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Supergirl to end with season 6

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If you’re a fan of The CW’s Supergirl, well I have some bad news for you today as the DC Comics superhero show is going up, up, and away! The US TV network along with Warner Bros TV and creator Greg Berlanti officially released a statement last night that the upcoming sixth season of the show will be it’s last. It’s the second of The CW’s Arrowverse shows to end following Arrow – the series that kicked it all off – wrapping up its run after eight seasons earlier this year.

Supergirl debuted on CBS in 2015 and while developed by Berlanti, it was not part of the “Arrowverse” of shows he had setup at The CW. Season two saw Supergirl move house to The CW though, with it being explained that the show took place in one of the many alternate universes that would soon be introduced to the Arrowverse with The Flash, with the shows crossing over multiple times since.

For five seasons, we’ve followed the immensely charming Melissa Benoist as Superman’s titular cousin Kara Zor-El as she fought for truth and justice in her hometown of National City. She boasted a colourful cast around her including Chyler Leigh as her foster-sister Alex, Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen, David Harewood as the Martian Manhunter, Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor, and much more. Season 4 also made history by introducing Nicole Maines as Nia Nal aka Dreamer, the first transgender superhero on television.

As to why Supergirl is ending, the upcoming sixth season was already going to be delayed due to Benoist expecting a child with her husband. But in March of this year, while still in production on the final episode of season five, The CW shut down production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Episode 19 had to be reworked into a new season finale with the cast recording additional dialogue/scenes from their homes. Ratings for the show had been steadily declining for a while now, with the aborted season five hitting a series low (it averaged just 1.58 million viewers in the US as opposed to the 9.81 million the show pulled in season one). Coupled with Benoist’s unavailability due to her pregnancy and the production shutdown dragging on longer than most expected, it was jointly decided by the producers, the network, and Benoist to just end it on a relatively high note on their own terms. Benoist posted the following message on Instagram addressing Supergirl’s end:

It’s believed that the sixth season is targeting a production start in Vancouver, Canada next week if a local deal goes through pending new COVID-19 regulations. However, Benoist will still not be available as the rest of the cast will start shooting whatever scenes they can without her. She will join the production later to fill in those scenes, according to Deadline’s sources. Season six will also boast a full 20 episode order, which is a lot more than many other network shows are getting post-pandemic, but The CW wants Supergirl to go out on a bang.

This doesn’t mean the end of the House of El on The CW though. In season two of Supergirl, the show introduced Tyler Hoechlin as Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane, both of whom became frequent guest stars. Their popularity has led to a new spinoff, Superman and Lois, which is scheduled to air January 2021. It’s probably not a stretch to imagine that Benoist will occasionally reprise her role as Supergirl for a guest appearance in that show going forward.

Last Updated: September 23, 2020

17 Comments

  1. Ugh, finally.

    Reply

    • Son of Banana Jim

      September 23, 2020 at 11:41

      I wonder if this means Batwoman is only going to do one more season? One can hope, right?

      Reply

      • Insomnia is fun

        September 23, 2020 at 16:22

        CW should just stop, they’re an embarrassment compared to other studios.

        Reply

  2. Original Heretic

    September 23, 2020 at 09:18

    “…go out with a bang.”

    She’s stepping away from the show due to being pregnant.
    So she’s exiting because of a bang.

    Reply

  3. For the Emperor!

    September 23, 2020 at 09:28

    “wrapping up its run after ten seasons earlier this year” – was Arrow not just 8 seasons?

    Still believe with all the cross over stuff we will still see her around.At least I hope so. Whatever I may have thought of some of the writing at the time (I am way behind currently on all Arrow-verse), her portrayal of Supergirl was good. Liked her way more than Iris on Flash…

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      September 23, 2020 at 10:48

      You’re right. Early morning brain fart. Also, I had completely stopped caring about the Arrowverse shows at that point, so ¯_(ツ)_/¯

      Reply

      • For the Emperor!

        September 23, 2020 at 10:58

        Hehe all good. Early morning brains do eat a lot of beans.

        I still sorta care about the Arrow-verse. Mom loves it (I buy the DVDs), and I did like it well enough to want to finish watching it. Got a bit messy with the cross-overs though, as I like to watch it “in order”. Which made binge watching one series a pain as I need to stop halfway, binge 3 other series, and only then can I continue to watch the cross-over episodes. Then I moved and all the DVDs were left with Mom, so I never caught back up. But hey look, Netflix has most of it!

        If only the Anime would stop rolling in, I might get to watching this again while building/painting Warhammer minis

        Reply

        • Son of Banana Jim

          September 23, 2020 at 11:41

          Yeah, I also have a few of the blurays. I think I have up till season 5 of Arrow, 2 or 3 of Flash, 2 of Supergirl and Constantine (which is still one of my favourites).

          Reply

          • For the Emperor!

            September 23, 2020 at 13:51

            Constantine was awesome! Take out to pasture way too soon.

            With Constantine still in Legends and some crossovers (based on youtube clips), I wonder if they will eventually bring Luci in for some more screen time in said crossovers…the short 2 minute clip of the two bantering was just not enough!

  4. Son of Banana Jim

    September 23, 2020 at 10:30

    It should have ended after season 3 to be honest. Up until then it was a (guilty) pleasure to watch, but it all went sideways after season 4.

    Reply

  5. Yondaime

    September 23, 2020 at 16:42

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