eh? You think people are going to drop CW quality for bigger/better shows? That's what people said about Marvel Netflix and that entire universe came and went before a single CW show got cancelled lol. As far as Disney+ goes, that's a very different ballpark (miniseries length vs full feature). I like the DC Universe stuff but you think Doom Patrol is going to pull bigger numbers on HBO Max than Flash? Nah.
Big budget chasing doesn't always work. I'm sure someone's got numbers but I was under the impression it's a lot more miss than hit. The CW model works because they get a lot more content out of a smaller investment, and there's still a market for that style of content. Like 30 episodes of the CW vs. the cost of the Mandalorian or Marvel+ shows.
Plus again, HBO Max will be the home of the CW content. They purposely left a very sweet Netflix deal where those shows were some of their top performers. Will The CW survive forever? Of course not, I agree it's in a precarious position. But the content pipeline, the big shows, the shared universe etc won't stop because well, trashy low budget teen fair works. The CW basically exists to churn out this stuff until it's self sufficient with streaming.
Yes, I think they will. It's already been happening in a very broad sense as people largely circle the streaming and cable programs over network ones. And you already see people being wowed by great production values on not so great shows (like Altered Carbon or Carnival Row). It has just been lagging a bit in the superhero genre specifically.
I'm not really interested in getting into the Marvel vs DC fanboy wars, but despite what either "side" may have been trying to claim or admit, the Marvel Netflix stuff and Arrowverse stuff is pretty close to each other in both quality and scope/budget level. The main difference (apart from the lower episode order for the Netflix Marvel stuff) is the tone between the two.
I haven't seen a single second of Doom Patrol so can't really speak to anything about it, except that it is going to be on HBO Max -- that is all I was really mentioning it for. What I am talking about though is whatever DC's response to Marvel Studios will be on HBO MAX, to the Disney+ series. And I think there definitely will be one.
I don't think the limited series element really matters, or bothers that many people. Especially when they will be releasing so many of them, and most people in for one will likely be in for all of them.
A market does exist for these 22+ episode series (especially, specifically, insatiable fans), but I think most people enjoy the general quality (in all aspects) improvements that come with a shorter episode order that has more time to be focused on, and is usually completely written before production begins. And due to that, the old 20+ episode market is quickly shrinking. People have largely accepted the 8 - 13 episode model as the new standard across the board. It just makes for better TV, and allows those making the shows to work on more things in a year as well.
As far as "trashy low buget teen fair" goes, of course that will also exist on HBO Max, just like it currently does on the other streaming services. Absolutely all of the CW stuff will be on HBO Max. But there is also going to be a sort of transitional period. What does the landscape look like a few years into HBO Max's existence? I'm not really sure yet. But I don't see the point of keeping several other things outside of that apparatus going. Comcast/Universal is going to have to confront the same thing with their Peacock service. In the age of cable it made sense to have several different channels for all their various type of content. With more and more cord cutters and everyone consolidating, it now makes more sense to have all of their stuff in one place.
Regardless of anything else, the Arrowverse is already far past its prime, and its peak. Now that Arrow itself is finally coming to an end, I suspect the whole thing will come crumbling down before too long. Batwoman's anemic premiere even kind of indicates this. A few years ago they could just launch another one of these and it would succeed no problem. Like I said, I expect everything to still run for a few more years, but all of these shows are aging and they aren't sustainable forever. Once this whole thing ends and the Marvel Disney+ stuff is out there, I don't think people are going to be as accepting or even wanting shows like the Arrowverse ones anymore. Time moves on, and so do the type of shows that are made. Much in the same way they wouldn't currently make a show like Lois & Clark, or going back further, the old Wonder Woman show.
