The 2020-2021 television season has been a rough one for the CW’s signature Arrowverse programs, (Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, and Superman & Lois) with viewership for each show dropping drastically. The trend has caused many within the entertainment media to begin speculating about the possible end of the Arrowverse. While many might believe that this loss of viewership is due to the pandemic, the reality is, the Arrowverse’s viewership problems began before the pandemic.

New seasons from Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Black Lightning have all seen the Arrowverse shows suffer series low viewership numbers since returning in 2021 as examined by Cosmic Book News. Even the highly touted Superman & Lois, after initial viewership success, fell to a series low when it returned following a two-month break in airing, joining other Arrowverse shows with declining viewership.

Related: All 10 Versions Of Time Travel In The Arrowverse Explained

There are more TV options for superhero fans than ever with the explosion of streaming services. Once noted for making superhero TV shows trendy and attracting a key younger audience, the CW’s Arrowverse’s position as the leader in producing superhero shows could be in jeopardy. The CW has shifted time slots for several Arrowverse shows for the 2021-2022 TV season, but the Arrowverse’s dwindling numbers can’t be solely attributed to scheduling.

Arrowverse Began To Decline After Crisis On Infinite Earths

Originally conceived and executed as the network’s ambitious telling of the iconic graphic novel, Crisis on Infinite Earths was intended to unite the Arrowverse shows and facilitate easier future crossovers. A series of real-world events such as the pandemic’s effect on production and the departure of Ruby Rose from Batwoman and the announced series ends of both Supergirl, and Black Lightning led the Arrowverse to fail in fulfilling that promise. Those events, combined with the departure of the Arrowverse’s anchor show Arrow - which concluded with low ratings itself cited in Comicbook.com - gave fans fewer reasons to be invested in the CW’s superhero universe.

Post-Crisis storytelling could have meant bold swings for characters and show, but most shows only presented minor storyline tweaks in response to the game-changing creation of Earth-Prime. Issues brought about by Crisis, such as memories of previous Earths, or the possibility of doppelgangers existing were barely touched on in post-Crisis episodes, with many of the Arrowverse shows being inconsistent in how they handled their post-Crisis world.

How Arrowverse's Ratings Drops Affect The CW Shows In 2022

The recent announcement of the CW’s Fall 2021-2022 schedule could indicate the network is looking for solutions to its declining viewership problem. The network has shifted scripted superhero series away from highly competitive programming on Sunday nights. Batwoman will begin its third season with a new mid-week time slot; and Legends of Tomorrow, which will be one of the network's two longest-running Arrowverse shows, will find itself airing on its fourth different night of the week.

Related: The Flash: Cisco's Greatest Fear Already Happened In Season 3

The network also announced they were returning to crossovers, previously successful Arrowverse marketing tools, with a 5-episode crossover where heroes from other shows visit The Flash. The CW could be hoping that the downward spiral of interest audience members feel for the individual shows will give way to the audience being invested in the Arrowverse heroes teaming up again. The CW also ordered one new DC show for the upcoming TV season, Naomi, a new superhero in the DC comic canon. Audiences have responded positively to DC shows that have minimal connection to the pre-Crisis Arrowverse.

Superman & Lois Is The Arrowverse's Main Focus Now

Jordan, Clark, Lois, and Jonathan appear together in a promotional image for CW's Superman and Lois

Superman & Lois debuted in the spring of 2021 to ratings TVLine said was “delivering The CW’s largest audience in that time slot (1.71 mil) in two years, since The Flash 5×12.” The CW invested a large production budget into the show to give it big screen quality and special effects. After its run on the CW, Superman & Lois will join Batwoman on the HBO Max streaming service. The network showed its confidence in the show by giving it a second season renewal prior to the premiere. Superman & Lois’s high ratings remained consistent in the episodes following the premiere, indicating that the show likely brought new viewers to the network and/or enticed those who had left the Arrowverse to return.

The positive rating trend continued until Superman & Lois was forced to take a seven-week hiatus in airing due to delays in production caused by the pandemic. As previously cited in this article, upon its return, Superman & Lois saw a drop of over 500k viewers from its last pre-hiatus episode viewership of over 1.2 million. It has yet to be seen if the Superman & Lois ratings drop signals the show is beginning to follow the same downward ratings trend of the other Arrowverse shows, or if it was just an anomaly. With Superman set to cross over with The Flash next season, will the CW newcomers in the Superman & Lois audience be confused when other Arrowverse characters are brought into a show that has spent almost its entire first season not acknowledging its connection to the other Arrowverse shows? Or could the mini crossovers reignite fan interest in the Arrowverse by setting the table for the next epic crossover event?

Original Arrowverse Shows Are Getting Too Old

One of the factors often cited as affecting the declining Arrowverse viewership is the stories the shows are telling. After multiple seasons on the air, Arrowverse shows such as The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow have large, and at times over-crowded casts. Too many characters make it difficult for the writers to give each one a compelling story to keep viewers interested year after year. As a result, fans that have spent years invested in specific characters could be turning away from the shows when those characters don’t get attention.

Related: Arrowverse Theory: Supergirl's Father Could Be The Next Big Bad

Another concern that Polygon.com points out  is that the focus of Arrowverse shows is more “on relationships and personal problems” than “saving the world from scary monsters and super-creeps.” The article goes on to describe the first episodes of Superman & Lois as having a vibe that is less Action Comics, and more This Is Us. Comic book fans looking for beloved characters and plots from DC history to make an appearance are often disappointed. However, newer shows such as Stargirl are credited (Multiveristycomic.com) as being successful because they are presenting a more even mix of interpersonal drama and classic superhero show battles. Stargirl and Superman & Lois have so far been eagerly embraced by viewers, indicating the audience wants to engage with unexplored characters and fresh stories. Additionally, Stargirl’s first season consisted of 13 episodes, which required a tighter story with less filler. Other Arrowverse shows could benefit from not drawing out their stories and budgets over 20-to-22-episode seasons. With so many superhero options to choose from now, shorter arcs on those Arrowverse shows could keep viewers more engaged and more likely to tune in early to watch episodes, instead of waiting months to catch up on Netflix or HBO Max.

Next: Supergirl: How Many Episodes Are Left (And When Is The Finale?)