The CW is renewing 12 of its scripted series, including a pick at the start of Season 2 for its freshman drama “Walker”, which stars Jared Padalecki.
The other shows are: “All American” (renewed for season 4), “Batwoman” (renewed for season 3), “Charmed” (season 4), “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” (season 7), “Dynasty” (season 5) “The Flash” (Season 8), “In The Dark” (Season 4), “Legacies” (Season 4), “Nancy Drew” (Season 3), “Riverdale” (Season 6) and “Roswell , New Mexico ”(Season 4). “Legends of Tomorrow”, “In The Dark”, “Dynasty” and “Roswell, New Mexico” have yet to debut with their new seasons this year.
Freshman programs “Kung Fu” and “The Republic of Sarah” were not among the first renewals, although both programs have not yet premiered on the station.
In addition, the CW has ordered five additional episodes for Season 1 of “Walker” and two additional episodes for “Superman & Lois”. This leads “Walker” to a total of 18 episodes for his first season and 15 for “Superman & Lois”.
“Although we are only a few weeks into the new season, we wanted to have a strategic advantage in the next season with these early renewals, which allows our production teams to start plotting history and hiring staff, while at the same time, continuing to provide us a strong and stable schedule to build for next season, ”said Mark Pedowitz, president and CEO of The CW. “As the CW’s 2020-2021 season gains speed, we are creatively enthusiastic about directing our first new shows, ‘Walker’ and ‘Superman & Lois’, which we wanted to order additional episodes to complete its first seasons, and we are particularly pleased with the huge success of the release of ‘Walker’, which debuted as the premiere of our most-watched series in 5 years. “
The CW has always made such radical renewal announcements, but this one comes as television networks continue to struggle with the consequences of the pandemic. For the second year in a row, the broadcast pilot season has been suspended, as broadcasters are still working on the programs they ordered last year.
The CW is also planning to deploy several programs on its schedule through backdoor pilots. The network is currently preparing such a pilot for a potential “Black Lightning” spinoff built around the character Painkiller that will air during the fourth and final season of the mothership program. It was also recently announced that Tian Richards will make his first appearance as Tom Swift in an episode of “Nancy Drew”, potentially creating his own spinoff. More recently, the network announced that Geffri Maya would star in a backdoor pilot for an “All American” spinoff.