It sounds like the Waverider might be taking a bit of a detour in the beginning of 2019.
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The CW recently announced the midseason premiere dates for their roster of shows, which signaled some major changes for two of the network’s DC Comics-inspired shows. Starting on January 21st, Black Lightning will be moving to Mondays at 9/8c, taking the post-Arrow time-slot currently occupied by Legends of Tomorrow. This means that after Legends‘ midseason finale airs this December, the show will be on hiatus until April of 2019, and will return once Black Lightning wraps up its sophomore season.
Some fans will probably be surprised by this schedule change, even as a similar sort of situation happened with Legends and Supergirl last year. That previous switch, which saw Legends take over Supergirl‘s regular time-slot for several months, was initially met with a bit of backlash, but ultimately proved to work for both shows.
“I think, you know, the other thing that the CW feels, I think, correctly is all the shows now, they’ve sort of proven that the audience follows the shows,” Arrow and Legends consulting producer Marc Guggenheim told ComicBook.com at the time. “Arrow’s ratings are insanely stable despite both a night change and a time change. Legends has bounced around. This I think will be our third move across the schedule and our ratings remain very consistent.”
“All the shows have very loyal audiences,” Guggenheim continued, “and you know how to find the shows, so I think the sense is over at the CW is that they can make these moves and it doesn’t carry with it the risks that other shows on other networks typically have to bite their nails, you know, white-knuckle themselves through as they make these scheduling changes.”
Despite Legends struggling in ratings here and there, it’s pretty safe to assume that the fan-favorite series is still in good standing, and that this change has to do more with scheduling the network’s larger roster of shows. The CW recently handed out full season orders to freshmen shows Charmed, Legacies, and All American, and the network will be debuting Roswell, New Mexico in January, as well as the premieres of iZombie, The 100, Jane the Virgin, and In The Dark at some point in the midseason.
Either way, it sounds like Legends‘ fourth season will usher in this temporary hiatus on a pretty major high note, with the show having its own “crossover” episode of sorts while the rest of the Arrowverse shows are in the middle of “Elseworlds”.
“During the week that all the other crossovers are happening, we will essentially be crossing over with ourselves,” showrunner Keto Shimizu previously teased. “[It will involve] alternate time periods.”
“I’ll just say it’s a lot of work for the people who are in those scenes!” Tala Ashe, who plays Zari Tomaz, seconded. “It’s fun.”
Are you sad that Legends of Tomorrow will have this scheduling change? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
