The Flash: Network Politics Killed the Original Series, Not Ratings - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Evidently, the original 1990 The Flash show starring John Wesley Shipp was taken down by a bigger villain than Mark Hamill's Trickster: network politics.

According to a series retrospective by Den of Geek, though The Flash did well critically and received TV ratings that "would be considered astronomical by 2020 standards," a number of external factors led to its cancelation. These included its massive budget by 1990 standards, being paired off against more acclaimed titles like Cheers and The Simpsons and getting moved around network times due to extensive coverage of the 1990 MLB playoffs and Gulf War conflict.

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"We finished shooting the last episode, and I think either we found out we were canceled while we were shooting or it was shortly after that," producer Danny Bilson said. "So there was no starting down the path for next season. We knew we were on the bubble, I'm sure. I think it was even a close one that we got picked up for the back nine, so we weren't even close to a sure thing. It didn't feel like a death march at all. It just felt like you knew what the numbers were, and I guess we knew we weren't going to make it."

On whether something more caused the show's cancelation, Shipp admitted, "There was a lot going on behind the scenes that I think contributed to us not getting a second season." Bilson, however, chalked it up to "network politics," revealing that "I heard the next year that the boss' bonus was tied to rating share points and that he traded our 16 for a show that had a 17. I remember hearing that the next year, but I'm not naming any names or anything."

Despite its limited 22-episode run, The Flash retained a devoted following and even influenced its modern-day CW Flash counterpart. Not only was Shipp cast as both Barry Allen's father Henry Allen and Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick but former Flash actors like Amanda Pays, Alex Désert and even Mark Hamill would return as variations of their 1990 characters. This culminated in Shipp's original Flash (confirmed as the Flash of Earth-90) appearing in the Arrowverse's "Elseworlds" and "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossovers, sacrificing his life in the latter to protect the Multiverse and give the TV character proper closure.

Executive produced by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, The Flash starred John Wesley Shipp as Barry Patrick Allen (The Flash), Amanda Pays as Dr. Tina McGee, Alex Désert as Julio Mendez, Mike Genovese, Vito D'Ambrosio, Biff Manard and Richard Belzer.

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Ben Wasserman (182 Articles Published)

Ben Wasserman is a graduate student from NYU's M.A. Cinema Studies Program at Tisch. He's previously written for the pop culture websites ComicsVerse and mxdwn Movies and has been mxdwn's film editor since 2019. Ben loves all things film, television, gaming and comic-related, especially when it comes to Marvel.