As we head into the end of the regular season, and with The CW still needing to make decisions on several of its show ahead of the potential sale of the network, it is worth looking at how its programming stacks up based on ratings performance. The rankings below are based on the Nielsen same-day ratings for the 18-49 demographic, and while The CW also pays close attention to the digital viewing of its shows, these numbers still act as a leading indicator of viewer interest.
Superman & Lois remains as the top-rated genre series on The CW, though it slipped one overall from where it stood in January with non-genre entry All American taking over as the network’s Number 1 show. Not surprisingly, Superman & Lois has already been renewed for a third season. Right behind that show is The Flash at Number 3 which has also been renewed, though possibly for a final season. Stargirl is in this list which represents bleed-over from the Summer in the Fall months, but you can see that show ranks at Number 5. If it can maintain numbers close to what it had last year when it returns this Summer, I like its chances of a fourth season or jumping over to HBO Max.
After the Top 5, the rankings do not look quite as good for The CW’s sci fi and fantasy shows. New Arrow-verse entry Naomi is the next genre series on the list at Number 10, performing just one tick better than the network’s 0.08 ratings average. It also performed slightly better than Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman, edging them out on total viewers. According to Deadline, the network was considering carrying two shows to the 2022-23 season out of those three and the Gotham Knights pilot, so that may be good news for Naomi. I have it On the Bubble nevertheless due to the uncertainties stemming from the network sale.
Looking at the remainder of the shows on the list, there may be some confusion as to why lower-performing Kung Fu, Nancy Drew, and Riverdale have received renewals. For the former series, it is at least performing equal with the network’s season-to-date average, and I am guessing it is cheaper to produce than the Arrow-verse shows. I am also thinking there may be some international syndication and/or streaming deals keeping it viable similar to what low-rated Dynasty has. And it may be a similar situation with Nancy Drew. As for Riverdale, I am pretty certain the renewal will be for a final season.
The renewal of those two shows should at least give hope to the fans of Legacies and Charmed. Both of those are performing in the same range ratings-wise, and both get to a syndication-friendly count of episodes with one more season. I am expecting final-year renewals at this point, but the pending sale may cause the network to go in a different direction.
As for 4400, I don’t see a scenario where it returns for a second season. Its overall numbers are close to those of the last four shows mentioned, but its ratings really tapered off during the second half of its first season, and the show has not received much in the way of good buzz. I consider it very much On the Bubble and verging on Cancellation Likely. Roswell New Mexico is another one that may be on the way out after its upcoming season.
Below are the rankings for The CW for non-repeat, non-special, and non-sports programming for the 2021-22 season based on ratings results through May 1st (this includes some shows that carried over from Summer 2021). Ratings Source: Spoiler TV
| Rank | Program | Network | Category | StD Rtg | StD Tot Vwrs | Network Category Perfomance | Network Performance |
| 1 | All American | CW | Drama | 0.17 | 0.570 | 1.02% ↑ | 1.17% ↑ |
| 2 | Superman and Lois | CW | Drama | 0.16 | 0.850 | 0.90% ↑ | 1.04% ↑ |
| 3 | The Flash | CW | Drama | 0.14 | 0.650 | 0.66% ↑ | 0.78% ↑ |
| 4 | Walker | CW | Drama | 0.11 | 0.930 | 0.30% ↑ | 0.40% ↑ |
| 5 | Stargirl | CW | Drama | 0.11 | 0.550 | 0.30% ↑ | 0.40% ↑ |
| 6 | All American: Homecoming | CW | Drama | 0.11 | 0.390 | 0.30% ↑ | 0.40% ↑ |
| 7 | Penn and Teller | CW | Reality/Competition | 0.10 | 0.740 | 0.40% ↑ | 0.27% ↑ |
| 8 | March | CW | Reality/Competition | 0.09 | 2.830 | 0.26% ↑ | 0.15% ↑ |
| 9 | Masters of Illusion | CW | Reality/Competition | 0.09 | 0.720 | 0.26% ↑ | 0.15% ↑ |
| 10 | Naomi | CW | Drama | 0.09 | 0.550 | 0.07% ↑ | 0.15% ↑ |
| 11 | Legends of Tomorrow | CW | Drama | 0.09 | 0.530 | 0.07% ↑ | 0.15% ↑ |
| 12 | Batwoman | CW | Drama | 0.09 | 0.460 | 0.07% ↑ | 0.15% ↑ |
| 13 | Kung Fu | CW | Drama | 0.08 | 0.540 | -0.05% ↓ | 0.02% ↑ |
| 14 | Supergirl | CW | Drama | 0.08 | 0.430 | -0.05% ↓ | 0.02% ↑ |
| 15 | Legacies | CW | Drama | 0.08 | 0.360 | -0.05% ↓ | 0.02% ↑ |
| 16 | 4400 | CW | Drama | 0.07 | 1.990 | -0.17% ↓ | -0.11% ↓ |
| 17 | Coroner | CW | Drama | 0.07 | 0.560 | -0.17% ↓ | -0.11% ↓ |
| 18 | Roswell, New Mexico | CW | Drama | 0.07 | 0.440 | -0.17% ↓ | -0.11% ↓ |
| 19 | Charmed | CW | Drama | 0.06 | 0.690 | -0.29% ↓ | -0.24% ↓ |
| 20 | Riverdale | CW | Drama | 0.06 | 0.260 | -0.29% ↓ | -0.24% ↓ |
| 21 | Legends of the Hidden Temple | CW | Reality/Competition | 0.06 | 0.220 | -0.16% ↓ | -0.24% ↓ |
| 22 | World’s Funniest Animals | CW | Reality/Competition | 0.05 | 0.380 | -0.30% ↓ | -0.36% ↓ |
| 23 | Nancy Drew | CW | Drama | 0.05 | 0.360 | -0.41% ↓ | -0.36% ↓ |
| 24 | Wellington Paranormal | CW | Comedy | 0.05 | 0.200 | 0.00% | -0.36% ↓ |
| 25 | Dynasty | CW | Drama | 0.04 | 0.420 | -0.53% ↓ | -0.49% ↓ |
| 26 | The Outpost | CW | Drama | 0.04 | 0.330 | -0.53% ↓ | -0.49% ↓ |
| 27 | Two Sentence Horror Stories | CW | Drama | 0.04 | 0.220 | -0.53% ↓ | -0.49% ↓ |
| 28 | Killer Camp | CW | Reality/Competition | 0.04 | 0.160 | -0.44% ↓ | -0.49% ↓ |
| 29 | In The Dark | CW | Drama | 0.03 | 0.300 | -0.64% ↓ | -0.62% ↓ |
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