Before he co-created The Flash, Greg Berlanti was the series showrunner on the classic teen drama Dawson's Creek. With more than 15 years having passed since the landmark series left the airwaves, Berlanti is opening up about how it helped him prepare for the backlash surrounding the casting of Ruby Rose as the Arrow-verse's openly lesbian Batwoman. Addressing the matter head-on, Berlanti shared how handling reactions to Dawson's Creek, came into play, saying:
Whenever you're bringing change about in any form, there are always conversations that happen. I go all the way back to Dawson's Creek. Twitter didn't exist, but we would get boxes of letters expressing opinions in all directions from were we making enough change, should we be making more change, or why did we feel like we needed to do these things? It's always part of the process, so just focus on the story and make the best episode that you can.
Greg Berlanti's past experiences on the teen drama have helped him navigate the road ahead and will undoubtedly continue to serve him well when it comes to divisive decisions. Berlanti's comments (per THR) shed light on how he is handling the online reaction to Ruby Rose's casting. The Arrow-verse extraordinaire's comments offer a telling glimpse into how fan mail has progressed, as viewers are now able to relay their opinions on social media more directly, and some especially critical viewers certainly had a lot to say about Ruby Rose.
While Twitter can often be a barometer of where fans stand on certain storylines or casting decisions, Greg Berlanti is not letting it alter things. He is standing by his star. Batwoman will make her debut during the network's annual Arrow-verse crossover. Once Ruby Rose has flexed her muscle in the highly-anticipated multi-series spanning event, she could end up headlining her own Batwoman spinoff.
After all, you do not introduce a character as major as Batwoman, and not consider giving her, her own show. Greg Berlanti expressed his optimism over Ruby Rose's portrayal and viewers' chance to see her play the part. Berlanti said:
[Ruby] is terrific in the role, and we're excited for people to see the story.
The reaction that ensued following the announcement of Ruby Rose's casting as Batwoman with some arguing she was not the right choice for the role is suspected to have contributed to her deciding to leave Twitter. Fans have a while longer to wait before Rose makes her much-anticipated debut as Batwoman. In a sign that she is set to knock it out of the park, Greg Berlanti shared his hope that people will tune in to see what everyone has been talking about and go from there.
Just in time for the holiday season, the Arrow-verse's crossover event, which will herald the debut of Batwoman, will kick off on Sunday, December 9 at 8 p.m. ET with an episode of The Flash. The show that started it all a.k.a. Arrow will return for its seventh season on Monday, October 15 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. The Flash will speed by Arrow's debut, making its Season 5 bow on Tuesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. ET. They will not be the only series returning or premiering on the superhero-friendly network, this fall.
