(Inset) Caroline Dries
Photo Credit: DC Comics/The CW
Batwoman will soon have her own TV series, if things go right. Notably, it will be the first live-action superhero series with an openly gay lead, considering the character has been written as a Jewish lesbian since her reintroduction as Kate Kane in 2006.
The CW – the home of the Arrowverse – has put a Batwoman series into development for 2019 consideration, according to multiple reports, from Caroline Dries (The Vampire Diaries) and Greg Berlanti, who oversees all DC Comics-based shows for the network. A lesbian herself, Dries got her start on Smallville back in the day, before rising through the ranks to showrunner on The Vampire Diaries.
The show's synopsis describes Kane as "an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence". She is "armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind" but "must overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope".
Deadline reports that the network is "likely" to find a lesbian for the role of Batwoman as well. The actress will first appear in an Arrowverse crossover event in December, though it's not known which show – Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, or Legends of Tomorrow – will introduce her.
Batwoman's entrance into the Arrowverse will also bring Gotham City to its TV universe. She will join other LGBTQ characters already part of the Arrowverse, including Curtis Holt on Arrow, Captain Singh on The Flash, Alex Danvers on Supergirl, and Sara Lance on Legends.
The character was first introduced in the 1950s as a love interest for Batman, with the modern version – the first-ever lesbian superhero in DC Comics – arriving after a long hiatus on the page. Her first openly-gay presence was on 2016's direct-to-video animated movie Batman: Bad Blood, where she was voiced by Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid's Tale).
Batwoman will be produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, where Berlanti recently extended his overall deal for $400 million over four years.
New episodes of all Arrowverse shows air in India on the streaming service Hooq, which is partly owned by Warner Bros.
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