Fall TV Showdowns: Supergirl season 3 vs. Lucifer season 3

For much of the past two years, one of the biggest scheduling conflicts was having Supergirl, one DC Comics show, up directly against Gotham over on Fox. Seemingly, both shows cater to a similar crowd, and could fare far better at different times.

Moving into the fall, clearly someone listened. However, there is another issue at play here in Supergirl airing against ANOTHER comic-book property in Lucifer, which is moving over to Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. Eastern while Gotham heads over to Thursday nights. This could pose some problems, and it’s worth discussing which show will be hurt the most by the move.

Supergirl – The good news about this show is that it’s already two seasons in at this timeslot, so it may be able to keep most of the viewers that it already has. It also benefits somewhat from being heavily serialized in nature, and you do need to watch one episode in order to understand what happens next. It benefits from not having Gotham just because the show’s are so similar when it comes to their license. While there is some crossover with Lucifer, it may not be damaging in a way that is new.

Lucifer – Of the two shows, the Tom Ellis series is probably hurt more simply because of the fact that it loses its Gotham lead-in and goes from having no similar competition to having it. The show is also a little more procedural in nature, so there may not be as much of a prescient need to watch it live if fans are torn between it and Supergirl.

Which show will emerge as #1? – Probably Lucifer. It may sound counter-intuitive to say that based on everything just laid out, but you do have to remember that the show was averaging much higher ratings this spring. Even if it loses a tenth or two in the 18-49 demographic because of the time change, it will still have an edge on the CW series. Granted, Supergirl also probably has a lower threshold to meet just because it is airing on a network with fewer ratings expectations.

What are you planning to watch live this fall: Supergirl or Lucifer? Share in the comments below!

Meanwhile, head over here to check out some of the big news from Supergirl, including the recent casting news for the character of Reign.