‘Legends of Tomorrow,’ ‘Batwoman’ Canceled: What Does the New Merger Mean for the Future of The CW?
DC Comics-based TV shows Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman were both cancelled by The CW, and as a consequence, many are guessing that it has something to do with the new parent company merger (that resulted in the entity Warner Bros. Discovery) and a desire to cut costs.
Back in January, it was announced that, after sixteen years, WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS were looking to sell The CW. It’s hard to believe it has only been that long since this new network took over for The WB and UPN, but since then, it has seen high highs and low lows. While DC’s Arrowverse used to be a solid hitmaker for the channel, that has not been consistent as the series have gone on (and on). The Hollywood Reporter noted that the network’s viewership dropped 60% in five years.
As someone who does still watch her steady intake of CW shows, despite my problems with the network, is does have some important shows in terms of LGBTQ representation and a few shows with BIPOC representation, and it would be a shame to see them fade away. Batwoman lead Javicia Leslie shared a heartfelt statement on Instagram following the news, taking note to address the issue of representation:
“And to the fans… WOW… I tear up thinking about all of your messages, tweets, DMs, and letters!! You all reminded me why what we do is soooo important. @ViolaDavis recently said in an interview when asked why representation matters: “Because you need to see a physical manifestation of your dream.
There is something about seeing someone who looks like you that makes it more tangible.”
The CW gave early renewals to All American, The Flash, Kung Fu, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, Superman & Lois and Walker back in March. Still up in the air are Charmed, Dynasty, In the Dark, Legacies, Legends of Tomorrow, Roswell, New Mexico, Stargirl, All American: Homecoming, The 4400, Naomi, and Tom Swift. There are also other projects like the Supernatural prequel, which have been cast, but anything can be canceled.
David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, promised that the newly combined WarnerMedia-Discovery company would “invest in scale smartly.” HBO Max has been a second arm of the DC world, along with The CW, and this could also mean issues for projects like the supposed Wonder Twins movie.
Netflix’s habit of starting shows and then ending them after one season has been a long-standing issue for people who lament the day when streaming gave an avenue for more subversive and niche television. As streaming has become the new lay of the land, we have seen creators get opportunities to make big projects and others get shot down. I hope that The CW is allowed to keep going and investing in projects.
I also hope they see the issues with the writing on many of their shows and starts realizing that key problems with their shows over the last 5 years are the repetitive storytelling and not being able to structure long-term stories in a way that keeps audiences engaged.
(image: The CW)
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