Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: The CW

  • CW Cancels ‘Legacies’ After Four Seasons

    CW Cancels ‘Legacies’ After Four Seasons

    In what has been a day filled with mass amounts of cancellations from the CW, Legacies has officially become the latest casualty. After four seasons beginning in 2018, the Julie Plec-created series has officially been pulled by the network. The show continued the overarching narrative of the Vampire Diaries franchise while introducing audiences to a new generation of supernatural beings at Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. With the cancellation of this series, it quietly marks the end of the Vampire Diaries saga as of now, with both the original series and additional spin-off The Originals having come to an end in recent years.

    Even with the end of the series, creator Julie Plec remains fully ensconced in the world of young vampires. She continues to be working on the Vampire Academy series, created by Marguerite MacIntyre and herself, for the Peacock streaming service. As well, she has recently reunited with Vampire Diaries co-creator Kevin Williamson earlier this year to begin development on an additional series for Peacock based around the Death Day film franchise.

    The CW has very much upended its original programming lineup with the cancellations of 4400, Charmed, Dynasty, In the Dark, and Roswell, New Mexico earlier today. As well, the network has officially eliminated a large portion of their shows built around the DC Universe with Naomi being canceled today in conjunction with Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow recently. It certainly begs the question of what the CW has planned moving forward in terms of original programming.


    Source: Variety

  • ‘Gotham Knight’s Ordered to Series by The CW

    ‘Gotham Knight’s Ordered to Series by The CW

    It seemed like the CW was cleaning up, as they’ve started canceling one project after another. Yet, it seems that they still have a few projects in the development pipeline they’ve decided to pick up some of their new pilots. Among them is the new DC series Gotham Knights, which mainly shares the name and premise of the upcoming Warner Bros. Montréal game.

    The series joins Walker: Independence and The Winchesters for the 2022-23 season, which are both prequel series from CW’s line-up. Gotham Knights is an original concept that explores Bruce Wayne’s offspring after his father dies and is forced to work with the children of Batman’s villains.

    While many expected the sale of existing projects was due to the upcoming Warner Bros. Discovery sale that has been rumored for some time. It seems that Nexstar is currently in the lead to purchase the broadcast network, but that makes it unclear what would happen to its intellectual properties that technically belong to WArner Bros.

    They’ve recently been busy canceling various projects, which included their Charmed remake, Batwoman, and even last season’s newest DC addition, Naomi. The latter was quite the surprise for many, as many saw it as a new start to their DC CW slate after various Arrowverse mainstays were leaving. It’s unclear what may happen to Gotham Knights in case a sale does end up happening, but it’s great to see them moving forward.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Naomi’ Not Returning for a Second Season on the CW

    ‘Naomi’ Not Returning for a Second Season on the CW

    The CW has canceled a slew of shows including the DC Comics adaptation Naomi.

    After finishing its first season just two days ago, the CW has confirmed Naomi will not be returning for a second season. The news, while unfortunate, shouldn’t be too surprising. Despite having Ava DuVernay behind the project and plenty of critical acclaim, the series failed to find an audience like most of the network’s shows.

    This marks the latest DC Comics television series to get the ax following the cancellations of Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman. Currently, renewal decisions have yet to be made for The Flash, which is rumored to end after Season 9, Stargirl, and Riverdale. Superman & Lois has already been renewed for a third season. A new DC Show, titled Gotham Knights, has filmed a pilot for the network; a decision regarding that title has not yet been made either although it is expected to be ordered to series.

    While the CW has been notorious for its low ratings, it was recently announced that the network might soon be going up for sale. In the past, The CW benefited greatly from its Netflix deal, which was thought to bring in a fair amount of revenue while in place. Unfortunately, after that deal was not renewed with Warner Bros. looking to use its own streaming service instead, the CW shows suffered. It is currently thought that Nexstar is the frontrunner to purchase the CW, although it is unlikely a deal will be made in time for the network’s upfronts presentation next week.

    Source: THR

  • ‘The Flash’ Set Photos Reveal First Look at Fast Track

    ‘The Flash’ Set Photos Reveal First Look at Fast Track

    The Flash is set to surpass Arrow for the longest-running Arrowverse series as it approaches its ninth season on the CW network. Throughout these past 8 seasons, The Flash has introduced countless other speedsters such as Reverse Flash, Zoom, Jay Garrick, Trajectory, The Rival, XS, Kid Flash, Savitar, and Black Flash — just to name a few. Over the past few seasons, the series has begun adapting recent stories like the seven forces, and looks to be bringing a recent addition to the speed force into live-action.

    Recent set photos from The Flash have revealed that speedster Fast Track will be making her live-action debut sometime in the 8th season of The Flash. Set photos show the unknown actress suited up in the character’s black costume. We can assume that this actress will be playing Meena Dhawan, the alter ego of the character in the comics. 

    Fast Track is a fairly recent character, having been introduced in 2016, created by Joshua Williamson and Neil Googe, and introduced in The Flash Vol. 5 #3. Meena was a scientist at Star Labs who worked in the Newton’s Practical Application Department who was struck by lightning following a speed force storm sweeping through Central City. Meena used her newfound attachment to the speedforce to help the Flash in training the next generation of speedsters, those who’d also been affected by the speed force storm.

