Shadow And Act has learned that The CW has handed out early renewals to 13 of its series, including three series with Black leads: Black Lightning, All American and Charmed.
This will be Black Lightning‘s fourth season and the third for All American and Charmed. The other shows that were renewed are Batwoman, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Dynasty, The Flash, In The Dark, Legacies, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, Roswell, New Mexico, and Supergirl. Additionally, the Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene, which premieres this month, got 13 additional script orders. This means the network will go another year with virtually no cancellations.
Most of these shows benefit heavily from the streaming pacts that the network previously had set up with Netflix. All shows that debuted prior to Fall 2018 air exclusively on Netflix following their network television run. That deal recently expired, so the shows that debut after this will either go to CBS All Access or HBO Max (corporate relatives of The CW). It also helps that the most recent five episodes of any The CW series can be viewed on the network’s website or app.
“These early orders for next season give our production teams a head start in plotting out story arcs and a jump on hiring staff, and this also provides us with a strong foundation of established, fan-favorite CW shows to build on for next season,” said Mark Pedowitz, network president. “We’ve been thrilled with the creative direction of all three new series, and even though we are in the very early stages of our new full-stack streaming strategy, which allows viewers to catch up on our new shows from the beginning, we’re already seeing incredibly positive results from our multiplatform viewership for Nancy Drew and Batwoman.”
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Photo: The CW
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