If you’re a fan of a CW show, it’s best if you read this news sitting down. Since the mass cancellation sweep in 2022, viewers have been on edge over the network’s future. For months, report after report has hit the Internet concerning CW’s new majority owner, Nexstar, and the company’s vision for its direction.
Profitability has been the chief priority, hence the original series cuts that will effectively end the Arrowverse once The Flash bids farewell after its ninth season run. Shake-ups at Warner Bros Discovery have also put into question whether Superman & Lois will still have a home at The CW and if Justice U will move forward at all despite the series being in development.
Ratings, which weren’t previously a major factor in whether an original series on the network got a renewal, are of the utmost importance. But if you pay attention to The CW’s viewership, it’s the worst performing of the Big 5 cable networks by a large margin.
DStv Flex:
- Brand new seasons of your favourite shows coming to History
- February on The Home Channel
- February on HONEY
- Reyka renewed for season 2 on M-Net
Its shows can’t crack a million on the night views and only two series in the 2022-2023 television season have managed to maintain a million viewer average with the Live+7 ratings factored in. Those series happen to be a part of the newly established Walker franchise.
Walker, which stars Jared Padalecki, is a modern western action family cop drama. Its prequel series, Walker Independence, stars Katherine McNamara as Abigail Walker, the matriarch of the entire line. The freshman show has held its own as the highest rated new addition to The CW’s roster which is a feat considering it’s a period piece set in the Old West.
Given the transition the network is in with its business model, viewers were aware more cancellations would be coming. But, according to The Hollywood Reporter, that could mean less than five original series will be kept on.
Reportedly fewer than 5 CW originals are to move forward in 2023
As the outlet reports, in an article about Greg Berlanti’s overall deal renewal with Warner Bros TV, The CW’s shift in business model to profitability will include “what sources say will be fewer than five U.S. scripted originals.”
This, of course, means the Walker franchise, the All American franchise, Kung Fu, The Winchesters, and Superman & Lois are in danger of cancellation. There are eight shows waiting for renewal news and less than five scripted slots to fill. Not to mention, the network has shows in development as well.
If we’re to go off ratings, as the strongest performers Walker and Walker Independence, aren’t likely to get the boot. All American could survive, but it’s a veteran show. As for The Winchesters, the series keeps shedding viewers, but it’s number 3 on the network in views. If it can maintain its audience in the back half of the season and regain its momentum, it could survive this television season.
Da Vinci Kids set to air a new educational series by 2023
France Télévisions commissioned the 26 x three-minute series from Les Films Jack Fébus. Aimed at six- to 11-year-olds, the slapstick adventure follows a trio of explorers who travel through time to learn about different cultures and eras, such as ancient Greece and Egypt.
Da Vinci acquired global broadcast rights from French distributor Dandelooo, and will air the series on its linear channel, OTT platform and app. Da Vinci’s OTT channel is available globally on connected TV via Apple TV, Roku, Samsung and Amazon Fire TV.
The company has acquired a programming library of animated and live-action shows and films targeting viewers ranging from preschoolers to co-viewing families. Da Vinci offers a mix of historical, arts & crafts, nature and science content, including titles such as Giggle Garage’s Dr. Panda, Six Eleven Media’s Addison and Operation Ouch! from Maverick TV.
Whose Line Is It Anyway cancelled after 12 seasons
Season 12 of the improv comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway? will be its last, according to a tweet from Colin Mochrie, one of its lead performers.
“Hey everyone. Hope you are enjoying the current season of Whose Line ,” he wrote. “In January, we shoot our final season. Thank you all for the support over the years.”
The young-skewing CW network faces an uncertain fate: Local-TV giant Nexstar Media Group recently acquired a 75 percent ownership stake, with plans to target older viewers and add low-cost, unscripted programming. Longtime network head Mark Pedowitz departed The CW shortly after the acquisition was finalized.
Timeless Dizi Channel to air new romantic family drama
Timeless Dizi Channel, SPI International's most popular entertainment channel home to variety of Turkish shows dubbed in English while also supplying Turkish audio will be launching a new romantic family drama, Love And Pride.
Love and Pride is the story of the young and beautiful Zeynep who is one of the five children of the Esen family. They live in an old neighborhood of Istanbul. Zeynep is now at the crossroads of taking an important decision in her life: will she accept Murat´s marriage proposal or will she be with Kenan?
Damla Sönmez stars as Zeynep, Mert Firat star as Kenan, Tülin Özen stars as Turkan, Lila Gürmen stars as Sevval and Ayris Alptekin stars as Sükran.
By the time the Nexstar Media Group’s long-in-the-works 75% acquisition of the CW finally closed earlier this month, it was the height of pitch season, when broadcast networks buy scripted projects to develop as new series for next season.
On the morning of the August 15 deal announcement, Nexstar toppers said that, under the new ownership, the CW would be going for broader and cheaper programming, including syndicated fare acquisitions, with the goal to make the network profitable by 2025.
