DC fans certainly have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to seeing their favorite heroes on the small screen these days. We have been spoiled by Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, and even the ill-fated Constantine. Up until last night, those shows rarely competed with something of the same genre.
Fox’s Gotham competing with CBS’ Supergirl is something that will be a reality each week, at least for the immediate future. Yes, it is kind of odd that two DC shows are going head-to-head. Many wondered how Superman’s cousin would perform when pitted against an established show. Well, it performed pretty well.
No doubt given somewhat of a boost by a lead-in provided by The Big Bang Theory, Supergirl laid claim to the fall’s No. 1 series debut. With 12.9 million total viewers and a 3.2 rating, the Girl of Steel is indeed a force to be reckoned with.
As for Gotham, it drew 4.3 million viewers for a 1.5 rating, up slightly from the previous week.
Pilot episodes usually tend to attract a fair amount of interest, so week two will be the real litmus test when Supergirl moves to its regular time of 8pm EST. If Supergirl continues to topple Gotham each week, I wouldn’t be surprised if Fox moves the Batman prequel to another night for the second half of the season.