DC TV Shows and Movies: Every Series Family Explained

Batman on film (1989-2024)

Batman is the closest thing DC has to a continuous screen presence. Tim Burton directed Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), with Michael Keaton in the lead. Joel Schumacher took over for Batman Forever (1995), with Val Kilmer, and Batman & Robin (1997), with George Clooney. Those four are separate from everything after them.

Eight years passed between the last Schumacher film and the next theatrical Batman. Christopher Nolan's trilogy is the second wave: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), all with Christian Bale. It is a complete story and the easiest Batman recommendation, since a viewer needs nothing beforehand. Ben Affleck then played Batman in the DCEU, in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017).

The third wave is Matt Reeves' The Batman, released on March 4, 2022, with Robert Pattinson in the title role. HBO followed it with The Penguin, an eight-episode series that ran from September 19 to November 10, 2024. It begins one week after the film's events, follows Colin Farrell's Oz Cobb in Gotham's criminal underworld, and is set shortly before The Batman: Part II, which is scheduled for February 18, 2028. Pattinson's Batman does not appear in the series.

Todd Phillips' Joker (2019) and Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) are a separate case. Joker is not a Batman film, and its Joker is a civilian. They work as standalone dramas.

The DC Extended Universe (15 films, 2013-2023)

The DCEU began with Man of Steel (2013, Zack Snyder) and ended with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023, James Wan). In order, the 15 films are Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad (David Ayer), Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins), Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam! (David F. Sandberg), Birds of Prey (Cathy Yan), Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad (James Gunn), Black Adam (Jaume Collet-Serra), Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash (Andy Muschietti), Blue Beetle (Ángel Manuel Soto) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

The group is uneven by design, because the studio changed direction several times. Snyder directed the first, second and fifth films, and Zack Snyder's Justice League, a separate cut released on HBO Max in 2021, is not counted among the 15. The run's range is wide, from the dark tone of Snyder's films to Gunn's The Suicide Squad in 2021.

Peacemaker, created by Gunn for HBO Max, is the television side. Its first season ran from January 13 to February 17, 2022, eight episodes, and is set five months after The Suicide Squad. It is the one DCEU series, and a viewer who wants it should watch The Suicide Squad first.

The DCEU is best treated as optional. A newcomer can enter through individual films, since the continuity matters less than the cast and director.

The new DC Universe (2024-present)

DC Studios started over in late 2024. Creature Commandos, an animated series, ran on Max from December 5, 2024, to January 9, 2025. Superman followed on July 11, 2025: James Gunn wrote and directed, David Corenswet plays the title role, Rachel Brosnahan plays Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor. Peacemaker's second season, eight episodes from August 21 to October 9, 2025, is placed in the DCU, and Gunn has said no third season is currently planned.

Supergirl, directed by Craig Gillespie, came out on June 26, 2026, with Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El. HBO's Lanterns, eight episodes from August 16 to October 4, 2026, stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, with Kelly Macdonald as Sheriff Kerry Kane. Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King created it, and Mundy is the showrunner. Clayface, directed by James Watkins, was released on October 23, 2026, and Man of Tomorrow is scheduled for July 9, 2027. Mister Miracle is listed for 2028, and several other films and series, among them The Brave and the Bold and Swamp Thing, are in development without dates.

The DCU is the easiest family to start, because Superman (2025) is a clean beginning. A viewer who wants everything should follow the release order, which is also the story order. The animated Creature Commandos is the shortest way into the new universe on the television side.

Smallville and the Arrowverse (2001-2024)

Smallville began on The WB on October 16, 2001, moved to The CW in its sixth season, and ended on May 13, 2011. It ran 10 seasons and 217 episodes, and follows the young Clark Kent before he becomes Superman.

The Arrowverse is the CW group of connected series. Arrow ran 8 seasons and 170 episodes (2012 to 2020). The Flash ran 9 seasons and 184 episodes (2014 to 2023). Supergirl, which started on CBS and moved to The CW, ran 6 seasons and 126 episodes (2015 to 2021). Legends of Tomorrow ran 7 seasons and 110 episodes (2016 to 2022). Black Lightning ran 4 seasons and 58 episodes (2018 to 2021). Batwoman ran 3 seasons and 51 episodes (2019 to 2022), and Superman & Lois ran 4 seasons and 53 episodes, from February 2021 to December 2024.

The shows connect through crossover events. The best known is Crisis on Infinite Earths, a five-episode event in the 2019 to 2020 season that spanned Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman. Arrow and The Flash are the series to start with; the crossovers make more sense after both.

The crossovers are worth a closer look because they are the Arrowverse's signature. The first, Flash vs. Arrow, ran two episodes in the 2014 to 2015 season. Crisis on Earth-X (2017 to 2018) ran four episodes across Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow, and Elseworlds (2018 to 2019) ran three episodes across Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl. Each is a small event with its own title, which makes them easy to find once a viewer is a few seasons in.

At about 750 episodes, the Arrowverse is the largest block of DC television. Few viewers will see all of it, and the usual approach is to pick Arrow or The Flash, follow it for a few seasons, then add the others as the crossovers demand.

Other DC television: Gotham, Titans, Doom Patrol, Lucifer

Gotham aired on Fox for five seasons and 100 episodes, from September 22, 2014, to April 25, 2019. It is a Batman prequel and is separate from the film versions. Titans ran four seasons and 49 episodes, two on DC Universe in 2018 and 2019 and two on HBO Max, in 2021 and from 2022 to 2023. Doom Patrol ran four seasons and 46 episodes from 2019 to 2023, moving from DC Universe to HBO Max and then Max.

The season lengths vary a lot, which matters for planning. Titans had 11, 13, 13 and 12 episodes in its four seasons, while Doom Patrol had 15, 9, 10 and 12. Gotham's final season was only 12 episodes against 22 for each of the first four. A viewer budgeting time should check the per-season counts before committing, since a 22-episode Gotham season is more than twice as long as the 9-episode second season of Doom Patrol.

Lucifer is the odd one out. Fox aired its first three seasons from 2016 to 2018. After Fox canceled it, Netflix picked it up for seasons four to six, which ran from 2019 to 2021. It has 93 episodes in total.

All of these stand alone from the other DC worlds.