Once upon a time, DC was the King of the superhero genre in the small screen space. When you thought of Superhero TV, you thought of the Arrowverse or a plethora of Non-CW affiliated shows like Gotham, Smallville, and Lois & Clark. The comic book fans used to say – Marvel ruled the movies while DC conquered the Superhero TV space. With new age Disney+ MCU shows like Loki and Moon Knight, Marvel is only inches away from completely decimating and usurping every segment of the entertainment bucket – be it big or small screen. DC needs to act fast if they want to recapture their top dog position.
And here’s how they do it.
Bring Back Acclaimed DC Animated Universe Shows
If Marvel’s What If has proven something, it is that fans of the superhero genre are not that averse to animated themes. The DC Animated Universe is a goldmine for Warner Brothers. It not only plays on the nostalgia factor (since many DC fans grew up watching the DCAU) but also gives them an opportunity to do more. The DCAU explores themes and topics the DCEU never could. The idea of a multiple alternate timelines had already been explored in the DCAU with Flashpoint Paradox and Apokolips War, much before Loki blew the Sacred Timeline and gave us multiple timestreams.
The DCAU is an avenue that will forever remain underexplored because of the sky high amount of possibilities and directions it could show us. Who wouldn’t want to watch Justice League Unlimited Season 4 or a Batman Beyond animated series.
Focus On Shows With Promising Material Like Watchmen
The reason Watchmen was able to do what no other DC show could is because it dared to experiment. It has an experimental premise and it explored the DC Universe, showing its other sides, in ways no other show before it did. Watchmen was named Hollywood’s greatest watercooler hit. It had an army of well experienced writers and top notch cast. There was very little chance for it to fail. And to no surprise, DC and HBO Max struck gold with Watchmen. Not only is Watchmen considered by many to be a benchmark in Superhero TV, it is well on its way to become a cult classic.
To be honest, we never understood why The CW was so adamant on working in stories that even a rank amateur could spot to be a potential bomb. DC needs to loop itself into all shows being made under its banner. Shows like Batwoman that had overly negative fan perception even during season 1 should have been cut loose. Watchmen should be an example for DC on how to get back its Number 1 position. Hire good talent, choose a good story, stop making shows just to latch onto a trend, and don’t leave anything to chance.
DCTV Must Create Shows That Connect To The DCEU Movies
Why do you think people adore Peacemaker? They got to see the guy in action in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. John Cena is a terrific actor. And people were eager to see Peacemaker make amends in his solo HBO Max series. When you make a show out of established characters fans are aware of, it is easier for the show to gain a larger audience.
The MCU knew it. That is why they didn’t choose heroes to star in their solo series out of the blue. Loki, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, Wanda Maximoff, and Hawkeye had an extensive movie presence before they transitioned to small screen entertainment. DC is indeed trying to embrace this approach with Colin Farrell’s Penguin series, taken directly out of the critical and financial hit – The Batman. but they still have a long way to go. DC needs to trust the process and not fall into the trap of making shows on the most random characters the casual moviegoer has no idea about.
There is still a lot of ground to cover for DC. Disney+ is absolutely destroying them in the small screen space, an arena were DC once remained undefeated. For the sake of healthy competition, DC needs to do better.
