Jason Rothenberg will continue to helm The 100 as well as develop future projects under the Warner Bros. TV banner.

In what is perhaps a sign of things to come for Warner Bros. Television, The 100 boss Jason Rothenberg has inked an overall deal which ties him creatively to the production company.

In the original article breaking the news, Deadline explains that the multi-year deal covers Rothenberg’s continued involvement with The 100 along with the development of “new projects targeted for network, cable, on-demand/streaming and digital platforms.”

Related: The 100 season 5: 19 big things we learned at SDCC 2017

The new projects will be developed via Warner Bros. Television, Warner Horizon Scripted Television, Warner Bros. Animation or Warner Bros. Television Group’s digital venture, Blue Ribbon Content — the latter of which is behind the development of the CW Seed exclusive series Vixen and the animated Constantine spinoff.

It is no secret that Warner Bros. TV and The CW are increasingly interested in digital content distribution, paying particular attention to online engagement with said content. CW President Mark Pedowitz indicated earlier this year that their new digital strategy is less concerned with linear viewership numbers and more with producing “binge moment” television — certainly, The 100 proves Rothenberg’s ability to do just that.

In fact, The 100 has proven particularly successful for The CW in terms of digital distribution and reception, with Pedowitz claiming (as paraphrased by IndieWire) that “the streaming audience has matched or surpassed” the show’s linear viewership.

While sustaining modest Nielsen ratings that put it well below the CW superhero juggernaut block but on par with Jane the Virgin and above iZombie and the notoriously low-rated but buzzworthy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The 100 has proven to be a hit for the network not only in terms of streaming numbers, but by its ability to engage a highly involved, active fanbase, which does a lot of the promotional legwork for the series through organised social media activities, charity work and awareness campaigns.

As the network’s only futuristic sci-fi series not based on a comic book property, The 100 arguably also serves the function of expanding The CW’s reach and target audience.

Earlier this year, The CW pulled its shows off Hulu, prioritizing streaming on its own website and app, which Pedowitz claims has made a “huge difference” on their numbers. CW series are also released on Netflix both domestically and internationally, in some instances re-packaged as Netflix Originals to international audiences.

Jason Rothenberg’s involvement with the development of future Warner Bros. TV content could indicate an increased focus on digital-only productions; certainly his storytelling style lends itself well to the streaming model, which more fluidly transcends audience expectations about cable/network-appropriate content and offers more freedom in terms of episode/season length to fit the writer’s creative vision. The 100 is arguably being targeted primarily to a digital/streaming audience already, despite airing week-to-week on The CW.

I imagine that applying his experience with The 100 to future projects — which might, like The 100, be similarly inspired by timeless themes of morality, mythology and humanity repeating its own mistakes — would be beneficial for fostering online fandom-driven audience bases in an increasingly digitized media landscape, which Warner Bros. TV and The CW are evidently trying to tap into.

What does Rothenberg’s new deal mean for the future of ‘The 100’?

The short answer is nothing. The slightly longer answer is probably something, but there are no indications of what yet, and speculating one way or another in this case might be counterproductive.

Rothenberg currently serves as showrunner on The 100, which is entering its fifth season on The CW. Production is already underway, and the season is expected to premiere in spring 2018. The new deal does not affect The 100 season 5.

In terms of potential future seasons, Deadline’s announcement only notes that Rothenberg will “continue at the helm of The 100,” but gives no indication of how long The 100 will continue. (We can’t even assume that a decision about the show’s future has yet been made.)

Certainly, developing new projects would not impede his ability to continue his current work; during the previous television series, Rothenberg was working on a second pilot for The CW titled Searchers, and if that had been picked up to series, he would have been able to split his time between both shows, similarly to what Julie Plec has been doing in the Vampire Diaries-verse.

And, as The 100 season 5 serves as a soft reboot of sorts by jumping six years into the future, there could very well be several seasons’ worth of story left to tell in this universe (Rothenberg himself has indicated as much). On the other hand, a five-year run is considered solid for any television series, and would be in line with the original plan for The 100.

Either way — we’ll be keeping an eye on Rothenberg’s future projects, and how they might tie into Warner Bros. TV’s plans for digital/streaming content.