Credit – tvseriesfinale.com
Looks like another superhero TV show on the CW is failing, and failing miserably. Well at least we can give The CW points for consistency, because all of their superhero type shows are not doing well. ‘Naomi’ debuted last month with 800,000 viewers tuning in to see The CW’s latest installment into the superhero fray. With a promise of identity politics from show runner Ava DuVernay, what could go wrong with another superhero show, forcing fans to ingest yet another failed DC Comics character, we either have never heard of, or wanted to see in live action? Combine that with abysmal writing, directing, acting, and special effects that look borrowed from the 90’s, and you have another CW scripted show that is free falling into obscurity. ‘Naomi’ has lost almost 37% of its viewers since it debuted last month, with the latest episode bringing in only 507,000 viewers. If ‘Naomi’ continues on its trajectory of bad storytelling, the bleeding of its viewers will likely not stop.
A Failed Comic Book Character Will Also Fail on TV
‘Naomi’ lost 9% of its viewers from week one to week two, 19.32% from week two to week three, and 14% from week three to week four. ‘Naomi’ is officially in ‘Batwoman’ territory, and that doesn’t spell anything good. ‘Naomi’ was doomed before it even aired. When you blatantly bring a character to life from a failed comic book, and commit to making sure that it’s based in identity politics, you’ve already lost half your audience. Top that off with a show runner like Ava DuVernay, who wanted to make sure everyone knew that Naomi could potentially rival Superman, and you’ve already made your show that much more divisive. In essence, what you’re trying to sell your fans, is that this brand new, failed comic book character, could potentially defeat a Superman who has been in the DC universe for more than 80 years. It’s comical on its face, and doesn’t give the audience a buy in to your unflawed character.
From the TV Critics Association via Deadline – “It’s not about representation, it’s about normalization,” DuVernay said. “We’re doing really muscular things that relates to race and gender and class but we’re doing it by playing it normal like it’s just a part of the everyday. I say it kiddingly but it’s real. The more you can portray images without underlining or highlighting them and putting a star next to them. By showing a different type of hero that centers a girl, a Black girl, that centers different kinds of folks. We start to make that normal and that’s a radical and revolutionary thing.”
From Variety –“The more evolved way to think about representation is that she is treated like any other hero and that her powers are not specific to the way that anyone treats her,” DuVernay says. “And so, one of the reasons why I liked this is she literally has powers that will eventually [be] almost identical to Superman. The fact that DC has this Black, teenage girl superhero who eventually will have powers that are on par with Superman — who is the quintessential cis, white male superhero — is a thrilling proposition. And in order to really do that, you’ve got to throw away any kind of social construct and just dive into the fact that she’s a badass.”
The CW Seems to Revel in Their Failure
The CW seems determined, aside from the anomaly that ‘Superman and Lois’ is, to make sure everyone of their superhero shows fails, including ‘Naomi’. I actually don’t think they are determined to fail, I just think they are determined that their audience conform to their way of thinking. What better way to accomplish this, than to take our favorite comic book characters hostage, and turn them into shells of their former selves. We’ve seen it with Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. They’ve all gone to the Dark Side, and flaunted and exaggerated how woke, diverse, and inclusive they can be, storytelling be damned. The CW is the poster child for identity politics, that won’t let go of a recipe that doesn’t work, and ‘Naomi’ is no different. What The CW has managed to do, is exhaust an audience that is bored of their antics, who just want shows about characters they grew up on, that are not full of woke politics, to appease an absolute social media minority. ‘Superman and Lois’ is a prime example of how a show should be written and told. I’m not saying ‘Superman and Lois’ is perfect by any stretch of the imagination, because it’s not…but it is far and away, a much better product than anything that is on The CW right now. And why? Because they are, so far, staying true to the source material and core of who Superman is.
The CW’s Formula is Failing
Unfortunately for ‘Naomi’, this character is doomed, because no one has an interest in a character that was the bestests ever right out of the gate. That’s not how it goes. All the great comic book characters from Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Spawn, to Daredevil, Luke Cage, and the Punisher, have all had great story arcs that helped define who they are. They’ve all known sacrifice and loss, and have grown from their experiences. Making a character perfect, without any flaws, is a big yawn to fans, who not only find it boring, but completely unrelatable as well. What’s also infuriating, is how The CW baits and switches the fans with every one of their shows. But with “Naomi’ there was no bait and switch. It’s right there on the surface, so I guess you can give an A for effort in its honesty to the audience. It’s too bad, because the actress that plays Naomi, Kaci Walfall, is really good, and is the only thing that stands out in this show. The CW is trying to cling to a formula that doesn’t work and won’t work, and ‘Naomi’s’ steep ratings decline is proof.
Related: Naomi is Just Not That Interesting