Since then, sources tell Deadline that CW brass have reached out to the creative community, including taking agency meetings, to lay out their buying strategy going forward and tell everyone that the network is open for business.
On the original scripted programming side, in addition to the CW’s signature genre shows and teen soaps, which the network intends to keep doing — just not as many — it plans to broaden its slate by adding procedurals and other older-skewing dramas as well as half-hour comedies including multi-camera sitcoms.
The overall message was: bring us what you would’ve brought to the CW before but also bring us what you wouldn’t have brought to us in the past.
This jives with Nexstar brass’ comments that the demographic focus of the CW will change over time. Indicating that the new owners would be emphasizing the older-skewing linear network vs. digital where the vast majority of younger viewers watch CW shows, Nexstar president and COO Tom Carter noted that while the CW’s current slate of shows like Riverdale, All American and The Flash target viewers in the 18-34 demographic, the average CW linear viewer is 58 years old.
The network’s new programming strategy is looking to embrace these older linear viewers and trying to expand that pool. The network has done that occasionally with specials such as The Waltons holiday movies as well as the the Critics Choice Awards.
On the acquisition side, the CW also is expected to go for broader shows including procedural dramas. (For years, the network has been supplementing its originals with mostly Canadian and UK scripted series.)
The CW’s unscripted strategy is not changing; the network had been betting on broad shows such as Penn & Teller: Fool Us and World’s Funniest Animals, and there will be more of that going forward.
‘The Hatpin Society’ & Branching Out Beyond WBTV and CBS Studios
Following Nexstar’s acquisition, previous 50-50 owners Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery each retained 12.5%. Their broadcast-focused studios, CBS Studios and Warner Bros TV, respectively, have been the CW’s exclusive scripted series suppliers to date.
That will remain in place for the 2022-23 season as the vast majority of programming for it has been spoken for. Beyond that, Nexstar “will have the option to extend the partnership” with the studios, Carter said post-deal close, but noted that the situation is very much in flux. The company’s executives have indicated that the CW would be open to outside suppliers going forward.
One of the first projects that will test that new studio strategy is The Hatpin Society, a period drama written and executive produced by Elissa Aron (Humane Treatment) and executive produced by Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator/exec producer and star Rachel Bloom and Dan Gregor. Set in 1909 New York City, it centers on a motley legion of suffragists who fight for equality by day and vigilante justice by night, seeking revolution through any means necessary.
The project was sold directly to the network, which plans to develop it in-house before finding a studio partner. That could end up being CBS Studios, which produced Bloom’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, or WBTV, but doesn’t have to be — a major departure from the business principles on which the CW was founded as it ushers in a new era as an independent.
Inviting third-party studios into the tent will also likely alter the CW’s streaming profile; previous seasons of the network’s scripted series are currently available primarily on Netflix or HBO Max.
The Hatpin Society joins just a handful of pre-existing sales at the CW in the current development cycle as the network and talent had taken a wait-and-see approach while the Nexstar acquisition was still in progress. Probably the highest-profile one among them, as Deadline reported in June, is Archie Comics drama Jake Chang, from Oanh Ly, Viet Nguyen & Daniel Dae Kim’s 3AD, which is produced by WBTV. It is part of the CW’s core genre efforts and reflects the network’s push for on-screen representation over the last several years.
With the CW brass quickly getting out to present their post-acquisition programming strategy just days after the deal officially closed, the buying is expected to accelerate in the coming weeks.
The CW’s longtime chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz, who is remaining at the helm of the network under new owners, has extensive experience overseeing content for broad broadcast audiences, including in his stint as president of main ABC supplier ABC Studios (now ABC Signature).
“I think you will always see a decent amount of scripted programming on the network, I think you’ll see — and we already began the transition to — more alternative, and we will be bringing more acquired programming,” he said in May as the Nextstar acquisition was still being finalized. “I do hope that we will enter the world of half-hour sitcoms being produced for the network, and I do hope should there be a sale and if there is a sale, that it will open the avenues of other producers and studios to come to us besides Warners and CBS, which means more opportunities.”
Comedy had a strong presence on the CW at the time of its 2006 launch, including broad multi-cam sitcom Reba, which went on to have a long afterlife in syndication. Within a couple of years, the network got out of the comedy business.
Reining In Spending
At the time the CW acquisition closed, Nexstar said that to achieve profit, they are planning a significant reduction of spending.
Citing Kagan research, Carter said the CW spends “almost twice” what the other broadcast networks do on programming, a disparity Nexstar plans to eliminate.
“Over time, we will be taking a different approach to our CW programming strategy and will leverage our experience in spending approximately $2 billion a year on programming, attracting and monetizing viewers, and transitioning NewsNation, our national cable news network, from WGN, while maintaining a strict focus on cash flow,” he said.
The CW had previously operated at a loss as a network, commissioning a lot of scripted originals that generate value for WBTV and CBS Studios — and their parents, Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global, respectively — as they exploit them downstream, on streaming and/or internationally.
“Our approach will be unlike other broadcast network owners,” Carter said on August 15. The company would develop its programming “without a dual agenda of greenlighting programming with potential to cross over to SVOD.”
