Despite pushing virtually its entire fall slate back into the new year, The CW still plans to film full seasons for the shows as coronavirus-related shutdowns continue around the world. According to network head Mark Pedowitz, shows like The Flash, Supergirl, and Walker are still set to receive the series order the network previously guaranteed.
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“We are planning our normal episodic counts,” Pedowitz recently told TVLine. “We have some shows that’ll have 22 or 20 [episodes], we’ll have some shows at 13. We plan to continue [with that goal in mind], and we’ll see how the world progresses.”
The CW mainstays like The Flash, Legacies, and Riverdale — plus the new Superman & Lois series — are all set to anchor the “fall” series that is currently scheduled to launch January 2021. Other shows, like Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Roswell, will then serve the role as mid-season premieres, carrying the network well into the summer.
As it stands now, most shows on the network still have a few episodes to complete post-production before they’re ready for television. In the case of Supernatural, which was set to air its series finale right around now, the two final episodes of the season have yet to even be filmed.
Instead of having a traditional fall season, Pedowitz and his team have instead been snatching up broadcast rights for series that have previously found their homes elsewhere. To date, The CW has locked down the rights to Swamp Thing (The CW), Tell Me a Story (CBS All Access), and the Canada-based Coroner and Dead Pixels. That means this fall, The CW will be airing reruns of those shows in lieu of new content.
While the network now has the rights to Swamp Thing, Pedowitz previously erred on the side of caution when asked about the possibilities of a follow-up to the acclaimed streaming show. “At the moment, it’s just the one season,” the exec explained on a call with reporters this week. “I do not know if it would come back. Obviously that would be a discussion for Warner Bros. and The CW. But at this time, Swamp Thing is just the episodes we have.”
