We Rank The DC Comics Freshman Shows, Based On Whether They’ll Survive

Now that upfronts have ended, Kurp has posted the full broadcast schedule for the 2015 season, and honestly, it’s surprisingly genre-heavy. Constantine, The Flash, and Gotham are all joining the roster, but they all have differing chances of making it past a first season.

The Flash

Let’s start with the safest. The CW doesn’t have terribly high expectations in the first place, and it also tends to be more genre-friendly as well. This is the network that kept Charmed on the air for a decade, after all. About the only possible problem the show could run into was going up against Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the 8pm slot… but ABC moved that show to 9pm.

The Flash just has to do OK, and it’ll make it through the next season with flying colors.

Constantine

Normally, we’d say sticking a genre show at 10pm on a Friday was a death slot, but that’s what NBC did for Hannibal, and it did well enough there that NBC gave it a third season. NBC appears to believe they can deliver a genre-TV destination night, with Grimm leading in Constantine, and Hannibal either taking over or being added to the lineup in 2015.

So unless it’s utterly terrible and audiences hate it, this actually looks pretty good to survive. We expect no less from the rake himself.

Gotham

Gotham, meanwhile, might be dead before it finishes a season. Fox, not unreasonably, views something even tangentially related to Batman as their best chance to establish a beachhead at 8pm on Mondays. The problem is that it’s up against Dancing With The Stars, The Voice, and The Chuck Lorre Mediocrity Hour. And immediately after is Fox’s surprise hit Sleepy Hollow; as Almost Human fans can tell you, you have to do at least as well as that series in order to stay on the air and that’s a fairly tall order.

It’s true that Fox may hold onto Gotham solely in the interest of getting Batman. And honestly the promise of even a little taste of Batman might be enough to guarantee this some ratings. But all in all, this is the show that will have to perform the best to stay on the air.

Got any theories? Let us know in the comments.

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