CW Delays New Season Until 2021: Superman to Follow Flash, Walker Fills Winchester Void, Supergirl Delayed
TV’s most Unconventional. Upfront. Week. Ever. continued on Thursday with the release of The CW‘s heavily asterisked schedule for the 2020-21 TV season.
♦ The CW is postponing the official launch of its new season until January 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a call with reporters on Thursday, however, network boss Mark Pedowitz said there is no exact timetable for the resumption of production, acknowledging, “Certainty is a hard thing to [have] in this world.”
♦ A mix of newly acquired programming (Swamp Thing, Tell Me a Story, Coroner, Dead Pixels), delayed scripted series (Pandora, The Outpost), reality programs (Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Masters of Illusion, Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and the anticipated seven final episodes of Supernatural (more on that here) will fill the gaping fall void.
♦ When The CW launches its official slate in January 2021, the network’s buzziest new series, Superman & Lois, will air Tuesdays-at-9 pm following The Flash.
♦ Jared Padelicki’s Walker, Texas Ranger reboot — titled Walker — will fill the traditional Supernatural perch on Thursdays-at-8 pm.
♦ As a result of leading lady Melissa Benoist’s real-life pregnancy, Supergirl will be pushed to midseason (aka probably late spring/summer). Charmed, which had been bumped to Fridays for Season 2, will return to Sunday night, occupying Supergirl’s 9 pm slot.
♦ Katy Keene‘s renewal status remains up in the air; a decision is expected in June. “We would like to see the show perform a little better [ratings-wise],” said Pedowitz. “But we have no problems creatively with it.” (Keep tabs on TVLine’s Renewal Scorecard for the latest.)
MONDAY
8 pm Whose Line Is It Anyway?
8:30 pm Whose Line Is It Anyway?
9 pm Penn & Teller: Fool Us
TUESDAY
8 pm Swamp Thing
9 pm Tell Me a Story
WEDNESDAY
8 pm Two Sentence Horror Stories
8:30 pm Dead Pixels
9 pm Coroner
THURSDAY
8 pm Supernatural (Final episodes)
9 pm The Outpost
FRIDAY
8 pm WORLD’S FUNNIEST ANIMALS
9 pm Penn & Teller: Fool Us
SUNDAY
8 pm Masters of Illusion
9 pm Pandora
MONDAY
8 pm All American
9 pm Black Lightning
TUESDAY
8 pm The Flash
9 pm SUPERMAN & LOIS
WEDNESDAY
8 pm Riverdale
9 pm Nancy Drew
THURSDAY
8 pm WALKER
9 pm Legacies
FRIDAY
8 pm Penn & Teller: Fool Us (new night)
9 pm Whose Line Is it Anyway? (new time slot)
SUNDAY
8 pm Batwoman
9 pm Charmed (new time slot)
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow; Dynasty, In the Dark, KUNG FU, THE REPUBLIC OF SARAH, Roswell, New Mexico and Supergirl
The 100 and Arrow
Fall TV 2020 is going to officially suck!
LOL, I was just going to type the exact same words. It’s looking like I’m going to have a lot of time on my hands between now and January 2021.
I know thanks coronavirus but I’ve just have too wait!!Have to be patient!!
Easier said than done. No other Company has done this. Some of their shows yes. But not the entire frogging line up.
Given that ALL networks are more than likely going to be airing repeats or shows which have been seen elsewhere, yes. Only thing for Fall 2020 is Pandora S2 and The Outpost. I’ve seen Swamp Thing, and Tell me A Story on CBSAA
I hope we’re all alive to watch it suck, tbh.
Yep. I’ll watch the supernatural streaming shows coming to network television.
I know this is nitpicking but can we please acknowledge that The 100 and Arrow ended and were not cancelled?
If I could, I would give a like to your comment
I agree. Cancelled is like not even given a chance to have a conclusion.
Technically in the TV industry “cancelled” refers to any show ending its run.
