The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz will be the first to tell you that Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki were the secret to the success of former network juggernaut Supernatural. Now, he’s hoping that one of them — Ackles — will help reinvigorate the recently concluded franchise with The Winchesters, a prequel series as The CW makes its third attempt to launch an offshoot from the 15-season hit.
The lineup includes new seasons of Walker, The Flash, Riverdale, Batwoman and All American (which has quietly become the network’s top-rated show in the young adult demo after its previous seasons debuted on Netflix and Supernatural concluded). The Flash will launch with a five-episode crossover event featuring heroes from the other DC universe shows. There are also new series: The reimagined game show Legends of the Hidden Temple, a new U.S. version of the British reality show Killer Camp and a reboot of the sci-fi mystery drama series 4400.
A new lineup of Saturday programming and a surge of post-pandemic spending by Madison Avenue helped the CW boost its volume of advertising commitments in TV’s annual “upfront” market, a sign that advertisers continue to make the medium a central part of their plans even as they are showing new interest in chasing viewers to new streaming venues. The network, jointly owned by ViacomCBS and AT&T’s WarnerMedia, has wrapped its upfront negotiations, according to a person familiar with the matter, and believes it has obtained a greater volume of advertising for its next programming cycle than it did in 2020.
The youth-skewing network will program the entire week for the first time and is going for a bumper unscripted slate across the weekend as it has originals on Saturday nights for the first time. The broadcaster is moving a slew of shows to new nights for the upcoming season including new spots for Riverdale, which is being paired with The Flash, Batwoman and Nancy Drew, with DC’s Legends of Tomorrow moving back to the fall after a midseason experiment.
The CW has given the green light to two scripted series to join its 2021-22 slate: a spinoff of its drama All American and Naomi, based on a DC Comics title. A remake of The 4400 and competition series Legends of the Hidden Temple, which previously received series orders, will also join the broadcaster’s lineup next season.
Exclusives
Just in time for the unveiling of its 2021-22 schedule next week, The CW has secured its largest affiliate group for the next season and beyond. The broadcast network and Nexstar Media Group (as well as its operating partners) have reached multi-year agreements to renew CW affiliations in 37 markets across the country (28 Nexstar- and 9 partner-owned television stations), which cover more than 31% of the U.S. audience, serving more than 38 million television households.
The network will program across all seven nights of the week beginning Oct. 2, offering 14 hours of primetime each week with the addition of the new night.
The Critics Choice Association said Wednesday that the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards will air live on The CW on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, at 7-10 p.m. ET (delayed PT). The show will continue its combined film and television awards format, honoring the best in cinematic and televised/streaming achievement. Location and additional details for the January 2022 ceremony will be announced later.
The iconic Nickelodeon game show Legends of the Hidden Temple, now featuring adults as contestants, is being revived at The CW.
The renewal announcement for Kung Fu comes just under a month after the series premiered. It has enjoyed strong ratings on the network since then, making the renewal all but a certainty. It was also the only scripted CW series this season still waiting on word of a renewal going into upfronts.
The CW has made its summer plans. The network today set premiere dates for new seasons of series including DC’s Stargirl, Masters of Illusion and Roswell, New Mexico, among others, and announced a new date for Riverdale‘s return. It also set the final sixth season of Supergirl to launch in August.
Over the past year, the scheduling chiefs at Fox, The CW, NBC, CBS and ABC have busted out every trick in the book in the name of “keeping the lights on,” and especially during a long stretch where it was unclear when productions might resume (and how slow a trickle of episodes would then follow).
The CW and HBO Max have jointly acquired Wellington Paranormal, a spinoff of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s 2014 vampire mockumentary (which has also spawned FX’s series What We Do in the Shadows). The show is the first joint acquisition by the two outlets; HBO Max parent company WarnerMedia jointly owns The CW with ViacomCBS.
