And . . . . . there it is! Around this time of year, especially when the TCAs are going on, The CW has had a tradition of making a blanket renewal announcement for its Fall shows, and the network did not disappoint this year. The CW has renewed all of its Arrow-verse shows along with Black Lightning (not officially part of the Arrow-verse), Supernatural, Riverdale, Charmed, and Legacies. Among that batch, Black Lightning was the only one that I was uncertain about because its ratings have remained on the low side in its second year. But the network decided to keep it around which means that it is almost assured a fourth season at this point because once a show gets past its second season on The CW, it tends to stick around through at least the 70 episode mark (which BL will pass in its fourth year) even if it is delivering poor ratings.
Charmed and Legacies have pulled modest ratings thus far in their first seasons, but word is that they are performing very well in digital viewing and The CW has adapted to the 21st century (unlike the Big Four broadcast networks) and gives weight to those numbers. The ratings for Legends of Tomorrow have been down this season, but I expected all of the Arrow-verse shows to be back to participate in next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event. At that point, I do believe that at least two of the Arrow-verse shows could come to an end and Black Lightning could be merged into that continuity. I go into that in more detail at this link. Final season announcements for any of these shows will come in May according to the network boss. As for The CW’s Roswell New Mexico, that counts as a mid-season entry and will have to wait until May to hear word on its fate. Based on the early numbers, though, I believe it has a decent chance for renewal.
The TCAs are going on currently when the networks talk with the critics about their current and upcoming schedules, so expect more announcements over the next week or so. Be sure to stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news as well as the latest ratings results.