No Cancelled refers to law ratings it get axed. A series that ends when both Company and Show agree on ending it. Cancelled is when CBS etc cancels it for low ratings or budgetary reasons.
I am the same way! There is a difference!
Yeah, I know it’s just semantics, but it always bugs me to. The subtle yet distinct difference between a graceful curtain call and the guillotine.
Agree! That’s a great way to put it!
Still no word on Canaries?
It and the 100 prequel still under consideration.
I’m afraid Canaries will be doomed by the same thing that (probably) doomed the SPN spinoff, Wayward Sisters. Though it was never stated, I feel like the CW wanted a show centered on the younger characters, particularly Kathryn Newton’s Clair Novak. She was, and is, an ascendant star who looks to have a bright future. The CW probably wanted to feature her prominently. I think she wasn’t as keen on being featured. The fans wanted a show focused on Donna and Jody, but the CW has never really had a show where the features were so mature (excluding SPN, whose stars aged into more mature characters, they were early 20s when it started). Methinks Newton envisioned being in 15-18 shows (out of a possible 22, adjust for that same percentage for lower season orders). And of those, I think she probably hoped for token appearances in 3-5 of those eps, meaning that Newton wanted to be heavily featured in, say half (or a very little better) of the season’s eps. Which fans wouldn’t have been thrilled with, but we’d have been OK, because I think we all wanted more Jody and Donna. But the CW probably wanted Newton to be in every ep, and heavily featured in 80-90 percent of all eps. Basically, the CW wanted Newton to be the main focus of the show, and without that, they weren’t going to do it.
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The SPN writers set this up, basically portraying Claire as a hunter, who would’ve come to town, periodically. She’d have been in many of the shows, but not all, and minimally featured in some of those shows.
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Ultimately, I think the PTB at the CW (and WB), ultimately envisioned this a the successor for SPN in every sense of the word. After a year or two centered in wherever the show was set, they’d have moved into the MOL Bunker after SPN ended. Gradually, over the first 2-3 years, the older characters would have been phased out, and the younger females, supplemented by a few guys (one Brainiac MOL librarian, and one rough and tumble Dean-esque hunter), would have gradually taken over more of the show. Donna and Jodi would have been written out by season 5 at the latest, and possibly as early as mid season 3 (for all practical intents and purposes).
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Obviously, I’m guessing at the details, but I think the CW was interested in a show that was closer in style to Riverdale than SPN. That wasn’t the spinoff that the fans wanted, but the CW was unlikely to be eager to carry a show focused primarily on two women who are far older than the typical CW leads, and who aren’t as conventionally “hot” as the typical CW lead actress. Both actresses are beautiful, without a doubt, but neither is the typical CW “eye candy.”
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Ultimately, I think Newton was the sticking point. If she’d been down to spend the better part of the next decade shooting in Canada as the focus of the show, it would have gone forward. I think Newton wanted more of a Castiel type commitment. She’s got a lot of other opportunities, and wanted to remain free to do most of those. But that was a no go for the CW. They wanted a Newton focused show, or nothing.
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I wonder if the Canaries isn’t similar. I’m sure most of the actresses are keen to do the show, but I’m wondering is McNamerra is as keen on it. She’s young enough to have many options, and I’m not sure she’s keen on the commitment of doing this show for 5-8 years. If it could be like LOT, 12-16 eps a year, sure. The typical 22ish? That I’m less sure about. Unless the money is absurd out of the gate. Because, not to be a jerk about it, the ratings and popularity of Arrow compared to 100 is a huge margin. Canaries features well known and liked characters, whereas the 100 would feature brand new everything. Unless that pilot was bonkers good on the page, this would seem like a no brainer in favor of Canaries. Something must be holding up Canaries.
