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In keeping with tradition, The CW has handed out early renewals to many of its dramas.
The young-skewing network has ordered up The Flash (Season 8), Riverdale (Season 6), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 7), All American (Season 4), Charmed (Season 4), Legacies (Season 4), In the Dark (Season 4), Roswell, New Mexico (Season 4), Batwoman (Season 3) Nancy Drew (Season 3), and Dynasty (Season 5).
The network is also bringing Black Lightning and Supergirl to an end this season, with the former set to return next week and the latter set to return later in the season.
Additionally, Superman & Lois — which is set to bow on Feb. 23 — has received an order for two additional episodes, bringing its Season 1 total to 15.
While the network has not picked up the new Arrowverse series for a second season, it is thought to be a slam-dunk, but the network still wants to wait and see how it performs in its highly-promoted series premiere.
Meanwhile, Walker is getting 5 episodes added to its first season, meaning it will span 18 episodes. The series was The CW’s most-watched premiere in five years and has become a bigger hit when DVR and streaming numbers are factored in.
Fans will follow Jared Padalecki wherever he goes, and we’re not surprised. The series has been middling in the quality department thus far, but many shows start slow and get stronger every week.
Will that be the case for Walker? We’ll need to stay tuned.
“Though we’re just a few weeks into the new season, we wanted to get a strategic head start on next season with these early renewals, which allows our production teams to start laying out story arcs and hiring staff, and at the same time, continues to provide us with a strong, stable schedule to build on for next season,” said CW Chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz in a statement.
“As The CW’s 2020-2021 season kicks into high gear, we are thrilled creatively with the direction of our first new shows out of the gate, Walker and Superman & Lois, that we wanted to order the additional episodes to complete their first seasons, and we are particularly pleased with the huge success of the launch of Walker, which debuted as our most watched series premiere in 5 years.”
With the success of Walker, The CW is off to a decent start after going so long without its original programming due to the pandemic.
Legacies Season 3 is holding up well, pulling in ratings on par with where it left off almost a year ago, which, in today’s TV climate, is something to celebrate.
The bigger success story, however, is All American. Netflix has really elevated the show to new ratings heights after people binged it like crazy during stay at home orders.
The series is on track to have its most-watched and highest-rated season ever.
Additionally, the network has also ordered a spinoff, which will be set in college.
Batwoman got the reboot treatment, and Javicia Leslie has been a welcome delight as the new hero keeping the streets of Gotham City safe.
The series is finally living up to its potential, and it’s all thanks to the show-stopping performance from Leslie.
While the renewals for Nancy Drew, In the Dark, Roswell: New Mexico, and Charmed might be surprising given that two of them have aired two episodes this season, and the other two haven’t aired anything, it is thought that they are big performers in delayed viewing.
A spinoff of Nancy Drew is also in the works, so the network is happy with the performance. More than any other network, The CW makes its money from streaming deals.
Dynasty, despite making little impact in traditional ratings is pretty much funded by Netflix because it recoups its budget through a lucrative deal.
Your thoughts on these early renewals?
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.