given for the decision behind Supergirl coming to a conclusion, but it is suspected that series' star Melissa Benoist, who recently celebrated the birth of her first child, wished to focus on the joys of motherhood without having to balance her new responsibilities with starring in a superhero drama. While this is perfectly understandable, the timing is unfortunate. One of the biggest challenges Supergirl as a series and Benoist as a performer faced when Supergirl first premiered in 2015 was in dragging Kara Zor-El out of the shadow of her famous cousin. The character was originally introduced to DC in 1958 in a bid to lure more girls into reading comics, while copying the success of similar characters like Mary Marvel and Miss America. Although Supergirl proved popular, she never really progressed beyond being a female version of Superman and remained derivative for most of her published life. The first season of Supergirl tried to address this by not having Superman appear on-screen and focusing on Kara's life outside of heroism, but this only raised questions as to why Kal-El never felt the need to check-in on his cousin, as she started following in his footsteps as a costumed hero. Ironically, Kara's status as an independent hero seemed to improve with the casting of Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent in Supergirl season 2. Giving a face to the Man of Steel helped to humanize him, as did allowing Kara to interact with her cousin directly. Yet Supergirl still faced accusations of having to weaken Superman in order to make Supergirl seem like an equal, such as when Kara teased him by telling a group of kids that she used to change his diapers or when Kara defeated Clark in a one-on-one battle. Most of these complaints were leveled by on-line trolls, who predicted that Supergirl wouldn't last another season on The CW because nobody cared about female superheroes. They also claimed that the only reason a Supergirl show was made in the first place was because they couldn't get the rights to Superman. (The same trolls are even now falsely claiming Supergirl was cancelled, rather than coming to a close with the agreement of the production team.) While it is unfortunate that the timing of Supergirl's series finale has given trolls ammunition, it should be noted that there is no evidence to support any of their claims, despite any appearances of sexism or a lack of confidence on the part of The CW. The fact of the matter is that Supergirl ran proudly for six seasons, paving the way for series like Batwoman and Stargirl. If nothing else, the fact that The CW feels Superman should share his show with Lois Lane seems to stand as proof that, as far as the Arrowverse is concerned, the future is looking strong for Superman and Lois. The problem is that having Superman's series effectively replace Supergirl's around the same time isn't a good look, especially regarding the franchise's push for diversity. screenrant.com/supergirl-arrowverse-ending-before-superman-lois-diversity-bad/So do you agree with this article, or is it just another example of an overassertive easily offended peson?
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Post by taylorfirst1 on Sept 27, 2020 22:44:36 GMT
The timing is meaningless and only an idiot could make anything out of it.
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Post by stargazer1682 on Sept 27, 2020 22:57:54 GMT
I mean, it's all supposition. There's been no definitive, public explanation for why the show is suddenly going to end; only those involved in making that decisions know why it's happening. Ostensibly, if it was on the network's end, and they just decided it wasn't something they wanted to continue, why wouldn't they have said something when they first announced its renewal? Why now?
On the other hand, we don't know that it was a decision made internally, within the production. Melissa's post on Instagram just talked about being grateful to have the opportunity to close the story out on their terms; which sounds more like something someone says when it wasn't their say to actually end things and they're looking on the upside to the alternative, where the show ends abruptly without resolution. When Arrow announced it would end with season 8, Stephen Amell was pretty up front about it largely being his decision of wanting to wrap things up. If the end of Supergirl has to do with Melissa's desire to stay home more with her new son, or even because she wanted to pursue other projects, like returning to Broadway, as another thread suggested, would there be a reason for her not to say as much? It doesn't preclude the possibility that either or both of those are in fact the motivation here, just because she hasn't said so publicly, but I don't see the reason she wouldn't share whatever the reason was, if the announcement was the result of a decision she made.
And if it was Melissa's decision, then this article is full of shit; because it doesn't matter what the optics of it are, if the lead legitimately wanted to walk away. No matter the reason, that would be her prerogative, and we'd have to respect that decision.
Could the network/production try to recast or salvage the series without Melissa? Maybe, but seeing as they were put in the position of having to do that with Batwoman, and trying to do that 6 seasons into a series, would it have really been any better than letting the show go out with its main star?
If it was the network's decision, I might have a little more ambivalence about it, but it would still depend on what the actual motivations for ending the series were. No doubt, Supergirl has not been an inexpensive series to make; if there was any question of whether it brought in high enough ratings consistently enough to warrant the budget, it could just be a matter of practicality; especially since season 6 is usually the point where contracts for subsequent seasons start to get negotiated, and a show is only going to get more expensive over time.
