Make no mistake: As well-chronicled on these here pages of TVLine over the past several months, The CW is going to look very different come fall. But amid all the changes, what handful of familiar shows do you hope to see live on at the network?
As recently as November, Perry Sook, the CEO of new network owner Nexstar, said that “there may be a couple of shows” from The CW’s current slate that carry over into the 2023-24 TV season. And within the past week, our sister site THR reported that The CW “only expects to have three U.S. scripted original series next season, including the recently renewed All American.” (The CW had no comment for TVLine on what its schedule for next season might look like.)
So, with All American already renewed, that leaves two (2) other U.S. scripted shows to air on The CW next season. The CW currently has six shows still in limbo, plus the upcoming DC series Gotham Knights (which bows March 14). And that’s assuming that none of those remaining slots are filled by new series, though The CW doesn’t really have much in development.
Which TWO of the SEVEN shows detailed below, listed oldest to newest, would YOU most like to see get renewed by the revamping CW? Read on to review the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses, then vote in the poll at bottom. (Poll closes Jan. 30 at noon ET.)
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Superman & Lois
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW About to enter Season 3 (on Wednesday, March 14), Superman & Lois last year nearly tied Walker as The CW’s second-most watched program (with a weekly audience of 1.6 million) — a data point Nexstar would be silly to ignore.
That said, with James Gunn about to announce the first phase of his and fellow DC Studios CEO Peter Safran’s 10-year plan for the new DCU, the decision may frankly be taken out of Nexstar’s hands, seeing as Gunn has promised much stronger continuity between film and TV fare.
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Kung Fu
Image Credit: The CW The bad news: Out of the currently airing candidates for renewal, Kung Fu this season ties Walker Independence for the lowest rating (0.1) in the typically coveted 18-49 demo.
The good news: Nexstar has spoken of its desire to target an audience that is markedly older than the 18-34 demo the OG CW famously programmed for. So in this instance, Kung Fu‘s older-skewing audience may look pretty good!…?
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Walker
Image Credit: The CW Walker would seem a lock to lasso one of the available spots on Nexstar-The CW’s 2023-24 slate, seeing as it far and away delivers the largest audience (1.36 million) of any currently airing CW series.
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All American: Homecoming
Image Credit: The CW The question is, does the fact that All American is already renewed (and pretty early on, at that!) mean that Nexstar would want the spinoff as well? Or, more likely, does it consider its All American dance card filled?
Not helping matters, Homecoming is delivering the smallest audience (611,000 viewers, with delayed playback) of The CW’s currently airing dramas.
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Walker Independence
Image Credit: The CW This one is a trickier call than Homecoming, assuming that its own sire, Walker, makes the cut. Why? Because “Windy” is delivering the second-largest weekly audience of current CW dramas and it skews older than Walker. (Plus, it’s not a contemporary offshoot a la Homecoming, and execs may convince themselves its their version of the Yellowstone prequel 1883.) A win-win for the new owner’s plan to target an older crowd?
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The Winchesters
Image Credit: The CW Coin toss here, as the Supernatural prequel lands right in the middle of the current CW pack with the third-largest audience and in a three-way tie with a 0.2 demo rating. But does a moody, period supernatural drama appeal to the same audience that will be hopefully coming to the new CW for, you know. golf?
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Gotham Knights
Image Credit: The CW First of all, you may ask, “What is Gotham Knights?” Debuting Tuesday, March 14 (leading out of Superman & Lois), this DC series opens with Bruce Wayne’s murder, for which his adopted son Turner Hayes is framed. Supernatural alum Misha Collins plays District Attorney Harvey Dent, who, yes, will at some point become Two-Face.
Now, while you may quickly write off a Batman-less Batman show that has yet to premiere as a candidate to claim one of the new CW’s precious slots, I got to thinking: If Nexstar wanted a token piece of superhero fare, on the cheap, here it is. Also, whereas a Superman show might get crowded out by James Gunn’s grand plan for the new DCU, Gotham Knights involves deeper cuts (the Joker’s daughter Duela, Cluemaster) that surely present no overlap. Also, with Superman & Lois as a lead-in, it might retain enough of an audience to merit consideration.
Alongside, say, a diverse sports drama and a Texas-set procedural, a DC team-up series might round things out nicely for the new CW.
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