Courtesy of Deadline Hollywood
(Editor’s Note: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow are all filmed in Vancouver, Canada.)
The CW Network once again is giving an early renewal for next season to the bulk of its lineup with pickups for 7 fall series, the four DC shows, Arrow (Season 6), The Flash (Season 4), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 3) and transplant Supergirl (Season 3); as well as veteran Supernatural, which just keeps going with a Season 13 renewal. Also picked up for next season are praised comedies Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Season 3) and Jane the Virgin (Season 4), which have brought the CW its first major awards recognition. (The show’s Golden Globe-winning stars Rachel Bloom and Gina Rodriguez were once again nominated at the Golden Globes on Sunday night.)
There are no episode order sizes set for any of the shows. Those calls will be made in May when the CW brass set the network’s fall schedule.
During the CW executive session, the CW president Mark Pedowitz said that “certain shows are better suited to be 13, 16 or 18 episodes,” adding that most DC Comics series are designed to go full seasons.
As expected, missing from the list are new CW fall series No Tomorrow and Frequency, whose fate was pretty much sealed when they did not get a back order. It was the first time in the network’s 11-year history that no new fall series received a full-season order. The network will not make a final decision on the two shows until May, so there is a small chance for renewal in case any of them get big traction on Netflix where they will start airing shortly as part of the CW’s deal with the streaming service. (While the linear ratings for both have been underwhelming, Frequency has gotten a decent digital play.)
With the exception of The Vampire Diaries, whose current eighth season is its last, this represents a renewal of all CW returning fall series. Last year, the network made the renewals in March, extending it to a whopping 11 CW series.
“Over the past several seasons, The CW has built a schedule of proven performers, from our lineup of DC superheroes, to critically acclaimed comedies, to sci-fi dramas,” said the CW president Mark Pedowitz. “Early pickups of these seven series now allow our producers to plan ahead for next season, and gives us a solid base to build on for next season, with original scripted series to roll out all year long.”
Left for May renewal decisions are the CW’s midseason series, which are yet to debut, returning iZombie, The 100 and The Originals and newbie Riverdale. Reign is returning for fourth and final season.