CW Seed To Introduce First Gay Superhero Lead, 'The Ray'; The CW Talks 'Supergirl' Ratings [TCA 2016]

CW President Mark Pedowitz was very enthusiastic about picking up Supergirl from CBS when he spoke to the Television Critics Association this morning. However, he was also frank about the show's prospects. The CW generally gets lower ratings than any of the big four networks, so Pedowitz does not expect to match even Supergirl's lowest CBS ratings.

"There's no question it probably will not do as well as it did on CBS, even at the end," Pedowitz said. "But whatever it does, it'll be either our number one or number two show this season. Look, if all six million people come, it'll be our number one show and I'll be dancing." 

When CBS and Warner Brothers offered CW the show, Pedowitz jumped at the chance to add it to his slate that also includes Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. "Supergirl came thanks to the parent companies bringing it to The CW," Pedowitz said. "I was asked right before scheduling, 'Would you like to have Supergirl?' I said, 'Where do I sign up?' We left it Monday at 8 so viewers could find it."

Giving Supergirl its old CBS timeslot meant moving Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to Fridays. "It fits in," Pedowitz. "It's now part of the Arrowverse thanks to Flash coming on last year. Just so you know, we're planning a big crossover this season. It fits. It's now very much embedded in our DNA. It makes a difference for us digitally, it makes a difference in all way, shape and forms."

The CW announced another DC animated show on their CW Seed digital platform, Freedom Fighters: The Ray, following Vixen before it. The Ray will be the first gay superhero to lead a show, according to The CW. The plan is to eventually incorporate a live-action version of the character into one of the DC shows.

"Without question, that is the way we're intending to build these things out," Pedowitz said. "That is the intention to build out these animated shows into the Arrowverse and introduce them on any one of the four shows. Marc Guggenheim did a good job last year doing that with Megalyn [E.K., who voiced Vixen]."

While E.K. appeared as a live-action Vixen on an episode of Arrow last year, her role on the first season of Damien prevented her from returning for the upcoming seasons of the Arrowverse shows. She still provides the voice of Vixen on the animated series.

Pedowitz was also honest about his feelings on Arrow spinoff Legends of Tomorrow. He admits the first season was disappointing and needed to be corrected. He has ordered 13 episodes for season two with the possibility of ordering more.

"We thought Legends last year did not perform as well as it should have," Pedowitz said. "We believe it has great potential. We made some mistakes. We think this year we'll correct it."

Supergirl returns October 10 on The CW. Legends of Tomorrow returns October 13. Freedom Fighters: The Ray comes to CW Seed in 2017.