There’s already a long list of DC TV shows currently on the air, and that list will only get bigger in the near future. Several more shows set in the world of DC Comics are on their way from The CW as well as streaming services HBO Max and DC Universe. Soon, DC Comics will have most of its biggest characters represented on the small screen at once.
The biggest corner of DC TV is of course the Arrowverse on The CW, which consists of Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and freshman series Batwoman. Together, the five interconnected shows are packed with popular and obscure heroes and villains from the DC Universe - but those aren’t the only DC shows from that network, of course. The series that started it all, Arrow, is over after the conclusion of its 10-episode eighth season, but that doesn’t mean the Arrowverse is going to start shrinking. The CW still has more in the pipeline.
A much darker and more adult-themed universe of DC heroes exists on DC’s very own streaming platform, DC Universe. DC Universe’s live-action universe kicked off with Titans, and grew to include Doom Patrol and the failed Swamp Thing series. Metropolis, a show that would have been about Lex Luthor and Lois Lane prior to their association with Superman, was previously in development, but is no longer expected to be moving forward. However, DC Universe does have other projects still in the works, as does HBO Max. Here are all the upcoming TV shows based on characters from DC Comics (not including Vertigo and other imprints).
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is the first original animated series from DC Universe. Kaley Cuoco voices the titular anti-hero, as she works alongside her best friend Poison Ivy to fulfill her dream of becoming a member of the Legion of Doom. The series will encompass multiple characters from Batman’s rogues’ gallery, and even the Caped Crusader himself, voiced by Diedrich Bader. It should be noted that the cartoon is packed with violence and explicit language, so this is not a show for children. Harley Quinn premieres on November 29, 2019.
Stargirl
Set to debut on DC Universe in early 2020, Stargirl is a series about the teenage superhero of the same name in DC Comics. Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) is a high school student who discovers that her step-father was a sidekick to an actual superhero. After going through his belongings, she finds the Cosmic Staff, a powerful weapon that imbues her with powers. The show will feature several members of the Golden Age superhero team, the Justice Society of America, including Starman (Joel McHale), Doctor Mid-Nite (Henry Thomas), Hourman (Lou Ferrigno, Jr.), and more. Brec Bassinger will be the third live-action Stargirl, but the first to hold the lead role in a TV series.
Green Arrow and the Canaries
Arrow is ending after season 8, and will be replaced by Green Arrow and the Canaries, an Arrowverse spinoff that will tell the story of Oliver’s daughter, Mia Smoak (Katherine McNamara), who will be joined by two other longtime members of the Arrow cast, the Earth-2 Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy-Rogers) and Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy). Katherine McNamara’s character was introduced in the flash-forwards of season 7. The series, which will presumably launch in the 2020-2021 season, will see Mia follow in her father’s footsteps to become the next Green Arrow.
BizarroTV
BizarroTV - which borrows its name from the Superman villain Bizarro – is an anthology series that will somehow combine live-action, animation, and puppets to tell stories about some of the strangest and most obscure characters in DC Comics, such as Slam Bradley, Creeper, Ambush Bug, and Space Cabbie. The series is expected to premiere at some point in 2020 on DC Universe.
Strange Adventures
The upcoming streaming platform HBO Max will become the home of at least three new shows based on DC Comics, one of which is Strange Adventures. Strange Adventures was a science fiction comic book series that was first released in the 1950s. The comic included stories about heroes like Adam Strange, Animal Man, Atomic Knights, Deadman, Darwin Jones, and Captain Comet. According to creator Greg Berlanti, HBO Max’s take on Strange Adventures will cover “cautionary tales from a world where super powers exist”. The series will be comprised of single-episode stories about characters who live in the DC Universe. Adam Strange is said to be involved some way, but he won’t be the Krypton version of the character.
Green Lantern
One of DC Comics’ most iconic characters, the Green Lantern, is getting his first-ever live-action TV show. Developed by Greg Berlanti, the live-action Green Lantern series is headed to space. Not much is known about the show, other than the fact that Berlanti, the architect of the Arrowverse, says it will be “our biggest DC show ever made”. Since numerous heroes have held the mantle of Green Lantern in the comics, it’s unclear which character will be the show’s protagonist or if it’ll focus on the Green Lantern Corps as a whole.
DC Super Hero High
The third series on HBO Max’s slate of DC shows is DC Super Hero High. Executive produced by Elizabeth Banks, the half-hour, live-action comedy series deals with a group of high school students at a boarding school for gifted children. These students are superheroes in training who will have to balance the pressure that comes with high school life, along with their new abilities. The characters to be explored in DC Super Hero High haven’t been revealed.
Superman & Lois
Green Arrow and the Canaries isn’t the only Arrowverse spinoff coming in the near future. The CW has made a pilot order for Superman & Lois, a series which will center on Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch’s Lois Lane. Hoechlin’s Superman first appeared in Supergirl season 2, and Lois Lane was introduced to the Arrowverse in last year’s Elseworlds crossover. Both will return for the 2019-2020 crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths, prior to starring together in their own show. The show will see DC Comics’ most popular power couple navigate through their new lives as working parents. Superman & Lois will be the first live-action series about Clark Kent since Smallville.
Next: Crisis On Infinite Earths: DC Comics Crossover Explained
