The CW DC shows have been very good about their casting to date, even bringing back the likes of John Wesley Shipp to take up his 1990’s Flash role again. With the myriad cameos of ‘Crisis On Infinite Earths’, it’s clear that they love their continuity gags, but the upcoming second season of Batwoman will bring them their first real recasting challenge. I’m excited to see what Javicia Leslie brings to the show but I’m also leery that fans are going to respond with disinterest, leading to today’s new Becky query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) has also heard unsupported rumors about a new Supergirl after Melissa Benoist leaves the show, which I’m less okay with, asking: Are you okay with recasting characters in an ongoing show?
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Generally, if it’s dealt with inside the story and given a valid-feeling explanation, then recasting is fine; Doctor Who springs to mind of doing this really well. If it’s not, it can be more problematic; Bewitched and Roseanne being the biggest examples. But I can think of examples where it didn’t bother me; Spartacus comes first to mind.
Batwoman, to me, isn’t recasting though, it’s replacing. It’s not “this is the same character with a new actor in the role,” it’s “the character that served this story function is leaving and a new character is put in it’s place.” In this, it’s more like Valerie/Hogan Family or Two and a Half Men.
It depends on how much I care about the character and how much I like the show. If its really good, I’m not okay with any sort of fundamental change. I might get used to it, but it will probably diminish my enjoyment, unless it somehow turns out to be amazing replacement. If its handled well in story, I’m usually fine with it, its the behind scenes production changes I don’t like.