While many superhero shows feature male characters such as The Flash or Daredevil, several of the most recent series, such as iZombie and Supergirl, feature female heroes. We compare the average demand over the last four weeks for superhero titles split by the gender of the main protagonist in the United States. In this analysis, we use five DC titles—Arrow, Gotham and The Flash as the male shows and iZombie and Supergirl as the female shows—because these titles have the most demand overall.
(26 October – 22 November 2015)
From the plot, it is clear that the shows with a male hero had more demand, on average, than shows with a female protagonist.
One reason for this difference may be the age of the shows: as mentioned, both female superhero shows are relatively new. Supergirl is new this season and iZombie only began in March. On the other hand, Arrow is currently airing season four and the other two are on their second season. Therefore, the male shows may have a more established audience while the female shows may be still growing.
Contact us here to track changes in demand as the superhero TV landscape changes over time.