The first season of the American television series Batwoman premiered on The CW on October 6, 2019, and consisted of 20 episodes. The series is based on the DC Comics character Kate Kane / Batwoman, a costumed vigilante created by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, and Keith Giffen, and is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with other Arrowverse television series. The showrunner for this season is Caroline Dries.
Ruby Rose stars as Kate, and she is joined by main cast members Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Camrus Johnson, Elizabeth Anweis and Dougray Scott. Rose previously appeared as a guest actor in the fifth annual Arrowverse crossover. Batwoman was picked up for a full season by The CW in October 2019, and filming took place primarily in Vancouver, British Columbia. Production was shut down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the season with only 20 of the planned 22 episodes.
The series premiere was watched by 1.86 million viewers and had a 0.5 18–49 demographic rating. It is the only season to feature Rose, who left the series ahead of the second season.
Episodes
Cast and characters
Main
Ruby Rose as Kate Kane / Batwoman
Rachel Skarsten as Beth Kane / Alice
Skarsten also portrayed an alternate version of Beth who was displaced from her native Earth during "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and appeared on Earth-Prime. Meagan Tandy as Sophie Moore Nicole Kang as Mary Hamilton Camrus Johnson as Luke Fox Johnson also portrays his Earth-99 counterpart. Elizabeth Anweis as Catherine Hamilton-Kane Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane
LaMonica Garrett also stars on "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two" as Mar Novu / Monitor, a multiversal being who tests different Earths in the multiverse in preparation for an impending "crisis" orchestrated by his polar opposite, Mobius / Anti-Monitor.
Recurring
Greyston Holt as Tyler
Brendon Zub as Chuck Dodgson
Rachel Maddow as the voice of Vesper Fairchild
Gabriel Mann as Tommy Elliot / Hush
Brianne Howey as Reagan
Christina Wolfe as Julia Pennyworth
Sam Littlefield as Jonathan Cartwright / Mouse
Rachel Matthews as Margaret "Margot"/ Magpie
John Emmet Tracy as August Cartwright
Sebastian Roché as Ethan Campbell
Michelle Morgan as Gabrielle Kane
Cameron McDonald as Jack Forbes
Malia Pyles as Parker Torres
Guest
"Crisis on Infinite Earths"
Production
Development
In May 2018, The CW president Mark Pedowitz and Arrow lead Stephen Amell announced at The CW's upfront presentation that Batwoman would be introduced in the Arrowverse series' 2018 crossover, "Elseworlds", which aired in December 2018, fighting alongside the other Arrowverse heroes, with Gotham City also appearing. In July 2018, it was reported that the CW was planning to develop a series around the character, to air in 2019 if picked up. The series, said to only be a "script-development deal", was written by Caroline Dries, who would also serve as an executive producer with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter, and the character's co-creator Geoff Johns. The series would be produced by Berlanti Productions and Mad Ghost Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. The following month, Pedowitz noted the pilot would be completed "for mid-season".
In December 2018, Dries submitted a "strong" script for a potential pilot episode, according to Nellie Andreeva of Deadline Hollywood. That led to the series receiving a pilot order from the CW the next month, to be considered for a series order in the 2019–20 television season. As of April 2019, the series was considered "a lock" at The CW, and reportedly had a writing staff in place. On May 7, 2019, The CW ordered the show to series. On October 25, 2019, the series was picked up for a full season of 22 episodes.
Writing
The Batwoman origin story presented in the series is adapted from the Elegy comic book story arc. The events up to the fourth episode predate Batwoman's appearance in "Elseworlds", after which the events surpass the crossover.