According to Larry Teng, who posted a thread to X on Thursday, no one at The CW gave anyone on the show a heads-up that Nancy Drew wasn’t being renewed for a fifth season, instead waiting until the studio reached out about a different matter to relay the unfortunate news.
First up is Riverdale, which kicks off its time-bending seventh season on Wednesday, March 29, at 9 p.m. ET, following a new episode of The Flash. Nancy Drew‘s fourth and final outing then begins on Wednesday, May 31, at 8 p.m., taking over The Flash’s time slot.
The drama starring Kennedy McMann as the teen sleuth will end with its upcoming fourth season on the broadcast network that is now owned by station group Nexstar. Sources say cast and crew were informed of the decision Wednesday afternoon. Season 4 is currently in production, with that fourth and final season set to be part of The CW’s midseason schedule next year. (A formal premiere date has not yet been announced.)
The CW has handed early renewals to a large portion of its scripted schedule: All American, The Flash, Kung Fu, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, Superman & Lois and Walker. Traditionally, the youth-skewing network hands out early renewals, sometimes as early as January, to the majority of its slate — a boon for its owners CBS and Warner Bros. However, this year, the broadcaster’s future is up in the air with local affiliate group Nexstar circling and Deadline understands that a new majority owner will likely have a say in some of its renewal decisions.
When the first output deal between Netflix and CW parents CBS and Warner Bros was announced in 2011, it was hailed as groundbreaking and, with its $1 billion windfall, a lifeline that may have helped save the then money-losing upstart network. The pact, re-uped by both sides in 2016 with some modifications, was up again this spring, and it’s not being renewed. The three new CW series — Batwoman, Nancy Drew and Riverdale spinoff Katy Keen— are being shopped for streaming deals individually by their respective studios.