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Post by dazz on Oct 2, 2020 4:04:43 GMT
It's a screenrant article, generally those writers tend to have the mind of a dehydrated jellyfish thats been run over by a 18 wheeler carrying 40 tons of manure.
One thing it's not ending as Superman is starting, S6 and S1 respectively are airing the same season, as for the out of balance bollocks, it's not like Supergirl is the ONLY female lead in the Arrowverse, it still has Batgirl, LOT's lead is White Canary, I think they are still hoping to do the Green Arrow and The Canaries show, Stargirl is also getting a S2, and Black Lightning maybe titled after the male character but is HEAVILY focused on it's female leads, and Superman & Lois is just that Superman AND Lois he isn't the lead THEY are the leads, the only "male" superhero show in the Arrowverse at the moment really is The Flash and even that mostly has The Flash need constant help from his diverse and gender balanced team so just what the fuck?
Also whilst it may seem bad on literally the first and laziest of glances if you look at it then it doesn't seem that bad, Supergirl really hit a wall last season ratings wise, it's going to be their 6th season, 5th on the CW, contracts are going to be up for renewal, the star just had a kid as well, it's like maybe S6 wasn't intended to be the final season but during all of this downtime they went to the table to ink new deals for S7 and beyond nad just couldn't find the number both sides could agree on, and what that looks like is anyone's guess, could be money, could be security, could be status or perks who knows what it could be if it was a contractual breakdown tbh.
Also story wise makes some sense, as my guess is Kara will leave Earth or atleast our time when the series ends, because it just creates the same issue Supergirl had in S1, except without the ability to try and justify it like they did by making Supergirl so much more superior in pretty much every way than Superman, now it will be the question of ok why is the 2nd string Kryptonian not asking for his number 1 cousin who is better than him at everything to help him?
I could easily see Supergirl ending being the opening they need to do the GA&TC show also, CW has limited slots, they even had to open up sundays last year to be able to fit all their shows in, so the end of this show will only mean the start of a new one as is always the way.
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Post by stargazer1682 on Oct 2, 2020 5:17:14 GMT
It's a screenrant article, generally those writers tend to have the mind of a dehydrated jellyfish thats been run over by a 18 wheeler carrying 40 tons of manure. One thing it's not ending as Superman is starting, S6 and S1 respectively are airing the same season, as for the out of balance bollocks, it's not like Supergirl is the ONLY female lead in the Arrowverse, it still has Batgirl, LOT's lead is White Canary, I think they are still hoping to do the Green Arrow and The Canaries show, Stargirl is also getting a S2, and Black Lightning maybe titled after the male character but is HEAVILY focused on it's female leads, and Superman & Lois is just that Superman AND Lois he isn't the lead THEY are the leads, the only "male" superhero show in the Arrowverse at the moment really is The Flash and even that mostly has The Flash need constant help from his diverse and gender balanced team so just what the fuck? Also whilst it may seem bad on literally the first and laziest of glances if you look at it then it doesn't seem that bad, Supergirl really hit a wall last season ratings wise, it's going to be their 6th season, 5th on the CW, contracts are going to be up for renewal, the star just had a kid as well, it's like maybe S6 wasn't intended to be the final season but during all of this downtime they went to the table to ink new deals for S7 and beyond nad just couldn't find the number both sides could agree on, and what that looks like is anyone's guess, could be money, could be security, could be status or perks who knows what it could be if it was a contractual breakdown tbh. Also story wise makes some sense, as my guess is Kara will leave Earth or atleast our time when the series ends, because it just creates the same issue Supergirl had in S1, except without the ability to try and justify it like they did by making Supergirl so much more superior in pretty much every way than Superman, now it will be the question of ok why is the 2nd string Kryptonian not asking for his number 1 cousin who is better than him at everything to help him? I could easily see Supergirl ending being the opening they need to do the GA&TC show also, CW has limited slots, they even had to open up sundays last year to be able to fit all their shows in, so the end of this show will only mean the start of a new one as is always the way. A lot of good points. I think the estimation that Kara will end the series by going to the future could have a lot of merit. Besides being something out of the comics, the only real relationship they've given her has been with Mon-El; so they could potentially reunite them as they bow out. Although, for the life of me, it's been so long and I haven't even watched the last couple of episodes of last season, but I can't remember, did Mon-El actually return to the future after his initial return last year? I'm not sure about GA&TC. They seemed so determined to set up the spin-off, and even before the pandemic there didn't seem much traction. I also seem to recall hearing a rumor at one point that Katherine McNamara actually didn't want to commit to the series., further complicating the show. I kind of wonder what the odds would be for the network to sit on it for a full season before picking it up; even if they need to wait and "make room". Seems like that would kill its momentum under normal circumstances, but then this is year that time forgot, so anything's possible. Come to think of it, the time between Barry's initial appearance on Arrow and when The Flash went to air was pretty substantial, but that had a lot more positive buzz coming out of it. Plus it was back in the day when the writers seemed to take pride in their work... 😒