How many episodes could Dynasty get as a midseason show hope for. Dynasty has always had l22 episodes and is kind of binge-type show, that benefits from longer seasons, also it has Netflix and is more a global success show. Do you think a midseason Dynasty could reach more than 13 episodes, and if so, how many? :)
I bet 13 this season. Word was the show would give 5 seasons 100 episodes for the International market. So, likely episode counts will likely depend on when filming can resume. But all should be prepared to see things shut down again if the much talked about second wave hits. I think until there is a vaccination and treatment for Covid-19, this tv season is highly questionable.
I think the only chance canaries has if the the 100 spinoff backdoor pilot is really terrible and everyone hates it, like that first supernatural spinoff (bloodlines I think it was called) that happened a few years back.
normally these shows will have 22 episodes but how many hypothetically could they have if they dont start till January? Honestly most shows should have 13 to say 16 episodes on all networks cause most cant contain a story for 22 to 24 episodes
Its still possible to have 22-24 episodes if it premieres in January. By the time “24” got to season 4, they premiered in January and went straight through to May, to avoid people whining about reruns. And they had 24 episodes, obviously. So it IS possible.
Assuming they start on the week of January 4th, 22 uninterrupted episodes would bring us to the week of May 31st. It’s doable. Especially if we’ve already gone 3-4 extra months without new episodes. :)
I don’t watch anything on the CW, but I read this article to learn about the network’s thought process. It sounds like it’s going to air content that it already has, with the hope that actual production can start in January 2021. I’ll be curious to see what the other networks do.
Fox is doing exact same: https://tvline.com/2020/05/11/fox-fall-lineup-2020-schedule-masked-singer/
to start broadcasting in January they need to start production likely by October at the latest.
They were suppose to announce this week. I could see NBC airing shows from Peacock with them streaming first before being aired on TV.
Where’s our GA&tC? Stop playing with our emotions!
https://tvline.com/2020/05/14/green-arrow-and-the-canaries-spinoff-status-cw/
This makes me sad, but it’s understandable. There probably won’t even be a crossover event either. So weird. I wonder if everyone will have shorter seasons also.
Are they filming in new episodes in the Fall? If so why then when they say cold weather helps the virus? Unless they feel they are going to have vaccine by 5he a Fall? Unless Vancouver won’t allow filming till the Fall?
there is no actual evidence that the virus does better in cold weather.
Sorry, I meant cold weather help the virus spread.
They don’t know. This plan is a hope. (“Certainty is a hard thing to [have] in this world.”) It seems unlikely, however, that Hollywood is going to wait for a vaccine: there are other ideas, such as frequent testing and isolating of casts and crews, reducing the number of people on set… Operating in areas with good contact tracing and testing (if those places will allow productions to come to them) may also help.
Remember that there are countries, even now in the pre-vaccine era, that have not had to shut down as much or as long as the US has and will have to, because they correctly utilized testing and tracing as well as acting quickly to enforce social distancing.
But of course nothing may totally work, outbreaks and flare ups may happen and cause productions to shut down again at a moment’s notice. I wonder what legal issues may also surround liability in regards to notifying casts and crew… And I wonder if actors’ unions will need to demand that performers be able to refuse to do any close contact (like kissing) scenes with anyone they don’t feel safe being THAT exposed to.
I also wonder what actors like Melissa Benoist will do, when they have a young baby at home. She can hardly NOT go home at night, nor should she have to put her child in danger in order to make a tv show. A good reason for Supergirl to be delayed longer than the other shows, for sure.
I’d just pack and go to New Zealand. They’d have to be tested and quarantined before getting a work visa, but you could do that and shoot seasons faster than normal, with two parallel units. It’s not too bad being stuck in New Zealand.
Makes sense to do this, even if it makes me sad. I’d rather have everyone safe than TV. At least I’ll have The Outpost and Pandora to keep me going.
If they can resume production, we might even get 22 episode seasons without any skip weeks, which would be nice.
I do question the logic of leaving Riverdale and Nancy Drew paired together; Nancy’s a much better fit for Legacies, I’d have moved Legacies to 8pm on Thursday and aired Nancy right after it, but then I suppose Walker after Riverdale might not be the best idea either.
