Airing on The CW, The Flash is in its eighth season and is currently the third longest-running primetime superhero series in U.S. television history. Arrow ran eight seasons and amassed 170 episodes. Meanwhile, Smallville stayed on the air for 10 years and 217 episodes. Will Flash stick around long enough to surpass one or both of these other shows? Will The Flash be cancelled or renewed for season nine? Stay tuned. *Status Update Below.
A superhero series, The Flash stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Danielle Nicolet, Kayla Compton, Brandon McKnight, and Jesse L. Martin. The action-adventure series centers on police scientist Barry Allen (Gustin) who develops super speed after a dark-matter lightning strike. Behind a mask, Barry uses his powers to protect the people of Central City from many an evil force as The Flash. Those on his team include Caitlin Snow/Frost (Panabaker), Meta-Empath Cecile Horton (Nicolet), the light-powered meta Allegra Garcia (Compton), brilliant tech-nerd Chester P. Runk (McKnight), and retired detective Joe West (Martin). Season eight picks up with Barry and his wife, Iris West-Allen (Patton), at the top of their game — both in their careers as superhero and reporter and as a devoted couple. But when the powerful alien Despero unleashes near annihilation on Central City, The Flash and his team must once again defy impossible odds to save the day. But their victory is short-lived as two new threats rise from the ashes of “Armageddon,” one of which will unleash unforeseen horrors into the lives of Barry and his teammates — and change Team Flash forever.
The ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s chances of staying on the air. The higher the ratings, the better the chances for survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available.
5/26 update: You can see the latest night’s ratings in context.
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For comparisons: Season seven of The Flash on The CW averaged a 0.21 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 820,000 viewers.
Note: Fast affiliate ratings are indicated with an “*”. Otherwise, these are the final national ratings which include all live+same day viewing and DVR playback through 3:00 AM. While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. Though there can be other economic factors involved, the higher-rated shows usually get renewed and the lower-rated ones get cancelled.
What do you think? Do you like The Flash TV series on The CW? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a ninth season?
*3/22/22 update: The Flash has been renewed for a ninth season on The CW.