The CW was once the go-to place amongst the broadcast networks for sci fi and fantasy programming. It had the Arrow-verse franchise, the Vampire Diaries shows, Supernatural, The 100, and more with over half of its schedule dedicated to genre entries over the past ten years or so. And whether or not you were a fan of that network’s brand of younger-skewing shows with pretty faces and copy-and-paste dialogue, you have to give them credit for supporting genre programming while the other broadcasters shied away from it. That has all changed, though, with The CW becoming a pale shadow of its former self heading into the current year. As the Fall 2023 season kicks off, there are no sci fi/fantasy shows on the immediate schedule and little in the way of prospects for future entries.
What Happened to The CW?
The CW came into existence in in 2006 as a merger of UPN and The WB and the network mostly focused on productions that came from CBS/Paramount or Warner Bros. During its first season, it carried over Smallville and Supernatural from The WB and it would continue to give genre entries a chance through its early years. The supernatural drama Vampire Diaries was a long-running series that launched two spin-offs, but it was 2011’s Arrow that really made sci fi a fixture on the network. That show would prove popular and would launch multiple spin-offs including The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. Other shows of interest that have aired on The CW over the years include The 100, Riverdale, Nancy Drew, and Two-Sentence Horror Stories.
But while these shows proved popular and many had long runs, the network itself was not making money. It struggled to compete with the Big Four broadcasters (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC) in viewership, and even though the shows turned a profit for their studios (usually through streaming deals), the network itself remained in the red. In 2022, the decision was made by CBS and The WB to bring in new ownership and Nexstar Media Group bought a majority share of the network.
The new majority owners have decided to take the network in a different direction, eschewing the younger-skewing genre entries that had been championed by the prior regime. Instead, they have chosen to try and appeal to an older crowd with inexpensive acquisitions and unscripted shows. Currently, only one sci fi/fantasy show is returning for the 2023-24 season and there is very little in the way of development among genre shows beyond that.
The 2022-23 Bloodbath
Once Nexstar Media Group emerged as the top contender to take control of the network, events started to happen to prepare for the change in ownership. A purge of programming began in 2022 to prep the network for the sale. Cancelled were Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, Legacies, Charmed, Naomi, Tom Swift, and Roswell, Mexico while Riverdale and The Flash were slotted to return for final seasons and Nancy Drew‘s fourth season was later turned into its last.
When Nexstar took control, they laid out their future programming plans that would include less expensive shows and they indicated that only a handful of CW holdovers would make it to the 2023-24 season. The first genre entry to fall in the 2022-23 season was Stargirl, and it was later followed by Kung Fu as well as new shows greenlighted by the prior regime The Winchesters and Gotham Knights. Superman & Lois was the only genre entry left standing at season end and it has received only a ten-episode fourth season with a slashed budget that has resulted in a notable reduction of the regular cast. Just two years ago at the start of the 2021-22 season, the network had fourteen sci fi and fantasy shows scheduled for the year. Heading into the 2023-24 season, The CW has only one returning genre entry and one confirmed new series.
A Look at The CW’s Programming
The list below has all of the sci fi and fantasy shows that have premiered on The CW going back to the 2018-19 season. This doesn’t show the full picture, though, because during that time you also had shows like Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, The Originals, The 100, Supernatural, and more airing. Basically, The CW had a lot of genre entries on the schedule for well over a decade. Now, not so much.
As mentioned above, Superman & Lois is returning, but not until mid-season or later. And that will likely be its final season, though it won’t go out with a bang because of its heavily reduced budget. The spin-off of The Librarians to be titled The Librarians: The Next Chapter is in the works and might be promising. And there is still the chance that the Babylon 5 reboot could happen, though that seems unlikely considering the network’s budget constraints. There may also be some acquisitions of interest to genre fans, but nothing is on the schedule at this point. So even though The CW was once the go-to network among the broadcasters for sci fi and fantasy programming, the change of ownership has taken the network in a very different direction and it now offers very little for genre fans.
| Series | Start | Seasons | Cancelled/Ended |
| 4400 | 2021-22 | 1 | Y |
| Batwoman | 2019-20 | 3 | Y |
| Charmed | 2018-19 | 4 | Y |
| Gotham Knights | 2022-23 | 1 | Y |
| Kung Fu | 2020-21 | 3 | Y |
| Legacies | 2018-19 | 4 | Y |
| Nancy Drew | 2019-20 | 4 | Y |
| Naomi | 2021-22 | 1 | Y |
| Pandora | 2019-20 | 2 | Y |
| Roswell, New Mexico | 2018-19 | 4 | Y |
| Stargirl | 2021-22 | 2 | Y |
| Superman & Lois | 2020-21 | 4 | N |
| The Outpost | 2018-19 | 4 | Y |
| The Winchesters | 2022-23 | 1 | Y |
| Tom Swift | 2021-22 | 1 | Y |
| Two Sentence Horror Stories | 2019-20 | 3 | Y |
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
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.