It’s case closed for Burden of Truth. The Canadian legal drama, which airs in the U.S. on The CW, will end with the current season. The show’s official Facebook page announced the news, revealing that Thursday’s episode (on Canadian broadcaster CBC) will serve as the series closer.
The network orders original U.S. versions of British series Would I Lie To You? and Killer Camp. Additionally, the CW has acquired episodes of British edition of Would I Lie To You? for broadcast in the U.S.
The CW’s Superman & Lois is coming off The CW schedule temporarily after being impact by COVID-19. The show will take a break after its fifth episode and will return for new episodes and to finish up the season on May 18. Meanwhile, Supergirl, will premiere its sixth and final season on Tuesday March 30 in that same timeslot.
The first episode of Superman & Lois is the most-streamed series premiere in The CW’s history, the network said Thursday. The DC Entertainment series’ first episode has been watched by a total of 3.25 million total viewers, according to Nielsen’s live-plus-seven measurement. That marks an 86% growth over the seven days following the Feb. 23 premiere.
The rookie DC Comics drama from Greg Berlanti earns a speedy pickup after airing only one episode. The second episode airs tonight.
The CW announced a slew of premiere dates today, including new dramas Kung Fu and The Republic of Sarah and new seasons of Dynasty, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and In the Dark. The network also set a new later time slot for Batwoman and a new/old night for Charmed.
The youth-skewing broadcaster has handed pilot orders to three projects: Ava DuVernay’s superhero drama Naomi, the live-action reboot of The Powerpuff Girls and a millennial nun dramedy exec produced by Jennie Snyder Urman. The network has also ordered a reboot of classic sci-fi drama The 4400 straight-to-series.
The CW and its ad-supported cable sibling on the WarnerMedia side, TBS and TNT, have teamed up to give two tentpole new series an extra promotional boost with a one-episode cross-network rebroadcasts.
The CW is bringing back the majority of its current slate next season after making a bumper renewal order including a second season of Walker. The network has made the early decision to hand renewals to 12 current series with Mark Pedowitz sticking with stability as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on network’s schedules, the development process and pilot season. All American, Batwoman, Charmed, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Dynasty, The Flash, In The Dark, Legacies, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, Roswell, New Mexico and Walker will all return for the 2021-22 season.
The network is developing a spinoff of the series — whose third season premiere recorded its biggest audience ever — called All American: Homecoming. It’s set to air as a planted episode later in the season and will focus on Geffri Maya’s recurring character, Simone Hicks, and another athlete as they make their way to a prestigious historically Black college.
The new app combines the latest programming from The CW and fan-favorite library series from CW Seed Free on Vizio SmartCast televisions.
The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz talks about doing more straight-to-series orders, the future of the DC brand and finding hope in freshman fare like Walker, Superman & Lois and Kung Fu.
The series, inspired by the real-life sacrifices, tragedies and triumphs of athletes will debut as specials on The CW before streaming on The CW App and as an eight-part docuseries on CW Seed. They will be co-hosted by Yogi Roth (r) and former NFL player Spencer Paysinger (l).
The CW has picked up two of its unscripted series for new seasons. Both Penn & Teller: Fool Us and World’s Funniest Animals have been renewed, the former for an eighth cycle and the latter for a second cycle.
A team member working on the CW series The Flash in Vancouver has tested positive for Covid-19. The asymptomatic diagnosis was confirmed through the rigorous testing protocols implemented by The Flash studio Warner Bros. TV for all of its production employees. Out of an abundance of caution, production on The Flash has been temporarily suspended and contact tracing has been initiated.
The CW on Friday announced that the upcoming fourth season will serve as the final one for the Greg Berlanti-produced DC Comics drama. The younger-skewing broadcast network is already working on a Black Lightning spinoff, having earlier this month put Painkiller into development.
Charmed is the latest scripted series whose restarted production has been disrupted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Filming on the CW drama has been paused for a day Wednesday as an individual from the production has tested positive for COVID-19, Deadline has learned. CBS Studios, which is behind Charmed, is following COVID protocols and conducting contact tracing, sources said.
