PRODUCTIONS / MARKETS / STRATEGIES THE CW ARROWVERSE AND MYTH-MAKING, OR THE COMMODIFICATION OF TRANSMEDIA FRANCHISING CHARLES JOSEPH Name Charles Joseph Arrowverse, a shared narrative space based on DC-inspired Academic centre University of Rennes 2 original series which provided the network with a fertile E-mail address
[email protected] groundwork to build upon. The CW did not hesitate to capitalize on its not-so-newfound superhero brand to KEYWORDS induce a circulation of myth, relying on these larger-than- The CW; DC comics; Arrowverse; transmedia; convergence; life characters at the heart of American pop culture to superhero; myth. fortify its cultural and historical bedrock and earn its seat along the rest of the Big 4. This paper aims to decipher how The CW pioneered new technology-based tools ABSTRACT which ultimately changed the American media-industrial The CW’s influence over the American network television landscape of the early 2010s, putting these tools to the landscape has never ceased to grow since its creation test with the network’s superhero series. It will thus also in 2006. The network’s audience composition reflects address how the Arrowverse set of characters has triggered The CW’s strategies to improve its original content as cross-media and transmedia experimentations, how The well as diversifying it, moving away from its image as a CW stimulated rapport with its strong fan base, as well network for teenage girls. One of the key elements which as how the network has been able to capitalize on the has supported this shift was the development of the superhero genre’s evocative capacities.