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Report: CBS Considering Dropping Supergirl Over Budget Issues

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A lot of CG work goes into a single episode of Gotham. The show has become more sci-fi as its went along too. Especially in Season 2.

http://www.cgsociety.org/news/article/2151/behind-the-scenes-of-batman-origin-tale-gotham

http://www.iamag.co/features/making-of-gotham-by-cosa-vfx/

I was exaggerating a bit, but the point is that virtual buildings and skylines are, by definition, mostly static. They require very little in the way of actual animation, and are thus far easier to pull off on a broadcast TV budget than it is to make superpowers or alien creatures look believable.
 
So:

  • Move out of LA
  • Kara starts working from home and teleconferencing with Cat via Skype.
  • All fights scenes take place in the same empty warehouse every other Vancouver show uses.

Easy.

Cat Grant buys Central City Picture News , and decides to bring key people with her to rebuild it as a CatCo brand.
 

Kinyou

Member
I didn't know it costs 3 million per episode. Why the hell would they shoot 20 episodes then? Making it shorter wouldn't hurt the show itself either.
 
The show got better as the season went on, but I still won't miss it if it gets the axe.

In my dream world CW picks it up while simultaneously canceling the season 2 Legends of Tomorrow renewal and puts it in that slot.
 

Ophelion

Member
Cat is one of the very best parts of the show. y'all are dumb.

She is great. So glad the captured the complexity of that character from her initial appearances in the comics. She became kind of a caricature of herself as time went on and crises erased things and comics started having progressively less and less time for background, non-powered side characters.

Hope the show sticks around. I really enjoy it.
 
I didn't know it costs 3 million per episode. Why the hell would they shoot 20 episodes then? Making it shorter wouldn't hurt the show itself either.

20 episodes is already rather short. Most shows are 26 or so episodes.

Supergirl also started late and wrapped early - all 20 episodes were aired between October and April.
 

Blader

Member
The show got better as the season went on, but I still won't miss it if it gets the axe.

In my dream world CW picks it up while simultaneously canceling the season 2 Legends of Tomorrow renewal and puts it in that slot.

Cancel them both and just do a Kara/Sarah/Nyssa show.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
Most broadcast dramas are budgeted to about $3-3.5 million with $2.5-$3 million licensing fees, if not a bit higher. This isn't that extraordinary.
 
Actually yeah looking at some budgets, 3 million seems to be standard more or less.

I wouldn't give that budget to supergirl @_@ I'm sure it got greenlit because of the close release of BvS, but after BvS' failure, I doubt it'll be greenlit for a 2nd season.
 
I haven't watched every episode, but it's really hard to believe that Calista's character knows both Kara and Super Girl, but doesn't make the connection. Not like she wears a mask. But is that the joke, how oblivious she is?
 
I haven't watched every episode, but it's really hard to believe that Calista's character knows both Kara and Super Girl, but doesn't make the connection. Not like she wears a mask. But is that the joke, how oblivious she is?

Well,
an entire episode and a half was dedicated to Cat convinced Kara was Supergirl, to the point that she insisted on firing her so she could spend more time saving lives. They had Martian Manhunter pretend to be Supergirl with Kara in the room to resolve the situation.
 

jelly

Member
I didn't know it costs 3 million per episode. Why the hell would they shoot 20 episodes then? Making it shorter wouldn't hurt the show itself either.

I wouldn't mind if a lot of shows went to 13 episodes or so but I guess they've got a simple format and schedule to fill. Just in this case, the episodes are expensive.
 

my6765490

Member
Have Netflix buy the rights, and crossover Martian Manhunter with the MCU TV show characters!

One can dream, right?
 
It's probably not an unpopular opinion as much as an odd one. There's like 4 across dozens of channels, unless you're including like the Walking Dead because it's based on a comic book, which is still an odd thing to do.

including netflix/etc since them signing one up consumes a part of their defined development budget. here's the ones i can think of

Flash
Arrow
Gotham
Supergirl
Agents of shield
Jessica jones
Agent carter
Daredevil
Constantine (cancelled i think?)
Powers
Preacher
Legends of Tomorrow
Lucifer
Outcast
Wyonna Earp
iZombie

And then there are a ton more in development right now like Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Legion, etc and all of this is just live action, not animated.
 

wildfire

Banned
So:

  • Move out of LA
  • Kara starts working from home and teleconferencing with Cat via Skype.
  • All fights scenes take place in the same empty warehouse every other Vancouver show uses.

Easy.

Now I'm beginning to see part of the problem. Supergirl has a very sunny atmosphere. The team should move further south than north.
 