He projected “lower unscripted costs,” without elaborating, and said more syndicated shows would likely be added. The CW has recently been programming 13 hours across six nights in primetime.
The CW Television Network is about to have a new corporate parent. News broke on Monday that Nexstar, the largest owner of local television stations in the U.S., will acquire a 75% stake in the network after six months of negotiations. Current corporate co-owners Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will each maintain a 12.5% interest in the channel, and Nexstar will continue to order original programming from both company's television divisions, as well as elsewhere. The CW's current CEO, Mark Pedowitz, will remain in that position after the deal is finalized, which is expected to happen in Q3 2022.
The CW launched in 2006, gettings its name from the first two letters in the names of its original corporate owners, CBS and Warner Bros. However, there have been reports that both companies as they exist now have been looking to divest from the network following major corporate mergers (CBS joining with Viacom to first become ViacomCBS and now Paramount; Warner Bros. merging with Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery).
Reports suggest that Nexstar plans for The CW to become a network fully focused on its broadcast television potential. Previously, The CW has generated much of its revenue through lucrative streaming deals with companies like Netflix, which encouraged the companies involved to keep shows going that may otherwise not have justified renewals based on broadcast ratings alone. However, with Netflix generating increasingly more of its own original content, and Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery pivoting to focus on their own streaming platforms (Paramount+ and HBO Max/Discovery+, respectively), that business model makes less sense.
The CW was previously best known for being the hub of the shared DC Comics television multiverse that came to be known as the Arrowverse. The franchise included the shows Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, and Batwoman. With The CW canceling Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman earlier this year, and The Flash wrapping with its upcoming ninth season, the Arrowverse will come to an end.
"Our acquisition of The CW is strategically and operationally compelling, as it will enable us to leverage our operational experience to improve the Network's performance through our management of this powerful national platform," said Perry Sook, Nexstar's Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, in a press release. "We plan to apply the same strict financial standards to operating The CW as we apply to our other businesses."
"The CW has delivered signature programming to its broadcast and digital audiences for 16 years," said George Cheeks, President & Chief Executive Officer of CBS. "Together, with our partners at Warner Bros. and The CW, we have created a welcome home for content that has resonated with viewers on the network and on platforms around the world. This new ownership structure enables us to partner with Nexstar and Warner Bros. Discovery on the next chapter of The CW while re-deploying capital to other content platforms at Paramount."
Channing Dungey, Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group, added, "For 16 seasons, The CW has been home to some of the most groundbreaking and generation-defining programming in television, from the iconic DC Super Heroes of Greg Berlanti's Arrowverse series to The Vampire Diaries, and everything in between, including the All American franchise, the original Gossip Girl, Kung Fu, Nikita, Riverdale, Smallville, and many many more. The network was also the home of Supernatural, the longest-running live-action fantasy series in U.S. TV history, for 14 of its 15 seasons. We're excited that the Supernatural story will continue with The Winchesters premiering this fall. We look forward to continuing to collaborate on our shared series and future projects to come under Nexstar's leadership. We are forever grateful to our partners at The CW, especially Mark Pedowitz, who has been a great friend to the studio for so many years, and to me personally. We know that the network will continue to thrive under his leadership."
Home is where the happy is
eToonz, South Africa's only free-to-air kids channel on Openview and soon on DStv as eMedia had been granted rights to reinstate the channels following pending investigation which could take up to 6 months welcomed two series Doodlebops and Fast And The Furious: Spy Racers.
Doodlebops follows Deedee, Rooney and Moe Doodle a rock and roll band as they hang out and practice their song and dance routines in the coolest rehearsal space imaginable. The series features music, dance, comedy and pro-social educational issues.
Fast And Furious: Spy Racers based on the popular franchise Fast And The Furious follows the adventures abound as a group of teenagers infiltrates an elite racing league controlled by a nefarious organization that is bent on world domination.
M-Net is bringing Reeva Steenkamp to life with a three-part docuseries
It has been nine years since Steenkamp was brutally shot and killed by her world-famous paralympic athlete boyfriend Oscar Pistorius - a murder still deeply embedded in the minds of millions worldwide.
M-Net announced that it would be airing #MyNameIsReeva on #MNet101 on 25 August at 20:30. The docuseries seeks to depict the untimely passing of a beautiful, intelligent, and loved woman in her prime.
The CW continues to get chopped
It’s official: The upcoming ninth season of The Flash on the CW will be its last. It will debut in 2023 and consist of 13 episodes, making this the shortest season of its run.
The 13-episode midseason order would put The Flash series finale just weeks ahead of the planned June 23 release of Warner Bros.’ The Flash movie starring Ezra Miller as the title character. Coincidentally, the long-delayed film originally was announced just a week after The Flash series’ October 7 premiere on the CW. The series’ ending is expected to wrap its own storyline and not set up the movie in any way, sources said.
The CW brass has been diligent about giving its signature series a proper ending, when possible. The Flash is one of two legacy shows whose next seasons will be last, along with Riverdale.
