The CW has announced two cancellations this afternoon, neither of which comes as a huge surprise. The Supernatural prequel series The Winchesters has been cancelled after one season and the fantasy drama Kung Fu has come to an end after three seasons. Both shows have been On the Bubble for much of the season as the network is going through major changes under new ownership. Nexstar Media Group bought a majority stake in The CW (which was previously co-owned by CBS and Warner Bros.) and is shifting its model to lower-cost shows that skew to an older demographic. Network execs previously indicated that not many of the shows that originated under the prior regime would carry over to the 2023-24 season, and both The Winchesters and Kung Fu were among those on the chopping block.
The Winchesters got off to a good start at the beginning of the season, pulling good viewership for the network and ending Fall as the third highest-rated series on The CW (ahead of Walker which has been renewed) and the top genre entry. The show’s numbers dropped after the Winter break, but that was partially due to poor scheduling on the part of the network. As of the April Scorecard, it had dropped to Number 8 among CW shows and was third among genre entries behind Superman & Lois and The Flash. It still performed above the network average for all shows and for dramas, though.
Kung Fu experienced a decline in its ratings from its second season, dropping 25% from the numbers it was seeing last year. In the April Scorecard, it was ranked Number 12 among all CW shows and it was the second lowest-rated genre entry ahead of only Riverdale (which is in its final season). Even though Kung Fu has had three seasons, those have been shortened runs and it has totaled to only 39 episodes. That puts it well short of the 80+ that the syndication market prefers, so one more season would not have improved its prospects for an encore run.
Warner Bros. Discovery is currently looking for other venues for The Winchesters, and that show has a decent chance of continuing on a new home. If a streaming deal for completed seasons is in place with Netflix, it’s possible a second season could happen there because Supernatural has been performing well in encore runs for the streamer. HBO Max (soon to be just Max) is also a possible landing spot. As for Kung Fu, it was already shopped around according to Deadline upon the assumption that its days at The CW were numbered. But that turned up no interested buyers. It is still not impossible that the show could find a new home and fans should make a Call to Action on the social networks to support both it and The Winchesters (Jensen Ackles is already stumping for the latter). You can also vote for both in our season-end poll. Both Superman & Lois and Gotham Knights are still in contention for renewal with the former considered most likely among remaining CW shows to return next season.
With these two cancellations, that brings the score for the current season to 31 cancelled and ending sci fi and fantasy shows (38% of shows tracked) vs. 32 renewed (39%). You can see the detailed list of shows from the current season and keep up with the score throughout the week at our Cancellation Watch Page.
The Winchesters acts as a prequel to Supernatural going back to the days when John Winchester and Mary Campbell met, fell in love, and became monster hunters. It stars Meg Donnelly, Drake Rodger, Nida Khurshid, Jojo Fleites, and Demetria McKinney with Jensen Ackles onboard as the narrator.
Kung Fu follows a young, Chinese American woman who upends her life and decides to spend three years in a monastery in China. When she returns to her home in San Francisco, she uses her martial arts skills to protect her family and community from the rampant crime in the area while also searching for the person who killed her mentor. It stars Olivia Liang, Kheng Hua Tan, Eddie Liu, Shannon Dang, and Jon Prasida and it is a re-imagining of the 1972 television series which starred David Carradine.
More cancellations will be announced over the next few days as the networks prepare to unveil their schedules to the sponsors next week. You can see the status of all the shows currently awaiting word on their fates at this link and cast your vote for which ones should return for another year in our season-end poll. And be sure to follow this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site in the coming weeks for updates and breaking news.
CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
