DC Universe’s Stargirl will air its first season both on the DC streaming service and The CW. But could the Geoff Johns-produced drama be eying a bigger investment with The CW for future seasons? The upcoming DC Universe original series has been in the works for quite some time since Johns' 2018 Comic-con announcement. Following other original programmings such as Titans, Doom Patrol, and Swamp Thing, Stargirl was set to be the fourth live-action project to premiere on the streaming platform. As filming took place this year and with the plan to premiere the series in 2019, Stargirl still got delayed and pushed back to 2020. Warner Bros. made the announcement earlier this fall that the Brec Bassinger-led series will not only premiere sometime in the spring, but new episodes will also air on The CW one day after DC Universe has released the latest episode.
With 2020 approaching, Warner Bros. recently began social media marketing for the DC series. During Crisis on Infinite Earths, The CW premiered the first Stargirl trailer that teases Courtney’s journey to becoming the iconic heroine. The network has even gone as far as brand the show’s social media accounts as Stargirl_CW (Twitter) or CWStargirl (Facebook and Instagram.) Despite the announced cross-airing between the two platforms, the series is surprisingly being marketed more as a CW project with little to no mention of its DC Universe connection. With the exception of previewing a brief teaser days before The CW launched its bigger marketing, DC Universe’s involvement has barely been acknowledged. Even during the Crisis: Aftermath aftershow with Kevin Smith, Stargirl was recognized as The CW’s next superhero adventure.
Following the extended trailer’s debut, DC Universe hasn’t even re-shared the content for its subscribers. From the social media platforms being exclusively branded as CW accounts for the series and the way marketing has labeled it thus far, could this foreshadow something bigger for Stargirl beyond season 1? While the first season will air on both platforms, it’s possible that season 2 could be when Stargirl becomes exclusively a CW property completely. Similarly to when Supergirl left CBS and moved to The CW when they saved it for season 2, Stargirl could be facing a similar fate. While DC Universe has upcoming seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol, no further live-action projects have been announced since Stargirl which may be another factor to keep in mind.
Viewers who have followed The CW since its launch through the UPN/The WB merger knows the network’s dedication in empowering female-led shows. In recent years The CW has strived even more towards launching more programming starring female characters in the lead role. This TV season saw The CW only pick-up 3 new shows with Batwoman, Nancy Drew, and Katy Keene, all starring female characters as the main star. From a DC TV perspective, the network currently has Supergirl and Batwoman, along with Legends of Tomorrow which while being an ensemble, has Sara Lance/White Canary (Caity Lotz) as the show’s leader. The idea that The CW might eye to pick-up Stargirl completely would fit in with their slate of shows that features women as the leading forces.
While the network’s demographic is a multi-shared one, The CW has primarily always been focused on reaching a teenage audience. From series like Gossip Girl, 90210, to Riverdale, the network has never been teen-less in their supernatural, drama and superhero slate. Having Courtney Whitmore join the network full-time would not only be another addition to their female-led programming, but it would be their first DC TV series to star a teenage superhero as the principal character.
Since the launch of the Arrowverse, all of CW's DC shows have exclusively only starred adult heroes as the lead. Stargirl would become a refreshing addition to The CW’s superhero line-up that could focus on targeting a bigger teenage audience and broaden the Arrowverse as a whole.
As Crisis on Infinite Earths will be a game-changer for Greg Berlanti’s DC TV universe, it'd theoretically be a perfect set-up to include Stargirl as part of the Arrowverse. The series will heavily feature the inclusion of the Justice Society of America that the new generation of heroes will follow in season 1. In the Arrowverse, the JSA was one of the B-plots in Legends of Tomorrow season 2. However, JSA didn’t end up playing as big of a role as the season 1 finale had teased originally. With the exception of Amaya Jiwe, aka the first Vixen (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), being a regular for two seasons, the JSA mythology got partially lost in the mix.
Even their version of Stargirl (Sarah Grey) got oddly portrayed where her existence as a superhero came during the 1940s. That version of Courtney ended up staying in the year 507 during the Spear of Destiny saga. With rumblings of Bassinger’s version appearing in the crossover, although still not confirmed/debunked by Warner Bros. and The CW, Crisis has the perfect setup to include her series. Not only could Bassinger easily take over as the Arrowverse’s new Stargirl, who now operates in the present, but Crisis could actually reboot the Earth-1 version of the JSA.
With Johns, who has written JSA comics, as Stargirl’s showrunner, this would allow the Arrowverse to have a more accurate representation of the group in future seasons of the shows. But the biggest appeal of what Crisis could do for Bassinger’s Stargirl is adding her to an amazing line of heroines and represent the teenage perspective. Given the signs that marketing is possibly secretly teasing, a complete CW migration after season 1 might benefit Stargirl more than co-existing with DC Universe. With the uncertainty surrounding the DC platform regarding new live-action programming and the delays the show was put through, a transfer to The CW might be better for Stargirl in the long-run.
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