The CW released its new fall schedule this morning and there are a few notable developments. SUPERNATURAL and CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND have moved nights and SUPERGIRL is coming to the network from CBS for its second season. THE ORIGINALS and REIGN are also both being held until midseason, which is a new development for both shows.
During a conference call with journalists, The CW President Mark Pedowitz talked about the network’s new season and the future of some of its shows.
DC Crossovers. Expect to see The CW host a huge DC universe crossover extravaganza this season with the addition of SUPERGIRL. The network is planning on having the crossover episodes in December and they say this year’s crossover will be “the biggest one ever”.
SUPERGIRL. What are their expectations for SUPERGIRL, which rated quite highly on CBS? Pedowitz believes the show will perform a little less than it would if it was on CBS, but that it will be one of their top 3 performers in terms of ratings for next year. Will they adjust any tone for SUPERGIRL now that it’s on The CW? They will be sitting down with Greg Berlanti and his team soon, but the network is confident in their relationship with Berlanti and trust what his team will be doing. Pedowitz said that season 1 was successful overall and now that it’s moved to The CW, “where it should have been in the first place”, there likely won’t be a change in tone. Finally, what role will Calista Flockhart have in the new season given the show’s move from Los Angeles to Vancouver? Pedowitz says that she wants to continue with the show and they’re currently in discussions for how that will play out.
Vixen and the DC Universe. Pedowitz noted that any of the DC characters have the potential to be spun off into a live action show. They are very pleased with the animated version and happy it got a new season. In addition, they were happy about the appearance of live action Vixen in the DC universe live-action shows. There’s also a possibility of her appearing again in the new seasons of the DC shows, but he’s leaving that to the producers right now.
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RIVERDALE. Pedowitz says that RIVERDALE is basically a show about the “secrets of a small town”. They’re going to show a new twist for Archie, Veronica and Betty. But there’s also a big adult presence between Veronica’s mother, Archie’s father and the other adults. It’s a more layered piece than we’ve seen with previous attempts to make the Archie comics into a series.
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. There’s been no decision yet about the future of the show and whether this is the final season. Pedowitz hopes it’s not, but they haven’t determined that yet. In addition, they’re not ready to announce how many episodes the show will have next season, but apparently that will be determined in the coming weeks with the producers.
THE ORIGINALS. Despite the fact that the show has been held until midseason, The CW says that they’re still a big believer in THE ORIGINALS. But they wanted to have CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND stay in the fall and there’s only so much space on the schedule. So they made a choice to have THE ORIGINALS premiere at midseason and help boost the schedule across the whole season.
SUPERNATURAL. The possibility of another SUPERNATURAL spin-off came up again (as it has ever since the first attempt failed) and while it sounds like there are no plans at the present time, Pedowitz has said that if the executive producers have an idea for a new spin-off, they are open to hearing it.
THE 100. The fact that the show is being held until midseason isn’t related to any controversy the show courted in season 3. The CW is a big believer in THE 100 as a midseason show and they’re supportive of the storytellers and how they tell their stories. They believe THE 100 is a very binge-worthy show and the fall is a good time to let people catch up on season 3 before season 4 begins.