Around the end of 2010 I looked back on the first 15 years with The WB/CW (check it out here). Now here we are, another 15 later with Superman & Lois ending last December leaving me with no reason to watch the network anymore.
As talked about previously, it all started in 1995 with the first show I was into, Unhappily Ever After (Essentially the beginning of what would become a huge year for all things entertainment, I'll get into in a future post). Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of the first must-see niche shows, and I still fondly remember how big of a deal some of the earlier story plots were, like Kendra the Vampire Slayer arriving and Angel losing his soul. Like Buffy, 7th Heaven and Roswell I also wasn't watching when they premiered but would get into later. I was also a fan of Popstars, the OG music reality competition spanning 2 seasons. Buffy would end in 2003 with what I'd call the first major series finale.
Aside from 7th Heaven's extra season after what was intended to be the last episode, it was business as usual with Smallville and Everybody Hates Chris as The CW made its debut in fall 2006. I usually didn't care to give new shows a chance especially with American Idol sometimes taking up 2.5-3 hours of primetime, and being only able to DVR one program, while I watch another. So as was the case with Smallville in fall 2004, I really needed to be persuaded. I came upon Gossip Girl during the winter 2007 writers strike and taking a quick interest in the cast, soon began catching up on season 1, watching through summer. In 2010, I was talked into checking out The Vampire Diaries, quickly becoming one of my favorites heading into season 2.
2011 marked the end for Smallville, and following Hellcats, more shows that would roll through I liked but would only last a year, including The Secret Circle and Sarah Michelle Gellar's return in Ringer. Something much bigger was on the horizon though with the fall 2012 premiere of Arrow, quickly becoming one my top shows alongside TVD, while Gossip Girl wrapped at the end of the year. As Arrow soon began making way for Flash, TVD would finally expand with The Originals. Along with Flash, the 2014-15 season would see RPM Yellow Ranger Rose McIver in iZombie, a fun, quirky show taking place in Seattle.
Arrowverse would continue to expand with Legends of Tomorrow - a nice mashup of familiar characters and new to the Arrowverse - followed by Supergirl coming off its first season on CBS. With shows being renewed practically every year, it wasn't too often when something actually ended, but in March 2017 it became time to say goodbye to TVD, in whats forever my favorite non-Arrowverse finale.
Early 2018 would see Black Lightning enter the lineup. While not part of Arrowverse originally, it was cool having another superhero that felt a bit more mature that the others. And things would only get bigger with The Originals spinning off into the future with Legacies and a new take on Roswell would arrive midseason, helping further make most of my free time revolve around the schedule (more on that at the bottom). Not necessarily one of my favorite shows, I always liked that the Roswell reboot had a cast largely comprised of actors from other CW shows.
As iZombie wrapped up five seasons, Arrowverse would soon get another superhero with Batwoman before the entire multiverse would be turned upside down in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Oliver's end had arrived in a wonderful final sendoff I'd just barely nudge above Smallville (more below). Following the pandemic, 2021 would become the first year of the TV season going straight through summer with Superman & Lois kicking off, while Stargirl would make its season 2 debut as a CW show in August. I loved how different it was - often feeling cinematic with epic fight sequences - easily making it one of the top shows I enjoyed most in the multiverse. The year would see Arrowverse (and my viewership) finally start to thin out with the conclusions of Black Lighting and Supergirl.
As the network overhaul started to take shape, 2022 would see a number of shows cancelled with last episodes that varied. Legacies definitely was the best, paying homage to the world established in TVD/Originals. The fall would be spent with the final season of Stargirl, as well as Tom Welling starring in Professionals. Come summer, time was up for Flash, plus I caught Gotham Knights - kind of a swan song of the old CW. Riverdale was always a bit too weird for me but I did enjoy catching some of the final season and final episodes as well. Likewise, Supernatural was never really my thing, but I caught the finale (after the show concluded in late 2020) alongside watching a handful of some of the fun, quirky episodes from over the years.
It was a great run, and not having any of these shows around has finally got me to catch everything I never got to before like CBS The Flash - a fun history lesson on how the OGs did it - from special effects to villains of the week I'd come to know in Arrowverse. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (which I'd come across here and there but couldn't commit to watching back then) will be soon, not to mention I'm due to finally sit down and watch Titans. I never watched Syfy's Krypton, but will likely check out HBO's Lanterns in 2026. Through it all, Smallville continues to be around in some form, with the TalkVille Podcast launching in 2022 right around as I had finished rewatching season 10, and there's still the animated project Welling and Rosenbaum hope to do. I'll also likely start to revisit the Buffyverse again someday, especially if the upcoming reboot is successful.
One last look and ranking the multiverse finales:
Arrow
Smallville
Superman & Lois / Stargirl
Supergirl / Black Lightning
Batwoman
Legends of Tomorrow
The Flash
You can't really top Arrow which did more than I could've asked to tie up the show and character development, filled with Arrowverse cast and cameos, that I'd rank it above all else. Smallville celebrated the series legacy like no other, but kind of cut corners which most later finales didn't.
Superman & Lois and Stargirl ended their shows with climactic movie-like final battles and heartfelt sendoffs. I have to appreciate Superman & Lois going above and beyond, taking a similar route to TVD, and Stargirl really going all out including the multiverse final surprise cameo.
Supergirl had a pretty solid finale with the final battle, focusing on Kara and calling back to the shows beginning. Plus I really enjoyed Black Lightning's sendoff and closure, making it kind of tough to say goodbye to. Batwoman had a decent end, wrapping up the season playing it safe with a nod to the series.
Legends of Tomorrow wrapped up the season fine but ended on a cliffhanger - a poor choice but at least was after an awesome 100th episode. That leaves Flash, which had too much not work in its favor being forced to end before the movie release. Barry and the team taking down the resurrected villains (with no homage to the entire Arrowverse) wasn't a very good way to end on, which would turn out to be the proposed plot for a 200th episode.
MOST WATCHED SHOWS BY TV SEASON
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