'The Flash' Season 4 Is Coming To Netflix Sooner Than You Think
We've barely had time to finish digesting the way The CW's amazing four way crossover "Crisis On Earth-X" ended, which saw Barry and Iris exchange wedding vows, before everything went all awry. (Because of course it did.) Now we're facing down the mid-season finale of The Flash on Dec. 5 and a long holiday break until the show returns. But for those who are waiting until the fourth season to end before binge watching, the wait is even longer. When will The Flash Season 4 hit Netflix?
The Flash is currently scheduled for a full season run of episodes on the CW, with 23 installments altogether. When we hit the mid-season finale next week, we'll have gone through nine of them, leaving 14 more to go in the winter and spring. That ninth episode, "Don't Run," will clean up the pieces from last week's four part alternate universe "Crisis" and prep fans for the long winter break.
Check out the synopsis:
Amunet (guest star Katie Sackhoff) kidnaps Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and puts meta-dampener handcuffs on her to keep her from turning into Killer Frost. Amunet tells Caitlin she needs her to perform a tricky medical task and if Caitlin fails, Amunet will kill her. Meanwhile, The Thinker (guest star Neil Sandilands) traps The Flash (Grant Gustin) in a speedster-proof prison. With the clock ticking, The Team doesn’t have the time or resources to track both Caitlin and Barry so Iris (Candice Patton) is forced to choose who to save.
Then it will be a long wait until the week of Jan. 15 for the CW's DC slate of show to return. Supergirl comes back first on the Monday and The Flash on the Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, working as the lead in for The CW's newest entry into this world, Black Lightning. Though The CW has confirmed that will be the week everything returns, there are no episode titles or synopsis to let up know what we're waiting for. At least, not yet.
With 14 installments between then and the end of the series, there will most likely be at least one more shorter break, around the spring break period, which falls around the last week of March or first week of April. (The CW hasn't announced if they are taking it, or which week it would fall on when they do.)
Assuming a 15 week run until the Season 4 finale, that would put the end of the DC season on the week of April 23, with Supergirl ending on the Monday, and then The Flash and Black Lightning ending Tuesday the 24th, etc.
The way The CW has structured their contract with Netflix is far kinder to fans than any other broadcast network. Unlike, say parent company CBS or rival channels like ABC and NBC, The CW doesn't wait months to let Netflix start streaming their content for eager teenage binge watchers. It's just an eight day waiting period, and *boom* everything arrives at once. If we have these estimated dates right, that will happen starting on May 1 for Supergirl. The Flash will then follow May 2, 2018.
This has been a great boost to shows like Riverdale, who began their season just as the deal went into effect. The DC slate of TV shows have not been quite as fortunate as of yet, but with Black Lightning joining the team of series, new fans will probably be pulled in.
These sorts of cross over events can cause fans of one show to start picking up the other shows on Netflix in order to know what's going on in the shared universe. With the success of "Crisis" being trumpeted across the internet this week, one can assume there will be another one, bringing in our newest characters, and soon.