Corpekata

Banned
including netflix/etc since them signing one up consumes a part of their defined development budget. here's the ones i can think of

Flash
Arrow
Gotham
Supergirl
Agents of shield
Jessica jones
Agent carter
Daredevil
Constantine (cancelled i think?)
Powers
Preacher
Legends of Tomorrow
Lucifer
Outcast
Wyonna Earp
iZombie

And then there are a ton more in development right now like Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Legion, etc and all of this is just live action, not animated.

A good half of these are stretching being called a superhero show, unless you just meant literally everything based on comic books, which is silly, because plenty of these DO fit into the other genres you're talking about. Something like Lucifer is basically just Brilliant Asshole Cop show with some fantasy shit, nobody's watching it because it's a superhero show. Agent Carter and Outcast being under the same genre is like lumping Blue is the Warmest Color in with Spider-Man.
 

Dysun

Member
Show would have benefitted from being on the right network and dropping Superman.

Living in a bubble where Superman is omnipresent but not really was just a bad idea. Limiting the crossover potential was another one
 

ivysaur12

Banned
Don't they all (especially Flash) do really well for CW? Lower rating standards and all that.

Yes, but they also just picked up every single one of their shows. If Supergirl were produced by CBS, then it'd be different. But then it'd also be more likely to be renewed on CBS proper.
 

anaron

Member
Show would have benefitted from being on the right network and dropping Superman.

Living in a bubble where Superman is omnipresent but not really was just a bad idea. Limiting the crossover potential was another one
they didn't limit it, though? In fact, Supergirl being on another earth means they can use a shitload more major players.
 
Have Netflix buy the rights, and crossover Martian Manhunter with the MCU TV show characters!

One can dream, right?

Netfilx can't even afford a single Jessica Jones flying animation. I like their Marvel offerings but they are cheapest looking shows out right now.
 

Ricker

Member
The CW is a cable show right,in the sense that its included in different packages but not ''free'' like CBS,NBC etc etc...I have it here in Canada,lots of time they switch to the CTV feed instead...it would certainly get a smaller audience no...? if I look at the charts posted sometimes,the CW shows are way down there in numbers...
 

Averon

Member
Someone is getting ripped off at $3 million per episode. The special effects and production values I've seen have be laughable.
 

SimleuqiR

Member
A move to the CW will mean:
  • Less Kara flying around. She may zoom on foot a lot more like Tom Welling's Clark and/or disappear from the screen with a "Wooosh" sound to signify that she flew away.
  • Less airborne fights. No more Kryptonian vs Kryptonian CGI fights.
  • Martian Manhunter will keep his human form for all fights and just have glowing red eyes.

It can be done, but they will need to beef up their story telling.
 

Freiya

Member
Unpopular opinion on gaf but there are way too many superhero shows on TV, I'd like to see more cut so some of that programming time can shift to other genres.

Shifting it to the all access streaming site would be great too, if that means the new Star Trek debuts on both streaming and air.
Way too many cop shows more like it.
 
A move to the CW will mean:
  • Less Kara flying around. She may zoom on foot a lot more like Tom Welling's Clark and/or disappear from the screen with a "Wooosh" sound to signify that she flew away.
  • Less airborne fights. No more Kryptonian vs Kryptonian CGI fights.

    [*]Martian Manhunter will keep his human form for all fights and just have glowing red eyes.

It can be done, but they will need to beef up their story telling.

It depends. From the way Kreisberg was talking on Fat Man on Batman, it sounds like setup is the bulk of the cost. For example, he mentioned making a Grodd season on the cheap by masking the fact that the gorilla soldiers were all Grodd's model by putting them in armor, and making Grodd and Solivar the only unique models.

For J'onn, they already have the assets on hand, and the suit is a prop. It's not a free effect, but It's likely a lot cheaper than building a new character or doing a Grodd or King Shark episode.
 

SimleuqiR

Member
It depends. From the way Kreisberg was talking on Fat Man on Batman, it sounds like setup is the bulk of the cost. For example, he mentioned making a Grodd season on the cheap by masking the fact that the gorilla soldiers were all Grodd's model by putting them in armor, and making Grodd and Solivar the only unique models.

For J'onn, they already have the assets on hand, and the suit is a prop. It's not a free effect, but It's likely a lot cheaper than building a new character or doing a Grodd or King Shark episode.

They can manage. But....VVV

As mentioned previously, it is apparently in Calista Flockhart's contract to film in California.

If this is the case then maybe the should kill her character off. I don't know, Cat is great I guess but if the show's life rides on this contract then I rather it lives on for a few more season in the CW without Flockhart.
 
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