Top 10 Television Series By DC Entertainment: The adaptation of DC comics over the years has not been limited to just films. There are numerous television shows revolving around the characters from DC comics, ranging from the Flash to the time-travelling team of misfits who call themselves the Legends of Tomorrow. Today, we will be taking a look at some of the best live-action TV shows. As far as animated shows are concerned, we will be covering those in a separate article, so stay tuned!
Top 10 Television Series By DC Entertainment
The Flash
The Flash was adapted for television by the network CW and was developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Geoff Johns. Focusing on the speedster Flash, the first episode of this series aired on October 7, 2014. Grant Gustin plays the role of the fastest man on Earth, Barry Allen and the cast also includes Candice Patton, Tom Cavanagh, Danielle Panabaker and Jesse L. Martin, and features multiple cameos. The creators and the cast are now gearing up for the ninth season after being renewed.
The Flash focuses on Barry Allen who is working as a crime-scene forensic expert in collaboration with the Star City police, in hopes of finding out the truth behind the mystery surrounding his mother’s death. Allen gains his powers as a combined result of being hit by lightning and becoming doused in a number of chemicals during a bad storm. In the beginning, Allen struggles to find balance and control his powers, but eventually, with patience and practice, he becomes a natural at being the fastest man alive. Over the years, Barry faces many enemies but also makes many friends, superpowered and otherwise. The Flash also interacts with the other heroes in the DC universe in multiple crossover episodes.
Arrow
The TV series Arrow was developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg. Arrow is another DC comic story adapted by the television network, CW and first premiered on October 10, 2012. The show cast Stephen Amell in the role of the vigilante, Arrow along with Katie Cassidy and Colin Donnell to name a few principal actors. The show finally came to an end when the last episode aired on January 28, 2020.
The show focuses on Oliver Queen, a reckless billionaire who became stranded on a strange island after surviving a shipwreck. During his years on the island, Oliver develops some incredible skills and also makes some begrudging allies. Upon his return home, changed from his experiences, Oliver vows to protect the city against any threat that may come it’s way. In the beginning, operating under the alias ‘The Hood’, Oliver soon switches over to ‘The Arrow’ to highlight his expertise with a bow.
Smallville
Smallville is a TV show adaptation designed around the DC Comics character, Superman. Developed for television by Alfred Gough and Miles Miller, it premiered on the television network, The WB in October 2001. Later, the show began broadcasting on the CW after a merger took place. The show casts Tom Welling as Superman along with Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum and Eric Johnson among others in significant roles. The last episode of ‘Smallville’ aired on May 13, 2011.
At the start, the plot focuses mainly on Clark Kent learning of his alien origins and adjusting himself to this new information. The show featured singular, separate villains in the beginning before the focus shifted to individual characters and their gradually developing character arcs.
Supergirl
Supergirl is a television series adaptation based on the story of Kara Zor-El, a cousin of Superman, who was sent to Earth when her home planet, Krypton fell to destruction. The series was developed by Ali Adler, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg and first aired on the network CBS on October 26, 2015, before moving on to the CW. The show aired its final episode on November 9, 2021. The cast included Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Mehcad Brooks and Jeremy Jordan among others. The show also did multiple crossover episodes with other CW shows during its run.
Kara Zor-El got stuck in the Phantom Zone when her spacecraft strayed from her infant cousin, Kal-El on their journey to Earth. By the time, Kara finally made it to Earth, her cousin had already become Superman. Now, living in National City, Kara is trying to balance a normal life with being a superhero with powers, known by the alias ‘Supergirl’,
Gotham
The television series Gotham was adapted for television by Bruno Heller. The show features a number of various characters from the DC Comics. The main focus of the show is on the fictional city of Gotham, which you may know is Batman’s home. The cast of this show includes Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue and Zabryna Guevara to name a few. It first aired on the network Fox in 2014, and ended five years later in 2019.
Rather than focusing only on Bruce Wayne and his journey to becoming Batman, Gotham focuses on what the city was like before the masked vigilante came along. The follows the themes of a criminal detective drama as it follows detectives James Gordon and Harvey Bullock as they solve criminal mysteries including Wayne’s parents’ murder.
Lucifer
The television show Lucifer is a major part of the pop-culture and was developed by Tom Kapinos. The show is based on the comics published under DC’s Vertigo imprint and follows the story of the DC Universe’s version of the Devil. The show went on for 6 seasons starting in 2016 and finally coming to an end in 2021. The cast featured Tom Ellis, Lauren German, Kevin Alejandro and Lesley-Ann Brandt.
The show revolves around Lucifer, who was cast off from Heaven by God for his rebellion and became the ruler of hell. But, unlike his Biblical counterpart, this Lucifer got bored of his job and left his kingdom to move to Los Angeles and start his own nightclub, Lux. During this time, he also falls in love with Chloe who works as a consultant for his club.
Titans
Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns and Greg Berlanti were responsible for developing the series Titans for television. Starring Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft and more, the show first aired on October 12, 2018. A fourth season is in the works right now at HBO Max.
The show ‘Titans’ tells the story of the team of superheroes who identify themselves as Titans as they come back together to fight rising threats after being separated when we first see them. The show focuses on the young heroes’ reconciliation as they go around the country on a crime-fighting spree. The team includes heroes like Dick Grayson, Batman’s partner once upon a time, Kory Anders, who comes from an alien, Rachel Roth, who possesses empathetic powers and finally, Gar Logan, a shapeshifter.
The Doom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a television show adapted by the network DC Universe before moving onto HBO Max based on the DC Comics. It was developed by Jeremy Craver and stars Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, Alan Tudyk, Matt Bomer and Brendan Fraser. It premiered on February 15, 2019, and will soon be entering its fourth season.
The Doom Patrol refers to a team of unlikely heroes like Jane, a woman suffering from a dissociative identity disorder, Larry Trainor, a man with negative energy within him, Rita Farr who struggles from maintaining a solid state for her body, Cliff Steele, whose brain resides within a robot body after suffering from an accident and Vic Stone, who is enhanced through cybernetics. All these individuals with these special abilities are granted a safe space by a man known as the Chief who ensures to train them in controlling their abilities better. People have been drawing comparisons between Marvel’s X–Men and DC’s Doom Patrol for years now.
Preacher
The TV show Preacher is based on the comic book series of the same name which was published by the Vertigo Imprint that exists under DC Comics’ larger banner. The show was developed for AMC Network by Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. The cast consists of Academy Award nominee Ruth Negga, Dominic Cooper, Joseph Gilgun and Lucy Griffiths to name a few. The show premiered in May, 2016 and ended on September 29, 2019.
The story follows a preacher, Jesse Custer, who is slowly losing faith and instead is gaining unusual abilities. Convinced that there must be a reason behind his powers, he sets off on a journey to find God, accompanied by his ex-girlfriend, and a new acquaintance who happens to be a vampire. This group of misfits go through many ups and downs over the course of the events.
iZombie
The iZombie comics were published under the same imprint, Vertigo, as the Preacher. It was adapted by CW and developed by Diane Ruggiero-Wright and Rob Thomas. With a cast of Rose McIver, Malcolm Goodwin and Rahul Kohli, the show became very successful. It premiered on March 17, 2015, and ended in August of 2019.
The plot follows the unusual events of the medical resident Olivia Moore, who turns into a zombie when she is attending a boat party. To accommodate her needs as a zombie without harming anyone, Moore takes up a job at a Morgue and satisfies her hunger by eating the dead cadavers’ brains. Devouring these brains causes Moore to inherit some of the people’s memories from when they were alive. When her boss begins to guess at her secret, he becomes Moore’s confidant and helps her in any way possible.
