In 2012, one year after the Superman prequel show Smallville ended its 10 year run -- half of which was seen on The CW -- the network decided to go back to DC Comics with Arrow. Even though Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow had played a big part in the later half of Smallville, the series told the character's origin with a new actor in the role. One year after Stephen Amell began wearing the green hood, Barry Allen showed up to introduce The Flash. Spinning off from both shows the following year was Legends of Tomorrow and a crossover between The Flash and Supergirl connected those shows as well, making them all part of what fans now call the Arrowverse.
Aside from the Arrowverse, other comics have served as the basis for shows on the network. iZombie is loosely adapted from a 28 issue comic of the same name. And about to air is Riverdale, a mystery set among the town and characters who are the basis for Archie. In other words, while The CW also airs plenty of other programming, it does seem to be the home for a lot of comic book entertainment.
The network's love of comics is abundantly clear in the midseason sizzle reel. Starting with the opening shot of Supergirl, the shows based on comics dominate the reel. A few early clips from comedies Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend do make an appearance, as well as The 100 and The Originals -- both based on young adult book series -- the historical drama Reign, and the long-running original series Supernatural. For the rest of the reel, though, it is all comics.
It's also only comic book shows that get more than one group of clips. The four Arrowverse shows are seen near the beginning and end, with multiple characters from all of them (except Supergirl) given a moment in the spotlight.
Perhaps most exciting are the shots of the cast of the soon-to-air Riverdale. All six main characters are shown, though it doesn't offer much in the way of clues as to how the series will play out in terms of the darker tone. Still, it should have fans curious (if not excited) to see what will go down when Riverdale premieres.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend airs on Fridays at 9. Season and midseason premieres of shows on The CW begin on Monday Jan. 23 with Supergirl at 8 and Jane the Virgin at 9. On Tuesday Jan. 24 The Flash at 8 and Legends of Tomorrow (new night) at 9. Wednesday Jan. 25, Arrow premieres at 8. Thursday Jan. 26 is Supernatural at 8 (new time) and the premiere of Riverdale at 9. The 100 will have its season premiere on Wednesday Feb. 1 at 9. Reign will premiere its new season on Friday Feb. 10, The Originals returns at 8 on Friday, March 17. And iZombie returns with three episodes back to back starting at 8 on Tuesday April 4 before settling into its regular 9 pm slot the following Tuesday.
Source: The CW