It's been impressive to watch The CW find its voice over the last few years, considering the station was a creative dead zone for a large part of its early existence, for reason not entirely under the control of Warner Bros. and CBS, the network's parent companies. Originally, there weren't much of any risks being taken really, and when the network attempted to replicate the hits of more established networks, the product rarely hit the sweet spot of being both familiar and inventive. In the post-Twilight era, however, they picked up supernatural melodramas like The Originals and The Vampire Diaries, and the network became the kind of place for fans of more adult-themed soap operas. Then DC housed Arrow and The Flash under their banner, and now the network has at least one great show - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - and a possible humongous hit-in-waiting with the second season of Supergirl.

For fans of a lot of these shows that have done away with cable, however, the last few seasons have been a pain. Though the first season of The Flash was regularly available, keeping up with season 2 of the show remained an issue on streaming platforms, with Hulu proving incredibly hit and miss with what they offered. The same thing goes for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, as both were put under the rolling-five rubric, which allows for only five episodes of the season to be allowed at once. Well, now, that might be changing for the better. After reports came in last week that discussions had ended between The CW and Hulu without an amicable deal being made, it now looks that in-season streaming for CW series will be largely handled by the CW's own website, with broader streaming strategy leaning in favor of a tentative new model with Netflix.

Netflix and The CW are very close to finalizing a deal, as Variety reports, that would have full seasons of the network's shows going onto the streaming service as short as two weeks after the season finale hits. For fans of season-long binging, like this writer, this will make it incredibly easier to keep up with CW's burgeoning set of series, including the passable Arrow, without wondering where you are in the season and what you have missed. Hulu will no longer be in business with CW, it would seem, with the rolling-five set-up still being used on CW's own streaming site and VOD partners.

To be fair, Hulu attempted to push CW to offer expanded season access to Hulu Plus members, but it was a non-starter with CW apparently, which will reportedly be out of their contract with Hulu come October. There's quite a lot of fiscal nonsense that goes on beyond all of this, but the deal makes sense on simplistic terms too. With Netflix apparently planning to jack-up their subscription prices in the near future, they will need to show some real benefits of staying with the service, especially considering that piracy is still going strong and they are offering less movies and more mediocre series. Having series like Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl ready to be streamed in their entirety 14 days after the new season ends is a very good reason to keep a subscription. It's a major deal, with more than a few nuances that have the ability to change how negotiations like this go down in the future, but right now, I'm really just wondering when I can catch up with Barry Allen. And yes, I know that makes me a monster.