The CW has finally announced the fate of its last two genre shows with Gotham Knights getting cancelled after one season and Superman & Lois getting a fourth season renewal, though with only ten episodes. That network is under new ownership with Nexstar Media Group holding a majority share, and it has been reshaping its image by discarding most of the properties from the prior regime as it moves to a lower-cost, acquisition-heavy model. It has already cancelled Stargirl, Kung Fu, and The Winchesters, and The Flash, Riverdale, and Nancy Drew are all in their final seasons.
Gotham Knights seemed like a show on a death march out of the gates seeing as it was given the greenlight prior to the change of ownership and it is not tied to any other DC franchise (it is separate from the Arrow-verse shows). But it did surprisingly well in viewership early on and developed a notable fanbase during its short run. It is also less expensive to produce than most of The CW’s genre shows, so it looked like it might have a shot at a second season on the network. But its numbers did start to fluctuate over the past month or so, and the new owners only planned to carry over a limited number of shows from the prior regime. They ended up going with the numbers and renewing the four highest-rated shows (All American, Superman & Lois, All American: Homecoming, and Walker), leaving Gotham Knights without a home. There is still a chance that Max (previously HBO Max) could pick it up, though, so fans should continue their efforts to lobby for the show. It ended in the Top 5 of our season-end poll and the fans have continued to stump for the show on the social networks.
Superman & Lois has long been considered the favorite among The CW’s genre shows to get renewed, though there were talks that it could shift to Max instead and Gotham Knights would continue to a second season on the linear network. S&L will end up staying at The CW, but that will come with some cost-cutting. The number of episodes will be reduced to ten (it had as many as fifteen in prior seasons) and the cast of regulars will be trimmed. The latter move will not impact the core cast, but the shift will likely lead to more family-centric stories and less emphasis on the superhero elements. It is also possible that the fourth season will be targeted as the show’s last with the creative team looking to wrap up as many storylines as possible. With the late announcement and the writers’ strike still going on, it will be 2024 at the earliest before the fourth season makes it to the air.
These announcements add one to each column in our Cancellation/Renewal Score for the current season. There are currently 35 cancelled and ending sci fi/fantasy shows (41% of shows tracked) vs. 36 renewed (42%). 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.
Gotham Knights follows the adopted son of Bruce Wayne who teams up with the children of several of the city’s biggest villains after he is framed for the murder of Wayne. It stars Oscar Morgan, Olivia Rose Keegan, Navia Robinson, Fallon Smythe, and Tyler DiChiara and it is based on the characters from DC Comics.
Superman & Lois follows the title characters who move from Metropolis to Smallville in order to start a new life with their sons, but they find out that the simple life is not always so simple as they deal with threats to their town and the world. It stars Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Michael Bishop, Alex Garfin, and Erik Valdez and it is considered tangential to the Arrow-verse shows.
The 2022-23 season will be coming to an end next month, and there are still more announcements on the way. You can see the status of all the shows currently awaiting word on their fates at this link. 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.
