Everything We Learned About The CW’s Batwoman Series and the Arrowverse at the TCA Summer Press Tour
Batwoman will indeed live in Gotham, should The CW order a series based on the DC comic book superhero, network boss Mark Pedowitz told reporters Monday at the Television Critics’ Association’s summer press tour.
The character of Kate Kane will make her screen debut in this year’s Arrowverse crossover, and a potential series revolving around her is in development for the 2019 season, but it sounds like it’s still too early to get a sense of just what this version of Batwoman will be like, aside from her place of residence and the previously released official description:
“Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, Kate Kane soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence. But don’t call her a hero yet. In a city desperate for a savior, Kate must overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope.”
The series will be written by The Vampire Diaries’ Caroline Dries, who will also serve as an executive producer alongside Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Geoff Johns.
“Greg is in early development [on Batwoman] at this point; we’ll know more in the next couple of weeks,” Pedowitz told reporters following his executive panel, adding that the character’s role in the crossover is “ too soon to say, but big enough that we’re thinking of doing a pilot and series with her.”
The executive would also not rule out Batwoman being the villain in the crossover, but that probably has more to do with the fledgling nature of the development of the character rather than something to read more into.
Even if the show goes to series in 2019, it doesn’t necessarily mean Arrow or another show (The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow or Black Lightning) will be chopped to make room.
“At the moment we have five superhero shows on the air, but we added a sixth night, so we have far more space to add more,” Pedowitz said during his panel, referencing the network’s expansion to Sunday night original programming this year. “Shows do eventually end. We have no plans yet to end one of them, or any of them. We’ll see where we come out as the season goes along.”
Of course, with the intersecting nature of this expanded universe, just because a show ends doesn’t necessarily mean the end of those characters.
“Anything’s possible in the Arrowverse, that’s the beauty of what Greg and his team have built,” Pedowitz said regarding the possibility of moving characters onto new shows if their main show ends. “You can move characters around. Caity Lotz’s character, White Canary, started on Arrow and then went to Legends. They’ve crossed over to each other’s shows, so yeah, anything is possible.”
The CW boss also confirmed that Batwoman’s foray into The CW’s Arrowverse – and tangentially, the end of Gotham on Fox – does not mean Batman will be showing up anytime soon, despite Bruce Wayne already being name-dropped in this universe.
“There’s no discussion about a [Batman] series,” Pedowitz said. “Batman already exists in the Arrowverse because last season Oliver Queen (played by Stephen Amell) mentioned his name at one point. And Batwoman, if the series goes forward, lives in Gotham. There’s no plan at this time to have Batman appear.”
Pressed on the issue following his panel, Pedowitz said “that’s a studio question” regarding whether TV networks could even really show Batman on their shows, given his presence in Warner Bros’ big screen films.
Also currently not part of the Arrowverse is The CW’s Black Lightning, starring Cress Williams as the titular superhero, and it sounds like that won’t change anytime soon either, though name drops have also linked Jefferson Pierce to the rest of the superheros.
“At this time, no,” Pedowitz said regarding bringing Salim Akil’s superhero show into the main Berlanti fold. “It’s really Salim’s call. If he wants to do it, we’ll be happy to have that discussion. At the moment, Salim is in his own world and he’s doing a great job this coming season. I’ve seen the first episode. It is as socially relevant as it was last year if not more so.”
As for everyone’s favorite Arrowverse character, Beeo, the fuzzy blue creature is not expected to be part of the crossover this year.
“Beebo I do not believe will be part of the crossover event, but we’re half-joking talking about putting Beebo in every show we have,” Pedowitz quipped.
(image: DC Comics)
Linda Ge is a writer and freelance journalist. She was most recently the TV Editor at Tracking Board and before that spent three years as a TV Reporter at trade publication TheWrap.
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