Early renewals are a blessing to all — The CW has just announced that 10 of its signature series, including Supernatural and all DC shows, are safe for another year.
The CW’s session at the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena this afternoon saw president Mark Pedowitz grant early renewal to 10 shows — nearly a full slate of the network’s currently airing prime-time series.
In order of age, these shows are:
Supernatural for season 15.
Arrow for season 8.
The Flash for season 6.
Supergirl for season 5.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow for season 5.
Riverdale for season 4.
Black Lightning for season 3.
Dynasty for season 3.
Charmed for season 2.
Legacies for season 2.
Last year, The CW announced its slate in April and did not confirm any early renewals at the January event, so fans of these shows can rest easy in the next couple of months as the 2018-2019 season concludes its run.
Viewers can also potentially expect more tightly tied series arcs going from season finales into the fall premieres, as early renewal gives all creative teams the green light to continue their stories without the worry that things have to be wrapped up quickly.
A few things to note about these renewals: firstly, there is no airdate or episode order for any of these shows as of yet. If you’ll recall, the 2018 – 2019 slate saw a few deviations from the standard season length for many properties. Some got shorter, some got longer, and we won’t know until much later if more shuffling is to come in that department.
Secondly, this news does not serve as an official cancellation of other current shows. The CW has granted early renewal to two of its newest series — Legacies and Charmed — but fans of freshman football drama All American, brand-new shows like Roswell, New Mexico, and mid-season staples like The 100 will likely need to wait until spring.
Pedowitz sounds hopeful that more established properties will return, though. “The early renewal of these signature CW series gives us a head start on laying out the 2019-2020 season, and this is just the beginning,” he said in a statement. “These shows provide a strong foundation for our multiplatform programming strategy, and we look forward to building on this with even more returning and new shows as we approach the May upfront.”
The CW already announced last year that the current season is the last for Jane the Virgin, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and iZombie.
Two shows in particular can celebrate massive achievements with this announcement. Supergirl, one of the Arrowverse’s most beloved properties, will reach its 100th episode celebration during season 5 — presuming its episode order will be more than 12 episodes, which seems like a given.
And with this renewal, Supernatural, The CW’s sole surviving adoptee from The WB/UPN merger back in 2006, becomes one of only eight prime-time scripted shows currently on air to receive a 15th season, and if it carries on beyond that, the number grows smaller still. For example, Criminal Minds, which was recently renewed for its own 15th season, has announced that this run will be its last. Take animation out of the mix, and you’re looking at Supernatural in a pool of about three or four in terms of endurance within live-action television production.
The announcement of Supernatural season 15 gives no hint of a planned series finale. That news may be yet to come — or not. After all, there were whispers way back when that episode 300 may be the show’s chance to call it a day, and that milestone crept up on us and arrived with no signs of stopping. Salt ’em, burn ’em, shoot ’em, bury ’em, or drop ’em in the goddamn ocean — these Winchesters wobble but they will not fall down.
Supernatural’s 300th episode will air on The CW next week, February 7 as the 13th episode of season 14. Simply titled “Lebanon,” the story will be a close look at the Winchesters’ adopted hometown of Lebanon, Kansas, the geographic center of the continental United States, where the Men of Letters bunker happens to be located. Fans will learn what the locals think of the mysterious men and their muscle car who rolled into town some six years back, and the episode will feature the return of the boys’ father John Winchester, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, as well as the pesky bureaucratic angel Zachariah, played by Kurt Fuller. “Lebanon” was written by Andrew Dabb and Meredith Glynn, and directed by Robert Singer.