A Comprehensive Guide to the Arrowverse: Everything You Need to Know

Navigating shows that are part of DC can be confusing, given that the franchise does not follow a seamless continuum. The Arrowverse is one of their biggest sub-franchises that consists of a variety of shows produced for the CW network.

But with new DC shows coming out every year, you might wonder—which shows does the Arrowverse include? How long is it? What is its connection to DCEU? Wait, Arrowverse has a multiverse, too?!

For the answers to these very questions, come have a look at our comprehensive guide to Arrowverse.

1. Shows That Are Officially Part of the Arrowverse

I. The Main Shows

These are shows that are the core of the Arrowverse and have regular crossovers.

• Arrow (2012–2020)
• The Flash (2014–present)
• Supergirl (2015–2021)
• Legends of Tomorrow (2016–2022)
• Black Lightning (2018–2021)
• Batwoman (2019–2022)

II. Animated Series

In addition to live-action, the Arrowverse also includes some animated shows. A really cool fact is that some of the animated characters appear in their live-action avatar in the crossovers! Here are the shows:

• Vixen (2015–2016)
• Freedom Fighters: The Ray (2017–2018)

III. The Extended Universe

Now, besides the above, there are a few shows that are considered “adjacent” to the Arrowverse. In this sense, they might be linked to one or more of the shows within the Arrowverse but not play a huge role in the Arrowverse itself. Here are the shows:

• The Flash (1990–1991)
• Constantine (2014–2015)
• Superman & Lois (2021–present)

IV. Episode Count and Runtime

It will be hard to pinpoint how many hours the Arrowverse encompasses, but you can have a look at the main shows’ episode count and runtime instead:

Show	Number of Seasons	Number of Episodes	Runtime
Arrow	8	170	40-43 minutes
The Flash	8	171	41-45 minutes
Constantine	1	13	43 minutes
Supergirl	6	126	45 minutes
Vixen	2	12	4-7 minutes
Legends of Tomorrow	7	110	42-45 minutes
Freedom Fighters: The Ray	2	12	4-6 minutes
Black Lightning	5	58	39-43 minutes
Batwoman	3	51	42-43 minutes

Plus, if you’d like to know the order in which to watch all the Arrowverse shows, have a look at this super easy watch order guide that has all the information you need:

V. Active/Ongoing Arrowverse Shows

Out of all the above shows, The Flash is the only show from the main Arrovwerse lineup that is still active. However, it will come to an end with Season 9, which will air on February 8, 2023.

Superman & Lois is also active, but as I mentioned above, it’s not a major part of the Arrowverse. So The Flash is the only main Arrowverse show that is currently active.

There are rumors that the end of The Flash will be the end of the Arrowverse as well. Official statements are yet to be made—stay tuned for more news on that front!

2. How many alternate universes are there in the Arrowverse?

As many as you can imagine!

The Flash itself initially introduced Earth One, Earth Two, and Earth Three, while Supergirl hails from Earth 38. Besides this, there have been storylines involving Earth X, Earth 4-52, 12, 18, 22, 35, 48… you get the picture!

The Arrowverse has whole-heartedly embraced the concept of the multiverse and played around with it quite a few times, most famously in the Crisis on Infinite Earths arc.

During this arc, the Arrowverse showed archival footage from older DC shows, DCEU films, as well as current HBO Max shows to consolidate all of the projects as part of the same DC universe.

In short, Crisis on Infinite Earths confirmed that the Arrowverse, older DC shows, DCEU films, and HBO Max shows share the same DC multiverse.

3. Is the Arrowverse part of the DCEU?

Technically, the Arrowverse is not part of the DCEU. As you may have observed, some of the CW heroes have a different actor playing their silver screen counterpart. For example, Grant Gustin plays the Flash in the show, while Ezra Miller plays him in the film.

Unlike MCU, where the storylines of the TV shows can play a huge part or/and continue into the films as well, DC’s TV shows are largely independent of the DCEU.

However, as explained above, the Arrowverse has long introduced the multiverse. This means that any and all projects (including the DCEU films) can be linked to the Arrowverse, by simply stating they belong to a different universe.

So that means, Gustin’s Flash and Miller’s Flash both co-exist within DC’s universe. In theory, they could bump into each other one day—but the franchise won’t go for it!

4. Is Titans/Doom Patrol/Peacemaker part of the Arrowverse?

So, the Arrowverse largely contains DC shows that air on CW. Other DC shows like Titans, Doom Patrol, and Peacemaker air on HBO Max, so they also cannot technically be part of the Arrowverse. In fact, these shows seem to have a mini, undefined “universe” of their own.

Stargirl, on the other hand, is in a grey area. It airs on CW but is only Arrowverse-adjacent, which means that it is largely independent of anything that happens in the Arrowverse.

But, once again, the same multiverse logic can be used in this instance as well. Theoretically, these shows could be linked to the Arrowverse. But don’t expect any characters from these universes to interact or be in a project together!

Now that James Gunn is one of the heads of DC Studios, along with the new direction that the company is taking, only time will tell what the future holds for the Arrowverse!