The network once known more for primetime soap operas and teenybopper fodder continues its rise in becoming the ultimate place to be for DC Comics entertainment on network television. Already the home of The Flash, Arrow, and the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow, The CW will be airing a pair of specials that look to be positively epic for fans of the DC TV and film universes. DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow: Their Time Is Now and DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League will debut on January 19, 2016 after the winter premiere of The Flash.
DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow: Their Time Is Now will be an in-depth look at the origin stories of the heroes and villains of Legends of Tomorrow, which will have its series premiere on January 21. Featuring clips from The Flash and Arrow, as well as from the first season of Legends, the half-hour special should expand on the backgrounds of the motley crew of characters starring in the new show. Although figures such as Vandal Savage, White Canary, the Atom, and the Hawks have already had their introductions in the Flarrow-verse, Rip Hunter is still pretty much an unknown.
DC Films Presents: Dawn Of The Justice League will take The CW in a more cinematic direction as Kevin Smith hosts a half-hour peek ahead at the upcoming installments in the DC Cinematic Universe. The special will showcase the major characters to appear in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice in March of 2016 and will include a sneak peek at the Wonder Woman feature. As superheroes are really only ever as good as their nemeses, glimpses of DC’s most famous supervillains will be featured as well. Most exciting of all, however, will be the world premiere of an all-new trailer for next summer’s Suicide Squad feature film.
Interestingly, the Suicide Squad trailer will not be the first time that the group of antiheroes will be appearing on The CW. Arrow assembled its own version of the Suicide Squad in Season 2 back in 2014. DC Films Presents: Dawn Of The Justice League highlighting the big screen Suicide Squad following a special all about the small screen Flarrow-verse should bring the first direct juxtaposition between DC’s film and television universes.
Of course, Arrow is not the CW series that stands to benefit most from the pair of specials. The Flash may well see a major boost in its ratings as the lead-in for this event, and Legends of Tomorrow getting the chance to air some exposition before its premiere may draw in a bigger audience for the pilot.
All in all, The CW has a killer lineup of DC programming set for January 19. DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow: Their Time Is Now will air at 9:00 p.m. ET, and DC Films Presents: Dawn Of The Justice League will follow at 9:30 p.m. ET. For a look at when other comic shows are making their 2016 debuts, check out our list of winter premieres.
