The combined delays of COVID-19 and Melissa Benoist’s pregnancy means that the future of Supergirl is currently on hold. While other Arrowverse series are expected to start returning to our screens in January 2021, Supergirl is likely to be arriving later due to Benoist’s maternity leave. As a result, fans will have to wait a long time for the show’s upcoming sixth season to make its way to Netflix.
According to What’s On Netflix, the most recent block of Supergirl episodes tend to be released on the platform about a week after the season has wrapped up on The CW. However, the interrupted shooting schedule for the series now means that it may not even begin until mid-year, or even summer 2021, depending on what happens over the next few months. As a result, those following the program on Netflix might only get it in August 2021 at the earliest, or even the end of the year.
However, there’s no immediate danger of the existing five seasons of Supergirl leaving Netflix by then, potentially to HBO Max. A long-term output deal between The CW and Netflix means that any production begun before 2019 is locked into distributing new instalments through the streaming platform, with episodes staying on there until about four years after their finales.
Whether watching the Arrowverse on The CW or on Netflix, it’s going to be a strange year for those expecting the usual season premieres in the fall. Although The CW have started putting out some character posters teasing the future storylines, as well as a trailer for The Flash‘s seventh run, schedules are still very much affected by the coronavirus. Indeed, even when the various DC properties return, they’ll mostly begin by closing out the story arcs that would have been aired in the previous, interrupted seasons.
Supergirl and general superhero devotees won’t want for new content on Netflix, though, given the sheer volume of material currently available on the service. Furthermore, the next six months to a year could give people a much-needed opportunity to catch up on the hundreds of episodes that make up the Arrowverse, including more recent additions like Stargirl.