“The Flash” Premiere Ratings, Casting News, + Reverse Flash Set Pictures!

By: Adam Basciano

“The Flash” had its series premiere Tuesday night on The CW, and quickly surged to ratings success. The show pulled in a 1.9 rating in the coveted 18-49 age demographic. In actual viewers, that equates to 4.79 million viewers. This is a big and record setting win for The CW. “THE FLASH is The CW’s second most watched series premiere ever, behind only THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, and is the network’s third highest-rated series premiere ever in adults 18-49, following only THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and 90210. In fact, THE FLASH debut was the most watched telecast of any CW show since the series premiere of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES on 9/10/09.” This is great for the prospective longevity of the show going forward. As an added bonus for a hard core DC Comics fan like myself, I’m absolute extatic that “The Flash” on a much smaller network, beat “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” in the ratings. That just makes me smile.

While a written review of the pilot, as well as a podcast on the subject are coming, there are casting announcements for future episodes. First up, Victor Garber (Alias, Argo) has been cast in the role of Dr. Martin Stein, the other half of Firestorm. “Dr. Stein is a brilliant but arrogant nuclear physicist who has sacrificed everything, including a marriage, for his work in transmutation. After he discovers the particle accelerator fused him with the younger, more impulsive Ronnie Raymond (Tomorrow People‘s Robbie Amell), he races to find a way to separate the two before it’s too late.” More casting news sees actor Andy Mientus (Smash) cast as villain the Pied Piper. “Hartley Rathaway, who later becomes Pied Piper and a member of the Rogues, is a genius who used to work at STAR Labs until he had a falling out with the mysterious Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), the brains and money behind the particle accelerator. Following the explosion that created the metahumans, Hartley lost his hearing but started creating sonic weapons that he uses to destroy Harrison’s latest creation: The Flash (Grant Gustin).”

Finally, the pilot episode heavily teased the famous rogue the Reverse Flash. Now set pictures on location reveal images of the Reverse Flash fighting The Flash. I think the costume looks great, and is very faithful to the comic books.