I sincerely hope the Dark Shadows sequel is still in the works. If the cw has pulled the rug out from under me again, I may be done. Dynasty is not enough to.keeo.me coming back and the Lustre is definitely off the superhero shows
CW often pairs shows illogically. I thought Charmed and Legacies would have paired great together. That didn’t happen. Then I thought at midseason with Supernatural heading to Mondays, Nancy coukd be paired with Legacies and Katy with Riverdale. That never happened. I long thought Supergirl and Flash would make a great combo as they were tonally more similar to each other than any other Arrowverse show, yet Supergirl is the only Arrowverse show not paired with Flash… not counting Batwoman as it just started this season.
What about Dynasty? Any news on that?
The article literally says it’s being held for midseason.
I guess I’ll just enjoy tonight’s Katy Keane finale because at this point I don’t see why the CW would renew another low rated series. Fingers crossed it manages another season.
what about dynasty?
Held for midseason (around May)
how many episodes is a midseason like Dynasty will be
Is the cw calling this supernaturals 16th season or a continuation of 15?
it’s a continuation of 15.
Is Fool Us still airing new episodes this summer?
Looks like that’s a thing going on now…🙈 🙉 🙊
This is going to be very boring fall. So far it looks like Supernatural will be only show I’ll watch
From the most recent article on TVLine about Supernatural, it’s still being discussed as ending season 15. It’s not a new season. It’s the last 7 episodes of season 15.
Did they finished shooting The 100’s final season or did they shut it down too like most shows?
They’re still doing ADR, but they finished filming in early March.
Hmmm. I see. Thanks
I was afraid that The CW will delay The 100 to air on fall. Good thing they’re still pushing through its summer run.
Me too! This is all I have left! xD
Guess who’s gonna binge every British show I didn’t time for these last 10 years?
I kinda thought they’d pair Superman and Flash but i figured they give Superman the lead off spot.
I fully understand that this is necessary because of what is happening right now and we see no clear end in sight, but this seriously sucks.
So no DARK SHADOWS continuation? Crap.
https://tvline.com/2020/05/14/green-arrow-and-the-canaries-spinoff-status-cw/
given the cw’s history of renewing shows with insanely low ratings I’m shaking my head at them waiting to make a decision on Katey Keene because they would like to see the ratings be higher
due to the coronavirus they don’t have as much space as before, several of their shows will have to air in summer, it’s possible they just don’t have to space for it if the ratings don’t justify it.
I think its a cost question. It films in NY as opposed to Vancouver.
On the bright side this might work for some shows creatively. Since Supergirl is mid season maybe this will give them time to course correct by getting new showrunners and writers, downsize the cast, and retool the show.
I hadn’t thought about that but good lord I hope so. That show is a mess.
I heard rumors the current writing team already has a jump on season 6 scripts to get ahead of a possible writers’ strike, but nothing would make me happier than new showrunners and a renewed focus on the original cast without some of the dull characters they’ve added in the last season or so.
That was the rumor… season 6 would start filming immediately after 5×20, suggesting scripts were in progress.
I don’t know if its the EP/showrunner or writers or combo, but they have a problem plotting out 20+ episodes. This season was uneven with approximately 1/3 or so up to par. A shorter season with more time to prepare should be beneficial.
New characters Andrea and William clearly didn’t take.
Okay so if shows are not starting until 2021 then what does mid season mean in that case? SUMMER months?
I really think shows will only have 16 episodes max which will be unfortunate but it is what it is.
Spring.
How many episodes could a midseason cw show hope for, I am thinking about Dynasty that has always had long seasons and is kind of binge-type show, that benefits from longer seasons, financially, also it has Netflix and is more a international show, so it is kind of unique. Do you think a midseason Dynasty could reach more than 13 episodes, possible 16-18? Thanks so much. :)
InsideLine@tvline.com
“Jared Padelicki” – close, but no cigar. P-A-D-A-L-E-C-K-I