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Post by dazz on Oct 2, 2020 7:25:58 GMT
It's a screenrant article, generally those writers tend to have the mind of a dehydrated jellyfish thats been run over by a 18 wheeler carrying 40 tons of manure. One thing it's not ending as Superman is starting, S6 and S1 respectively are airing the same season, as for the out of balance bollocks, it's not like Supergirl is the ONLY female lead in the Arrowverse, it still has Batgirl, LOT's lead is White Canary, I think they are still hoping to do the Green Arrow and The Canaries show, Stargirl is also getting a S2, and Black Lightning maybe titled after the male character but is HEAVILY focused on it's female leads, and Superman & Lois is just that Superman AND Lois he isn't the lead THEY are the leads, the only "male" superhero show in the Arrowverse at the moment really is The Flash and even that mostly has The Flash need constant help from his diverse and gender balanced team so just what the fuck? Also whilst it may seem bad on literally the first and laziest of glances if you look at it then it doesn't seem that bad, Supergirl really hit a wall last season ratings wise, it's going to be their 6th season, 5th on the CW, contracts are going to be up for renewal, the star just had a kid as well, it's like maybe S6 wasn't intended to be the final season but during all of this downtime they went to the table to ink new deals for S7 and beyond nad just couldn't find the number both sides could agree on, and what that looks like is anyone's guess, could be money, could be security, could be status or perks who knows what it could be if it was a contractual breakdown tbh. Also story wise makes some sense, as my guess is Kara will leave Earth or atleast our time when the series ends, because it just creates the same issue Supergirl had in S1, except without the ability to try and justify it like they did by making Supergirl so much more superior in pretty much every way than Superman, now it will be the question of ok why is the 2nd string Kryptonian not asking for his number 1 cousin who is better than him at everything to help him? I could easily see Supergirl ending being the opening they need to do the GA&TC show also, CW has limited slots, they even had to open up sundays last year to be able to fit all their shows in, so the end of this show will only mean the start of a new one as is always the way. A lot of good points. I think the estimation that Kara will end the series by going to the future could have a lot of merit. Besides being something out of the comics, the only real relationship they've given her has been with Mon-El; so they could potentially reunite them as they bow out. Although, for the life of me, it's been so long and I haven't even watched the last couple of episodes of last season, but I can't remember, did Mon-El actually return to the future after his initial return last year? I'm not sure about GA&TC. They seemed so determined to set up the spin-off, and even before the pandemic there didn't seem much traction. I also seem to recall hearing a rumor at one point that Katherine McNamara actually didn't want to commit to the series., further complicating the show. I kind of wonder what the odds would be for the network to sit on it for a full season before picking it up; even if they need to wait and "make room". Seems like that would kill its momentum under normal circumstances, but then this is year that time forgot, so anything's possible. Come to think of it, the time between Barry's initial appearance on Arrow and when The Flash went to air was pretty substantial, but that had a lot more positive buzz coming out of it. Plus it was back in the day when the writers seemed to take pride in their work... 😒 Yeah he went back with his wife and Wynn whilst Brainy stayed behind, and yeah it being from the comics and Mon-El being her only substantial romance in 5 seasons is why I think sending her to the future makes sense. With the GA&TC show I agree such downtime would hurt normally, but at the same time they can reintroduce the show at some point with Flash or Legends and everything, I didn't hear anything about her not wanting to do it, I saw interviews or articles where she said she was uncertain of the show, but that was in regards to it being picked up, but as of I think just over a month ago she was quoted as being hopeful that she isn't done as the character yet. But with the CW also they tend to keep at stuff longer than most, I mean I think they have tried to repurpose a Lost Boys show several times, same with a bunch of their none DC shows, they had the ideas kicking around for years before they made air I mean think about it Superman & Lois was being kicked around in 2018 after Elseworlds, when are we finally getting it? 2021, Roswell NM only got ordered for a pilot in 2018 and didn't air until 2019 so how long were they developing and pitching that as a show? Riverdale was being developed by the CW in 2015 but didn't debut till 2017, similar to Charmed was announced as in development Jan 2017 doesn't air until Oct 2018, and yeah the Flash episodes of Arrow were a full 10 months before the show debuted.
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