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DCTV: ‘Supergirl’ Vs. ‘Gotham’ — Which DC Comics TV Series Rules Monday Nights?

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 10:24 PST, Oct 18, 2016

While Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice may have put Superman vs. Batman on the big screen this summer, there’s another battle from the pages of DC Comics happening every week that pits Bruce Wayne against a Kryptonian. With the fall television season back in full force, Supergirl has made the move to The CW on Monday nights, while Gotham returns to FOX at the very same weekly time slot. In an era where nearly every major character from Marvel or DC Comics has a new TV show or movie, is it National City or Gotham City that provides the setting for the hottest superhero show on Mondays?

As reported at TV By The Numbers, the final television ratings for October 17 show that Gotham Season 3, Episode 5 (“Anything For You”) beat out Supergirl Season 2, Episode 2 (“The Last Children of Krypton”). Gotham managed to pull a 1.2 rating with 3.32 million viewers. On The CW, Supergirl finished with a rating of 0.9 and 2.66 million viewers. One week prior, as Supergirl made its debut on The CW after switching from CBS, the numbers were a little bit closer. Gotham still won out, however, with a 1.1 rating and 3.42 million viewers, as opposed to Supergirl‘s 1.1 rating that included 3.06 million viewers.

Despite the wink that Supergirl gives to the land of Batman in the trailer below, there is no reason to believe that the worlds will ever collide on either show. With the focus of Gotham remaining strictly on the development of villains from Gotham City, there’s no reason to ever bring a Kryptonian into the fold. And while a dark and ominous figure like Batman would certainly fit in on a show like The CW’s Arrow, there’s really no room for a brooding Bruce Wayne in National City. And in an interview with Screener TV, Melissa Benoist weighed in on the possibility of Batman entering the Supergirl world like The Flash did last season.

“I don’t know if that’s ever even possible, but how funny would that be? I think that it’s always funny to see someone like Kara or someone like Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) meet characters that are so dark and brooding with a lot of demons. I think that their sunny disposition juxtaposed with that is hilarious. I would love that, but I don’t know if that’s possible.”

Going strictly by the first few weeks of this season’s ratings, Gotham seems to be the clear winner in a battle against Supergirl. However, when Supergirl aired on CBS for its freshman season, it had an average rating of 2.4 with 9.81 million viewers. Gotham, building off of a successful premiere season, saw an average rating of just 2.0 with 5.37 million viewers. In Gotham‘s first year, running unopposed by Supergirl, it had an average rating of 2.8 with 7.56 million viewers. If things don’t turn around for both shows, the ratings will continue with the downward trend.

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In terms of awards, the race is close between Supergirl and Gotham as well. In 2014, Gotham was awarded “Most Exciting New Series” at the Critics’ Choice Television Awards. Supergirl won the very same award in 2015. Gotham also won “Outstanding Drama” in 2015 at the Gracie Awards. In 2016, Supergirl took home “Favorite New TV Drama” at the People’s Choice Awards, while Melissa Benoist won “Breakthrough Performance” at the Saturn Awards. Both shows were nominated at the Teen Choice Awards in 2016 but did not take home any trophies.

Where to Watch Supergirl and Gotham

Supergirl airs Monday evenings on The CW at 8/7c. Replays of the most recent episode are available to stream via The CW’s official website and app beginning Tuesdays. The five most recent episodes are always available to stream on-demand. The next episode of Supergirl is titled “Welcome to Earth” and will air on October 24. The entire first season of Supergirl, which originally aired on CBS, can now be streamed via Netflix.

Fox airs Gotham on Monday evenings at 8/7c. Replays of the most recent episode of Gotham can be streamed on-demand at FOX’s website beginning Tuesday. Current episodes of Gotham can also be streamed with a Hulu subscription the day after it airs on FOX. The next episode of Gotham is titled “Follow the White Rabbit” and will air on October 24. The first two seasons of Gotham can be streamed via Netflix.

[Featured Image by The CW/Supergirl and FOX/Gotham]

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