    Here’s to hoping we’ll get an official look at the character soon with a better look at the costume and know just who is playing Fast Track.

    SOURCE: Twitter

  • ‘Naomi’: Ava DuVernay Teases the Forthcoming CW Series

    ‘Naomi’: Ava DuVernay Teases the Forthcoming CW Series

    While WarnerMedia looks to sell the CW, the network is operating normally. During the TCAs on Thursday, Ava DuVernay teased her forthcoming DC Comics adaption, Naomi, hitting the CW next week on Jan. 11. Naomi, of course, is the second DC Comics title DuVernay has tackled. Shortly before the director’s New Gods feature was shelved, DC and the CW announced last February she’d be bringing Naomi, a relatively new title, to life on the small screen. For DuVernay, getting to tackle a book like Naomi was important. 

    “It’s not about representation, it’s about normalization,” DuVernay explained. “We’re doing really muscular things that relate to race and gender and class but we’re doing it by playing it normal like it’s just a part of the everyday… The more you can portray images without underlining or highlighting them and putting a star next to them. By showing a different type of hero that centers a girl, a Black girl, that centers different kinds of folks. We start to make that normal and that’s a radical and revolutionary thing.”

    As for what fans can expect from the adaptation? DuVernay notes that they crammed a lot into the first two episodes, however, don’t expect any crossovers to happen just yet. “We got a lot of information in the first two episodes which means: we get to make up cool new things,” she said. “You won’t see any crossovers in season one. We’re focused on Naomi’s journey singularly.”

    Naomi, of course, is based on the comic of the same name from Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker and artist Jamal Campbell. The series follows Naomi McDuffie (Kaci Walfall) who is a top student, skateboarder and huge Superman fan. After a stunt in her hometown of Port Oswego turns her world upside down, Naomi finds herself dealing with strange new fainting spells as she tries to uncover who or what is behind the unexpected event. As she looks for answers, and finds some folks in her town know more than they’re letting on, Naomi will find the event has changed her life for good, challenging her to question everything she knows.

    Source: Deadline

  • WarnerMedia is Looking to Sell The CW

    WarnerMedia is Looking to Sell The CW

    The CW is going up for sale by WarnerMedia, with a potential home for the network already in the cards.

    Late on Wednesday, Jan. 5th, it was revealed that WarnerMedia was looking to sell its television network, the CW. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, with the outlet reporting Nexstar is one of the potential suitors. Interestingly enough, while WSJ was able to confirm the network is for sale, it was unable to note whether ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia intend on selling the entire network outright or retaining a minority stake following the purchase.

    The CW, of course, has long been a struggling network since its debut in 2006. At the time, the network came about when UPN and The WB Network were merged together. Compared to other networks, the views for the CW have long been less than stellar with much of the revenue earned by the network coming from the international streaming sales of its biggest titles, including The Flash and Dynasty. While the CW once had a strong deal with Netflix that helped to booster some of its titles, that deal expired in 2019 following the launch of HBO Max. This ultimately cut into the network’s profits for the sales of international streaming rights.

    When the CW was created, it was meant to provide a network for viewers between the ages of 18-34. Yet, while the network has found some success with its DC Comics adaptations (nicknamed the Arrowverse), viewership has continued to decline, with most titles lucky to even pull in a 1.0 rating in the all-too-important 18-34 demographic.

    Source: The Wall Street Journal

  • CW Renews ‘Stargirl’ for Season 3

    CW Renews ‘Stargirl’ for Season 3

    With the second season on the horizon, fans of Brec Bassinger‘s Courtney Whitmore and the Justice Society of America have been anxious about the series’ future. It follows her move to the quaint town of Blue Valley, Nebraska. There, she uncovers her step-dads startling past as a member of the JSA. From there on, she carries on his mantle and becomes Stargirl. It becomes her task to assemble a new JSA to face the Injustice Society.

    Variety is now reporting that the comic book series has scored an early season renewal at the CW. The adventures of Stargirl and the JSA will continue as the ranks of the team begin to expand and the threats get more menacing. It isn’t the only one, as it also is joined by an early renewal for the new Kung Fu series. Mark Pedowitz, CEO and chairman of the CW Network, shares his enthusiasm for the renewal.

    We are beyond proud to continue to share the stories of Nicky Shen and Courtney Whitmore, two strong, powerful young women at the center of this new generation of hit shows for The CW in ‘Kung Fu’ and ‘DC’s Stargirl, While each boasts remarkable talent on both sides of the camera, ‘Kung Fu’ and ‘DC’S Stargirl’ have not only treated fans to some visually stunning action and high-flying heroics, but they also both strike very powerful emotional chords as they delve into the family dynamics and personal relationships at their core, and we are so excited to see what happens next.

    The upcoming season of Stargirl is set to begin airing on Tuesday, August 10th. We will join Courtney in her efforts to reassemble the JSA and face their biggest threat yet, Eclipso.

    Source: Variety