Legacies Cancelled After 4 Seasons, Ending the Vampire Diaries Franchise’s 13-Year Run on The CW
The Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted is longer accepting applications — The CW’s Legacies has been canceled after four seasons.
Legacies‘ June 16 season finale (9/8c) will now have to serve as its series finale. TVLine readers chose Legacies as the one bubble show they most wanted to be renewed, but it wasn’t to be.
And this isn’t just the end of one show. Legacies, as its name suggests, has quite a bit of history behind it, being the third series in the Vampire Diaries franchise. This fall will mark the first time in 13 years that a show from that series won’t be on The CW’s schedule for the new season.
The CW’s atypical “bloodbath” of cancellations this season — seven series were cancelled on May 12 alone — is likely due to the network’s rumored upcoming sale (perhaps to the Nexstar affiliate group) and thus its uncertain future.
Executive producer Julie Plec had this to say in the wake of the show’s axing:
It’s the Red Wedding at WBTV/CW today. Much more to say, but not today.
Loads of gratitude coming for fans and cast and crew in future tweets. But today, we mourn.
— Julie Plec (@julieplec) May 12, 2022
As of April 26, Legacies this season has averaged 760,000 total weekly viewers and a 0.2 demo rating (with Live+7 playback factored in), down from its Season 3 tallies (1 mil/0.3). Out of the 19 dramas The CW has aired this TV season, it ranks No. 12 in audience and only trails All American, Superman & Lois and The Flash in the demo. Of note, its audience enjoys one of the two largest DVR bumps (+107%) of any CW series.
Legacies centered around Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell), a vampire-werewolf-witch “tribrid” first introduced on The Originals. It followed her years at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, a supernatural institution in Mystic Falls led — for better or worse — by Alaric Saltzman (Matt Davis).
Additional series regulars included Aria Shahghasemi as Landon Kirby, a phoenix who stole Hope’s heart; Kaylee Bryant as Josie Saltzman, a powerful witch who left town midway through Season 4; Jenny Boyd as Lizzie Saltzman, a newly transitioned heretic; Quincy Fouse as Milton Greasley (aka MG), a good-hearted vampire with a stacked comic book collection; Chris Lee as Kaleb, a vampire who’s also kinda-sorta part dragon; Ben Levin as Jed, an alpha werewolf who experienced a sexual awakening after falling for a demigod; Leo Howard as Ethan, a normal high school football player who inherited invisibility powers from Malivore; and Omono Okojie as Cleo, a legendary muse-turned-TBD.
TVLine’s 2022 Renewal/Cancellation Scorecard has been updated to reflect Legacies‘ fate. What’s your reaction to the news? Drop your thoughts in a comment below.
WTF CW!!!
I was so hoping for another season I loved the fact that they kept the same story line. I’m upset by this please don’t CW don’t cancel my show.
Upset
Ditto! They renewed Riverdale, which turned into horrible show, and every almost actor wants it to end too. Nancy Drew got renewed, blah. I mean WTH this just sucks!!! You cancelled all your decent shows CW and whoever is buying you…big mistake!! HUGE!!
Ditto
That sucks. Why cancel a series that has that many viewers it makes bo sence
I loved riverdale but I hate this season they should have gotten canceled
This IS the biggest mistake so far, Legacies is one of the BEST shows,and people really enjoy watching!!
We want season 5 of Legacies, to give it a decent ending.
I truly don’t understand why they cancel the great shows but keep the stupid shows like shows like Riverdale which is a stupid ass show but they cancel legacies meaning for the first time in 13 years there won’t be a vampire show
I Agree with Riverdale. its reallybad. Nancy Drew. Lol why is it still on. CW made some huge mistakes. Does anyone who makes the decisions watch the shows ?
nancy drew is still on bc its an amazing show with the best fandom. u guys should’ve made ur renew legacies trend like we did with renewdrew
The CW is currently in acquisition to be bought by a company called Nexstar, a media group based in Texas. From what I’ve researched, Nexstar is buying up smaller networks with the goal of producing centrist conservative content. These shows may have been axed to make the CW more appealing in acquisition. If fans want to save any of these shows, particularly Legacies, they’ll need to get LOUD. We are a key age demographic that networks desire. Campaigns have worked in the past to save shows. Time to make some noise.
