Posted in: CW, Opinion, Preview, TV, TV | Tagged: arrowverse, cw, grant gustin, opinion, season 9, The Flash

The Flash Season 9 Good News Comes with a Catch & What We Need to See

So in case you hadn't heard, reports surfaced yesterday that The CW's The Flash was inching closer to a new season as series star Grant Gustin neared a new, one-season deal to return. Assuming Candice Patton (Iris West-Allen), Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow aka Frost), Jesse L. Martin (Joe West), and the rest of the main cast can be locked in (and there's no reason to think otherwise)? Season 9 is a lock, meaning the show's future is secure as it becomes the longest-running Arrowverse series (a record previously held by the Stephen Amell-starring Arrow). Excellent news, right? It is for the immediate future but beyond a ninth season? The details don't look too promising.

Because while Gustin may have signed a new deal, it's only for one season as opposed to the multi-season deal that Berlanti Productions & Warner Bros. Television was reportedly offering. In addition, Gustin's deal not only includes "a sizable raise" but would also cap his involvement in the season to 15 episodes. Now to be fair, those don't have necessarily have to be signs of impending doom. Considering he's been leading the show and it's a global juggernaut, a pay increase is far from surprising. As for only going for one season instead of a multi-season deal, that seems to fit with Gustin's overall attitude towards his personal & professional lives that he's expressed in interviews and on social media. His not wanting to be locked into more than one season and to take things on a season-by-season basis feels like an extension of that. As for his cap on the number of episodes, when you consider we live in a streaming world where many seasons are only 8-episodes long? Wanting to dial back on the wear-and-tear after eight seasons (and crossovers) isn't too much to ask when you consider he's doing two seasons worth of work in one.

Feel better? Good… now take a deep breath, relax & have a set because I have some tough love to share. While what you just read is definitely possible, we think all the road signs are telling us that The Flash will be ending its run with its ninth season. This sounds like a way to give the series a proper & respectful send-off, which it deserves. With The Flash gone, the Arrowverse will have lost the third of what many consider to be the "core three" (with Arrow and Supergirl). And this would come at a time when ViacomCBS & WarnerMedia are shopping The CW to conservative-leaning Nexstar and other suitors, so you can't help but feel like Barry and the gang saying goodbye could also be the network's final swan song. But don't worry, fans of Superman & Lois, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, DC's Stargirl, Naomi, and the recently-announced David Ramsey-starring Justice U. There's always HBO Max, which is already boosting its live-action DCU by acquiring shows like Titan and Doom Patrol, and green-lighting Green Lantern, Justice League Dark, and other projects (more on all of that here).

So if Barry & Team Flash do end up racing their way into an unknown future after nine seasons, they may end up carrying the history of The CW on their backs when they do. But there is definitely one thing that's not just needed, wanted, or demanded when it comes to the final season of The Flash (whenever that may be). Whatever you have to do that's humanly possible, from throwing in some extra cash to triple-rearranging schedules, Melissa Benoist's Supergirl and Amell's Oliver Queen need to return and end up fighting side-by-side with Barry and the team. I know there will be guest stars and returning faces during the show's final run, but Benoist and Amell are essential. But for now, Arrowverse fans get to bask in the glow of a new tomorrow (it's just the day after that's a problem).

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