The Flash hit a series low in ratings on The CW with last week's episode, "Failure is an Orphan." Adapting the DC Comics character of the same name,
The Flash has been consistently the highest rated superhero series on the network. It has even surpassed the show it spun out of:
Arrow. Although
Arrow is considered the creative nexus of The CW's interconnected DC multiverse with most heroes being compared to its series lead Oliver Queen
The Flash is the most successful.
Since so much of the Arrowverse takes it cue from
Arrow, it was a little alarming when The CW announced that
Arrow was ending with season 8. The next season of
Arrow will be a shortened one and supposedly wrap up the series'
two timelines of the present and the future. With
The Flash's ratings slipping, fans of the Scarlet Speedster may be worried the series finale might not be too far behind. However, they can rest assured knowing The CW
renewed The Flash for season 6 already.
Cancelled Sci Fi, which tracks the ratings and possible cancellations of various science fiction shows, reported The Flash hit their lowest ratings ever in the week of March 11. The Flash received a 0.5 rating in the sought after demographic of viewers between the ages of 18-49.
The Flash pulled in 1.6 million viewers which is only slightly more than
Arrow, which landed a million viewers and and fellow superhero CW series
Black Lightning, which had around 750,000 viewers.
Before fans get too worried about
The Flash reaching its finish line, the series has been already renewed for a sixth season. There's no sense currently that
The Flash season 6 will be the series' final year either. In fact it seems like
The Flash will transition into a brand new era in season 6 by adapting the
Crisis on Infinite Earths comic storyline in the annual crossover and changing showrunners. The CW is also historically less concerned with the live ratings of their series than other broadcast networks. The CW tends to prioritize streaming and online fan engagement with their series over ratings. These are both arenas where
The Flash has a proven track record of success. Furthermore, The CW usually announces a final season of their series well in advance of its airdate to give both the creative team and fans time to prepare.
However fans might want to consider the possibility that
The Flash might come to an end sooner rather than later.
The Flash season 6 likely won't be the final season of the series, but there's a good possibility that the series could wrap up as early as season 7 or 8. This isn't just because of the series' declining ratings, but a lack of story possibilities.
Arrow itself isn't necessarily ending because of its ratings, but because of a creative decision to wrap up the series with a satisfying conclusion.
The ray of hope is the prevailing fan theory surrounding
Arrow's cancellation is that the series will wrap up during the
Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover.
Arrowand
Crisis could conclude with
Oliver Queen's death making
The Flash's Barry Allen the most prolific superhero in the multiverse. In essence,
Crisis on Infinite Earths would wrap up one era of the Arrowverse and start another. It's certainly possible that
The Flash could be reinvigorated by
Crisis on Infinite Earths,
Arrow's ending and the presumed changes of both. The opposite could also be true with
Arrow's end signaling the finale of all the current DC superhero series. After all, TV series usually don't become more popular than ever in season 7.
I said it before but I mean it now. I’m not ever watching another cw show until after the season has aired. I got enough shyt to keep me entertained. I’m not sitting through anymore of these random ass breaks.
with the quickest timeout in history