I’m soooo sad.. It’s unfair please noooooooo
This is sad!!!! So many years of VD series sucks it is coming to an end!!!
NOOOOOOOO!
They could of given it another shortened season so it could all end nicely! This show is 1 of the best they have! Keep the flash which I stopped watching 2 yrs ago cuz or how stupid it has gotten but kill this. CW you suck!!
I agree I am so mad this is in my top 10 of favorite shows thos pisses me off
could’ve*
Come on!! You’ve got to finish it. Wrap it up. So irritating.
Heartbroken. :( Here’s hoping Ben and Jed can get a satisfying conclusion to their all-too-short story.
Hoping for the same! I agree it should have at least had a shortened season. And I was really hopeful when it wasn’t announced earlier, that it meant they were saving it to pair with The Winchesters (Supernatural prequel). I guess not :(
The CW isn’t letting up!
Yet another great show getting the axe. Let’s Hope another network picks up the show.
wait so is it still posible for their to be a season 5
wait so is their still a chance in getting season 5
I knew when they bumped the rest of the season to June this was coming.
But they pick up Riverdale. Which is by far way past it’s expiration.
The Flash is more staler than Riverdale! Mostly because it’s two seasons older than Riverdale.
More staler? Sorry, had to do it. Also, Riverdale is ridiculous.
Riverdale has proven to be able to reinvent itself many times now. Meanwhile on Legacies barely anything has happened over four seasons
^that is not true about legacies
yeah there was alot of filler but they picked up the pace lately
Oh I know, I cannot believe they canceled this, Legends of Tomorrow & Batwoman. Yet they keep Riverdale which is getting less viewers, along with Nancy Drew. The only thing I think of is it costs less for them to make those series.
but nancy drews fandom shows it’s worthy of getting renewed. did u not see the #renewdrew trending about 10 times??
I don’t watch this but this cancellation I’m shocked over.
The CW is only going to have 3 current shows on its slate for next season at this rate. Superman & Lois, All American: Homecoming, and The Flash (which should have been canceled instead of Batwoman) #HBOMaxSaveBatwoman
Kung Fu as well. Stargirl probably airing in fall. Im happy Batwoman atleast had a good ending.
If HBOMax was going to save Batwoman they would have already done it as they were part of the HBO streaming deal with Stargirl and Superman and Lois. WBD said no.
They also kept All American.
HBO Max will put the Warner shows that were renewed on their streaming service. CBS will do the same with Paramount Plus. Other than that, they’re not going to save anything themselves. Not to mention, streaming services cancel everything too. Look at Netflix. lol
The CW is lucky if it’s still around as a network at this time next year. lol This is all a result of the impending sale.
So how do we start a petition to have Netflix pick it up and save it. This one hurt out of everything CW cancelled!!!!
Netflix already passed on it, they had the streaming rights to it and decided to stop writing checks for more episodes, so WBD canceled it.
Where did you hear/see that?
It’s just putting 2 and 2 together. All CW shows premiering prior to the 2019 TV season were on a streaming deal with Netflix, only The Flash, Riverdale, and All-American were renewed. Thus you can say a deal between Netflix and WBD or CBS wasn’t worked out with the others resulting in cancelation.
Legacies premiered in 2018. A lower-rated show that premiered after 2019, Nancy Drew, was renewed. That theory doesn’t really hold much water, although you are right in a more general sense that financials – including losing some income from the likes of Netflix – played a role with the network up for sale.
Nancy Drew is on a deal with HBO Max so that was them dealing with themselves and CBS. Also factoring in the CW ratio of WBD to CBS shows on the schedule.
