The Happy Net strikes again! The CW is known as the network that prefers to renew shows rather than cancel them and generally makes a blanket renewal announcement right around this time of year. I figured that would be delayed in 2021, though, due to the complications with the productions delays, and not all of their shows have even started their seasons yet. But that didn’t trip up the CW execs as they have once again renewed the vast majority of the network’s current lineup. Following is the list of genre entries that are included in this round of renewals:
Batwoman (Renewed for 3rd Season)
Charmed (Renewed for 4th Season)
The Flash (Renewed for 8th Season)
Legacies (Renewed for 4th Season)
Legends of Tomorrow (Renewed for 7th Season)
Nancy Drew (Renewed for 3rd Season)
Riverdale (Renewed for 6th Season)
Roswell New Mexico (Renewed for 4th Season)
The only one of these that might count as a bit of a surprise is Legends of Tomorrow which I had previously suggested could have been heading into its final season. But apparently The CW is not ready to trim the Arrow-verse shows down any further (Black Lightning and Supergirl are wrapping up this season) and since LoT is a team-up series, it can potentially pick up characters from the shows that have ended.
I already had pegged The Flash, Charmed, Legacies, and Riverdale as likely renewals, and the early numbers for Batwoman‘s second season have looked good, so that one is not too much of a surprise. Nancy Drew continues to have low linear ratings, but that one apparently does much better in digital viewing. The same is true for Roswell New Mexico which has not started up its third season yet.
Not included among the renewals is new series Superman & Lois along with returning Summer entry Stargirl. For the former, The CW certainly wanted to see at least some viewership data before giving that one the greenlight for a second year. The network has added two additional episodes to its first season, though. For Stargirl, there is not as much urgency to renew that since it does not start until Summer. The shows above are already off to a late start this year, and this renewal lets them start planning for the upcoming season now.
As for Pandora and The Outpost, those are acquisitions that the network picked up to fill out the schedule in Summer and the network takes into consideration different factors when deciding to pick up another season of either or both. An additional thirteen episodes of The Outpost have been ordered (which apparently count as the second have of the third season), and those will likely air this Summer. There is still no word on a third season of Pandora. Two Sentence Horror Stories has already been renewed for a third season and Canadian acquisition Trickster was cancelled by its home network CBC.
Cancelled DC Universe import Swamp Thing, which received an encore run on The CW in Fall, was always a longshot to get picked up for a second season. Its ratings were decent during its Fall run, but network president boss Mark Pedowitz already indicated that it was unlikely they would bring that one back (though he opened up the possibility of the character appearing in Legends of Tomorrow). Since there was no mention of the show in the latest announcement, consider it pretty much dead at the network.
We are still waiting to hear word on quite a number of other genre shows like HBO’s Lovecraft Country, Netflix’s Cursed, and Apple TV+’s Amazing Stories, so stay tuned for more announcements. You can see the status of all the currently airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows on our Cancellation Watch Page. And be sure to stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
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