Super Ratings: The Flash Helps Supergirl

Supergirl is in limbo at the moment, having been left off the list of CBS renewals last week but also having the implied assurance from the network's CEO that the series will be back for a second season. This week, Supergirl made its case for renewal a little stronger by turning in its best ratings in a long time. The problem is that it required some help from a character from a CW series.

The much-anticipated crossover between CBS' Supergirl and The CW's The Flash happened this week on the CBS series, and it was an unqualified success in every respect. Fans loved the story that brought the two heroes together, and the audience that tuned in for the episode was bigger than both recent Supergirl audiences and the typical Flash audience, suggesting that the crossover managed to unite to somewhat disparate groups of fans.

The crossover episode earned a 1.7 rating in the 18-49 age demographic, and that was an increase of nearly a third from the ratings of the last two Supergirl episodes. The rating was also a big number for The Flash, which has been pulling down ratings around 1.1 lately. If both series are lucky, Flash fans will stick around Supergirl's neighborhood even after their hero's gone home, and a few Supergirl fans will follow Barry Allen back to his version of the DC universe on the CW.