Another way to say it is the financials made more sense for CBS to pay for Nancy Drew on HBO Max then it did for WBD to pay for Legacies on Netflix. They are also different studios on a joint venture so ratings between the two doesn’t matter only CBS vs CBS and WBD vs WBD ratings matter.
No, it still holds water. It is literally what’s happening with all these cancellations. Netflix doesn’t have to pay for the streaming rights anymore, because that deal is over, which means they don’t have to pick up any additional episodes. Netflix cancels its own shows all the time anyway, after like one season. lol
Like Sean said, Nancy Drew is an outlier. They’re putting it on HBO Max, so Warner did save it – for their OWN service. That is precisely why CBS and Warner are selling the CW, they don’t need it anymore now that they have their own streaming services. It’s also why Netflix is struggling now, because a lot of their content is now being put on the individual streaming services of the production companies. Hence, why all the Marvel shows on Netflix were canned. Disney started putting all of their content on Disney Plus.
This fall, Hulu will lose streaming rights to One Chicago. Once Universal’s deal with Hulu expires, they will be moved exclusively to Peacock. Right now, you can stream One Chicago’s newest episodes lives and the next day, just like Paramount Plus. But once the Hulu deal ends, the entire One Chicago library will only be available for streaming on Peacock. These studios and networks are taking the streaming rights back from Netflix and Hulu.
Exactly. The per episode license fee from Netflix goes a long way towards paying the per episode costs to produce each series under the deal. HBO Max paying for a Warner Bros series really is just taking a dollar from your left pocket and placing in your right. Its not Netflix money. So you’re going to want the HBO Max stuff to be what your viewers are watching in big numbers, like Superman & Lois.
ah a fellow person that understands….in the end its always about the money
With the Netflix money all but dried up its no surprise that both Paramount & Warner Bros have no desire to shovel more money into the incinerator to keep the network alive. So if that makes cutting the dead weight from the lineup so be it. It’s harsh but in todays climate funding many of these shows without third party license cash is stupid.
Bingo, its all reminiscent of the UPN/WB merger and most recently the FOX shakeup. There’s going to be a lot of causalities due to the new structure.
Exactly. Now that CBS and Warner both have their OWN streaming services, they don’t need Netflix or the CW anymore. That’s why they’re selling the network. All they have to do now is deal with each other and put whatever shows are doing well on their respective streaming services. Some are already on there. I believe Walker is on HBO Max already.
It’s been good, but definitely slowing…..they need to get Klaus back for a finale….maybe Caroline too….
once again they cant just get klaus back if the actor dont want back, he’s made that clear a dozen times
Roswell is cut. Dynasty is cut. Naomi, you’re gone. Legacies, I like your hustle, that’s why it was so hard to cut you.
Congratulations, the rest of you made the 22-23 season.
Except you, you, and you.
Naomi will get another season. So will Kung Fu. Streaming/DVR numbers are good. No one but senior citizens watch live tv unless it’s sports.
The Arrowverse is done. Flash got awful 3 years ago. Should have ended. Charmed never worked. Superman n Lois is sooo boring. One season was enough. Stargirl season 1 was really good. Season 2, not so much.
where did u hear naomi is getting a season 2?
Naomi is cancelled.
Naomi was already canelled earlier today.
S&L and Stargirl are 2 of the best shows on broadcast TV
LOL “No one but senior citizens watch live tv unless it’s sports.”
34 years old is a senior citizen now? Because that’s how old I am, and I DO watch live tv as well as streaming.
this is bittersweet cause legacies improved alot lately but this franchise has been going on so long ive been ready for it to end for a while
by the time the show ends i think there will only be a handful of lost opportunities they didnt cross paths and sadly wasted too much time on filler like motw, therapy box, musical.
it was good while it lasted, im hearing rumors of 4th show/3rd spin off but lets just wait and see
I dont think so. I think for now this is the end of the vampire diaries franchise.
ive heard rumor of a show they want to place on hbo max, idk if i can say about what
Supposedly a soft reboot of The Vampire Diaries, which in my opinion is too soon for that, but this is Hollywood, not famous for great decision making
idk where u heard that but i heard a spin off involving some of the legacies characters, idk if i can say who
i do believe one day tvd will be remade and perhaps closer to the books
The bad news just keep on coming. They really should have kept this one!
