The CW has canceled two more series as network owner Nextstar continues to whittle down its roster of scripted shows.
Kung Fu and Supernatural prequel The Winchesters — both produced by Warner Bros. TV, one of The CW’s former owners — won’t return to the network in 2023-24. Kung Fu ran for three seasons, while The Winchesters ends after a single season. The cancellations follow that of first-year show Walker: Independence, which comes from the network’s other former owner, CBS Studios, on Tuesday.
“As we reimagine the new CW, we had to make some tough programming decisions,” the network said in a statement. “We thank our partners at Warner Bros. and the casts and creative teams of Kung Fu and The Winchesters for all their hard work, creativity and dedication.”
The network has renewed All American and the Jared Padalecki-led Walker for 2023-24. Sources say Nexstar — which has pledged to put the never-profitable network into the black by 2025 — is considering having just two homegrown scripted originals on The CW in the fall, with one or two more taking their place in at midseason. The remainder of the schedule would consist of unscripted series and lower-cost imports; The CW has added a pair of Canadian dramas, family saga Sullivan’s Crossing and private-eye show The Spencer Sisters, starring Lea Thompson, to its fall slate.
With the cancellations, The CW has just three shows left on which to make a decision, DC dramas Superman & Lois and Gotham Knights and All American’s college-set spinoff All American: Homecoming. Sources tell THR the network will likely opt to bring only one of the two DC shows back. Superman & Lois has the bigger audience — it’s averaging 1.2 million viewers over seven days to about 675,000 for Gotham Knights — but is also considerably pricier. Gotham Knights is the least expensive DC series The CW has ever aired, sources say.
The Flash, Nancy Drew, Riverdale are ending this season as well, and Stargirl already has. That leaves The CW, with just five original scripted series — and only two with a guaranteed spot in the 2023-24 lineup — as it heads into next season. At the start of the 2021-22 season 19 months ago, the network had 18 scripted originals. For the first time, the network did not order any scripted pilots during this development cycle.
Additional reporting by Lesley Goldberg.
