The CW Gives Early Renewals To 12 Series: ‘Riverdale,’ ‘Walker,’ ‘All American’ And More
The network also announced additional episodes ordered for Walker and Superman & Lois.
decider.com
The CW Gives Early Renewals To 12 Series: ‘Riverdale,’ ‘Walker,’ ‘All American’ And More
By Alex Zalben @azalben Feb 3, 2021 at 4:00pm639 Shares
As The CW Network often does, it has announced early renewals for 12 current series for next season, as well as additional episodes for its massive hit Walker and the upcoming Superman & Lois.
“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 Mark Pedowitz, Chairman and CEO of The CW Network via statement provided to Decider. “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.”
The renewals span the gamut of CW series, including several that have yet to premiere new seasons in 2021. The series being ordered for the 2021-2022 season include: Walker (Season 2); All American (Season 4); Batwoman (Season 3); Charmed (Season 4); DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 7); Dynasty (Season 5); The Flash (Season 8); In the Dark (Season 4); Legacies (Season 4); Nancy Drew (Season 3); Riverdale (Season 6); and Roswell, New Mexico (Season 4).
In addition, the network is ordering five additional episodes of Walker, bringing its total episode count for the 2020-2021 season to 18; and two additional episodes of the February 23 debuting Superman & Lois, bringing its 2020-2021 total to 15.
Not included in the list are Supergirl and Black Lightning, which are entering their final seasons on The CW. Supergirl‘s Season 6 premiere is currently undated, while Black Lightning premieres February 8, and is broadcasting a back-door pilot in the upcoming season as a potential spinoff. Stargirl, which has already been picked up for a second season, is also not on the list, as are The Outpost, Pandora and Two Sentence Horror Stories, and the yet to be broadcast new series Kung Fu and The Republic of Sarah. However, additional renewals may be announced at a later date.
A number of projects are also in various stages of development at The CW, including the aforementioned Black Lightning spinoff Painkiller, an All American spinoff, the long gestating The Lost Boys reboot, superhero series Naomi and Wonder Girl, and an adult take on The Powerpuff Girls, among others.
Unlike other networks, The CW held off on new programming after the COVID shutdown last March, opting instead to broadcast mostly reality programming, acquisitions, and the final episodes of Supernatural. The new season kicked off in earnest in January of this year, with Pedowitz noting back in May that he wanted to give creators enough time to figure out how to properly structure and shoot their seasons given the new reality.
Similarly, though the announcement notes that these series are for the “2021-2022” season, there are no premiere dates currently scheduled. As is, many of the currently running shows have shortened season orders (19 episodes, for example, versus a regular 22), and will most likely continue to be broadcast through June or July. Given a quick turnaround, it is possible that series could almost immediately pick up filming again in time to begin broadcasting for a regular October start date — the network’s traditional kick-off period — something they’re clearly trying to allow for by giving the pickup notices now, versus the industry standard in April/May.
Regardless, for the most part fans of The CW’s series can rest easy, knowing their faves will be back for at least one more go-around.