This has been an especially bloody day today!
The cancellation news has been a real slaughterhouse today
What is going on with the CW cancelling so many of their shows? They renew shows that aren’t as good, but they cancel Legacies?
Its the perfect storm of Netflix trimming the fat, WB/Discovery Merger, and the CW up for sale. Not the same old blank checks of previous years. WBD and CBS making choices for their bottom line.
Bingo. I know it’s hard to accept for fans, but this is still a business, where profit is the only thing that matters. It’s not a charity. They no longer have to keep everything, because the network never made a profit in its entire existence. lol
I left a long comment but it’s gone. Whatever. But this sucks and I’m so done with the CW. So what they have now is a bunch of men-lead dramas, and Riverdale. Cancelled pretty much every show with leading ladies. Screw you, CW. Very very easy to see what is going on. (Also, no one gives a crap about Winchesters, CW)
If you want Riverdale to die just tell people to stop watching the show on Netflix so they won’t pick it up anymore.
You might not have much of a choice in being “done with the CW.” Once it’s sold, it probably won’t be around much longer anyway. I’ll be surprised if it isn’t dead this time next year. lol It never made a profit, both studios in this merger are selling their shares, and it’s unknown what the new owners are going to do. But, this bloodbath of cancellations isn’t exactly looking good for whatever their future plans are.
The Winchesters was picked up, because they’re smart enough to know that WILL be watched. SPN fans never quit anything with Jensen or Jared forever. lol
Holy crap!..I did not see that coming. Figured they’d at least give them a swan song. Hope this season doesn’t end on too much of a cliffhanger. I also hate that it ended before they ever got Caroline on the show. Been watching since day one of Vampire Diaries so this is going to be strange. It kind of feels like we’re in the waning days of the CW. In a couple years I won’t be shocked if the whole thing is either gone or absorbed into something else. Guess the rumors are true.
“It kind of feels like we’re in the waning days of the CW. In a couple years I won’t be shocked if the whole thing is either gone or absorbed into something else. Guess the rumors are true.”
We are. You’re very generous, I give it a year before the CW is dead as a doornail. Well, they’re not really rumors. The news of CBS and Warner selling the CW was released in January. I’m guessing the sale is getting close now, though. Hence, the bloodbath. #BloodyThursday
Wow. Really CW? If I wasn’t done with them before, I would be now. Legends, Batwoman and Legacies were my favorites from this network. Now they’re all gone. :( Maybe an unpopular opinion but I actually thought this season has been the best one yet. I thought they treated Legends of Tomorrow badly. Seven seasons with no ending but this may be worse. I
watched The Vampire Diaries but didn’t realize it had been 13 years. The CW shows no respect to the network’s loyal audience. I know all they care about is money but the audience watching your shows is how you get that!
The CW is being sold. That tells you how much CBS and Warner DO NOT CARE about this network anymore. They want to get rid of it. It’s not about their “loyal audience.” They’re thinking of their bottom lines. The network has operated at a loss its entire existence. It never made a profit, both studios have their own streaming services now, the Netflix streaming deal is over, so Netflix is no longer essentially paying for/funding these shows, and the Discovery/WB merger was finalized.
Given this show’s legacy and tie-ins to its two predecessors, I was hoping it would have a good send-off. All three shows deserved it.
Legacies, Roswell and I’m The Dark…. I am done… I am cancelling my CW Chanel
Ughhhhh. I’ll miss Lizzie so much and I was loving Jed and Ben :(