DC's Arrowverse Has 6 Shows, But Only One Keeps Getting Better With Time

Published Jul 25, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT Laura Hurley has been writing about the entertainment industry for more than twelve years, after a decade as a content producer and editor at CinemaBlend after writing for WhatCulture and Examiner. Attending events like SCAD TVfest and San Diego Comic-Con over the course of her career, she has been immersed in the world of network, streaming, and cable TV. The biggest source of buzz for DC Comics TV nowadays is Lanterns, which arrives on HBO in August. That said, the top place for to be DC action on the small screen was once The CW, thanks to the Arrowverse. The TV universe was made up of six shows, and took its name from the one that started it all: Arrow. The series all airing at the same time allowed The CW to deliver mega-crossovers, including an adaptation of the famous Crisis on Infinite Earths comics arc. Now, years after the Arrowverse ended, only one show keeps getting better. The Arrowverse was comprised of Arrow (2012-2020), The Flash (2014-2023), Supergirl (2015-2021), Legends of Tomorrow (2016-2022), Black Lightning (2018-2021), and Batwoman (2019-2022), so The CW had a brief span of time in which they were all airing. Arrow and The Flash were undoubtedly the most closely tied, followed by Legends, since those three at least were set on the same Earth in the franchise's multiverse. The multiverse generally required a crossover to incorporate Supergirl and Batwoman, while Black Lightning only officially made it into the canonical Arrowerse during the five-part "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event in late 2019. Arrow and The Flash also ran for the longest, with eight and nine full seasons, respectively. While those are likely still the best-known Arrowverse shows, a different series has crept up to age better than any of the other five installments in the franchise. Legends of Tomorrow, which was largely unappreciated during its six-season run, stands the test of time. MovieStillsDB Of all the Arrowverse shows, Legends of Tomorrow was the unlikeliest to become an ongoing hit. Legends wasn't centered on one well-known and popular character from DC Comics. The highlights of the original cast were Sara Lance, whose backstory was completely tied to Arrow; two B-list villains from The Flash; Ray Palmer, whose arc on Arrow was largely centered on a love triangle; Arthur Darvill, best known as a Doctor Who companion; and Victor Garber. The series, which followed the team of Legends as they traveled through time to try and fix mistakes, got off to a disappointing start. The tone of the first season was far too dark and gritty for its premise, and wasn't grounded enough to pull off what worked for Arrow. It was short on the humor and whimsy that made The Flash a hit early on. Legends of Tomorrow really lucked out by getting the season 2 renewal, because the second season was when the show stopped taking itself so seriously. It became one of the funniest series on network TV for fans who were willing to suspend their disbelief and go along for the ride. The aspects of other Arrowverse shows that feel dated by 2026 don't apply to the time travel show. After all, the Waverider technology never existed in the real world, and the Legends frequently visiting the past means that it's not really a stretch to enjoy a show set between 2016-2022 without poking too many holes in the futuristic premise. The cast featuring villains as well as heroes meant the relationships could be interesting. For better or worse, there were fewer rules to hold Legends to compared to other installments in the Arrowverse. That's not to say that every season of Legends of Tomorrow was stellar, but the show improves so much that it's worth sticking it out through season 1. Fortunately, all seven seasons are available streaming on Netflix now, so viewers have the option of binge-watching season 1 to get it over with, rather than watching one episode per week, like viewers had to back in the day. Why The Flash Is Still The Arrowverse's Best Series Overall MovieStillsDB Legends of Tomorrow redeeming itself doesn't mean that it stands out as the franchise's best. That honor goes to The Flash, which brought superpowers fully into the Arrowverse. Grant Gustin was a charismatic leading man, and Barry Allen had a strong sense of justice that wasn't tainted by a deadly revenge quest, a la Oliver Queen in Arrow. Barry was easy to root for, even when he made his share of mistakes from beginning to end. Time travel wasn't overly convoluted when introduced, and the show survived the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover more unscathed than some of the other series. The Arrowverse likely never would have expanded to six shows if not for The Flash pushing the boundaries of what was possible in The CW's DC TV world. While Arrow at its very best was arguably better than The Flash, Stephen Amell's show made some missteps in season 4 with Damien Darhk that it never fully recovered from, and it was rarely actually fun. What ultimately gives The Flash the strongest legacy of the Arrowverse shows was how it stuck the landing. While Arrow limped to an ending several episodes after Oliver Queen was unceremoniously killed off in "Crisis" (and a disappointing backdoor pilot), The Flash ended well for the core characters, after nine seasons of struggles. The happy endings felt earned, and The Flash was able to use its final episodes to tie off some loose ends rather than end the entire Arrowverse on a sour note. In fact, the end of the Arrowverse was part of the end of an era for The CW with scripted programming, and The Flash deserves credit for sticking the landing. TV Show(s) Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Batwoman First TV Show Arrow Cast Stephen Amell, Grant Gustin, Melissa Benoist, Caity Lotz, Cress Williams, Ruby Rose, Javicia Leslie Created by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, Phil Klemmer, Geoff Johns Latest TV Show Batwoman First Episode Air Date October 10, 2012