Batwoman (TV series)

In May 2018, The CW president Mark Pedowitz and Arrow lead Stephen Amell announced at The CW's upfront presentation that Batwoman would be introduced in the Arrowverse series' 2018 crossover, "Elseworlds", which aired in December 2018, fighting alongside the other Arrowverse heroes, with Gotham City also appearing.[36][37] In July 2018, it was reported that The CW was planning to develop a series around the character, to air in 2019 if picked up. The series, said to only be a "script-development deal", was written by Caroline Dries, who would also serve as an executive producer with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter, and the character's co-creator Geoff Johns. The series would be produced by Berlanti Productions and Mad Ghost Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.[2] The following month, Pedowitz noted the pilot would be completed "for mid-season".[38]

In December 2018, Dries submitted a "strong" script for a potential pilot episode, according to Nellie Andreeva of Deadline Hollywood.[39] That led to the series receiving a pilot order from The CW the next month, to be considered for a series order in the 2019–20 television season.[40][39][41] As of April 2019, the series was considered "a lock" at The CW, and reportedly had a writing staff in place.[42] On May 7, 2019, The CW ordered the show to series.[43] On October 25, 2019, the series was picked up for a full season of 22 episodes.[44] On January 7, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on January 17, 2021.[45][46] On February 3, 2021, The CW renewed the series for a third season.[47]

Casting for Kate Kane was expected to begin after the announcement of the intended series in May 2018,[48] with the intention of casting an out lesbian actress.[49] In August, Ruby Rose was cast as Kate Kane / Batwoman.[3] In late January 2019, Meagan Tandy, Camrus Johnson, and Nicole Kang were cast in the series regular roles as Sophie Moore, Luke Fox, and Mary Hamilton, respectively.[5] This was followed shortly by the casting of Rachel Skarsten as Alice,[4] Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane,[7] and Elizabeth Anweis as Catherine Hamilton-Kane.[6]

The casting of Rose as Batwoman was met by backlash on social media and received intense criticism.[50][51] DC Comics, which owns the rights to the longtime comic book superheroine Batwoman, reintroduced the character in 2006 as a lesbian of Jewish descent. Some online reactions attacked Rose for not being Jewish, while the main focus of the criticism was the assertion that the fact she identifies as gender fluid made her "not gay enough."[51] Rose left Twitter and deactivated public commenting on her Instagram account following the backlash.[50]

Following the departure of series lead Ruby Rose (left), Javicia Leslie (right) was cast as a new Batwoman for the second season

In May 2020, Rose announced she would be leaving the series ahead of its second season;[52] it was mutually decided between Rose, the studio, and the network for her to leave.[53][54] The producers reaffirmed their commitment to the series and finding a new actress who is part of the LGBTQ community to lead future seasons.[52] No reason was given at the time for Rose's departure.[52] Rose later called being the lead of a series "taxing" and stated her back surgery following an on-set accident in 2019 was a contributing factor in deciding to leave, saying it was "time for me to take a break to fully heal and then return" to acting. Spending time in isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic also allowed Rose "to just think about a lot of different things and what you want to achieve in life and what you want to do," which allowed her "a great opportunity to have a dialogue about a lot of things" with the producers.[55]

The following month, a casting notice for a new character named Ryan Wilder was revealed, indicating the series was looking to replace Kane as Batwoman.[56][57] Dries defended the decision to introduce a new character as Batwoman, asserting that the series would continue to "respect everything that Ruby put into the Kate Kane character."[58] She also revealed Kane would not be killed, and her disappearance would be a key storyline during season two.[59] Matt Webb Mitovitch at TVLine and Jill Pantozzi of io9 both felt replacing Kane as Batwoman would be a detriment to the series. Mitovitch felt it would "create more problems than it solves", saying it would take away from the established character dynamics (namely the "central" one between Kate and Alice) and the various plot threads waiting to be resolved from the end of the first season. He added: "a simple if momentarily awkward recast would have kept all established storylines and dynamics intact; Season 2 could then pick up where the solid Season 1 left off. Instead, loyal viewers will be asked to re-invest in something that is significantly new, while also possibly giving up some of the things they liked most about the show."[60] Pantozzi felt the series could have approached the casting of a new lead actor more creatively, given the series exists in "a universe of time travel, doppelgängers, and literal face-swapping". She concluded, "if they are truly doing away with the Kate character it feels like a bizarre move. Fans could much easier come to terms with a simple replacement actress, than having to go through a convoluted story of why a random lesbian has taken up the cowl so soon after Kate did. ... It seems like a lot of explaining to do when there’s a much easier option."[61] Conversely, Collider's Liz Shannon Miller felt a new character was "the right call" and "a big swing" for the series. Miller pointed to the "long-established precedent" in the comics of new characters taking over mantles from others. Like Mitovitch, Miller questioned what the new character would mean for the series' supporting cast, since their connections to Kate were "their primary reason for being a part of the show’s storyline". She also hoped "Ryan Wilder" was a placeholder name, "because the trend of naming strong female characters with traditionally male names has just gotten tired at this point".[62]

In early July 2020, Javicia Leslie was cast as Ryan Wilder, the new Batwoman.[8] Rose was supportive of Leslie's casting.[63][55]

Production on the pilot episode began on March 4 and concluded on March 25, 2019, in Vancouver, British Columbia.[64][65] Additional filming took place in Chicago, Illinois.[66] Filming for the rest of the season began on July 4 and was set to conclude in mid-2020.[67] On March 12, 2020, Warner Bros. Television shut down production on the series due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[68] Filming for the second season began on September 3, 2020,[69] and will conclude on May 10, 2021.[70]

The series debuted on The CW October 6, 2019.[71] In New Zealand, the series is streamed on TVNZ’s free streaming service TVNZ OnDemand.[72] In the United Kingdom, the series is shown on E4.[73] In Canada, it is aired on Showcase.[74]

Season 1 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 18, 2020. Special features included deleted scenes, a gag reel, highlights from DCTV's 2019 San Diego Comic-Con panels, and a behind-the-scenes featurette entitled "On the Set". The release also included a bonus disc with all five episodes of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event.[75]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series' first season holds an approval rating of 80% based on 50 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 6.87/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though it needs more time to develop its own identity to truly soar, Batwoman's fun and stylish first season is a step in the right direction for representation and superhero shows alike."[77] On Metacritic, the first season has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[78]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 88% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The critical consensus for the season reads, "Batwoman's second season survives a soft reboot, maintaining the show's excellence while giving Javicia Leslie plenty of room to spread her wings."[79]