The CW Is Moving in a New Direction as Superhero Shows Have ‘Had Their Time’

The CW is getting a programming makeover, as its superhero shows have apparently “had their time.”

During the network’s Upfront today, The CW’s entertainment president Brad Schwartz outlined the vision for programming moving forward, and it includes a serious rollback of the superhero shows the network has been championing for the past 11 years in building out the Arrowverse and other series, like Riverdale and the Nancy Drew reboot, targeted toward the 18-34 demographic. 

“They were the hallmarks of The CW for a long time. As we look forward and try to make this network bigger and profitable, frankly, as much as we all love those shows and they had their time, they’re not working on linear,” Schwartz told reporters when asked about the future of Superman & Lois, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He cited the “young adult audience not making an appointment with broadcast today”; the network will attempt to attract an older audience by getting “bigger and broader.” 

The strategy is an effort to turn a profit by 2025, a goal set by The CW’s new owner Nexstar Media Group, which primarily owns local TV stations across the country. Confusingly, “the average age of the CW broadcast viewer is 58 years,” Nexstar’s president and chief operating officer Tom Carter shared in a conference call last August, per TV Line, just before the October acquisition from Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global, both of which retain a minority stake in The CW. 

“We can’t write a per-episode $10 million check for a show with dragons.

In the first half of 2022, Legacies, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, the Charmed reboot, and Dynasty were all abruptly canceled; ahead of the May 18 announcement, Kung Fu, the Supernatural prequel The Winchesters, and Walker Independence were axed. The final seasons of The Flash and Riverdale were both announced last year. 

Gotham Knights, Superman & Lois, and All American: Homecoming are still awaiting their respective fates, with Scwhartz indicating a decision would come “soon” as the respective companies analyze the costs of producing these “expensive” shows.

“We have to be entrepreneurial in the way we look at content,” Schwartz said. “We can’t write a per-episode $10 million check for a show with dragons.”

Previewing the 2024 season, Schwartz announced co-productions on Joan, a series starring Sophie Turner as an infamous jewel thief; The Librarians: The Next Chapter, a spinoff of the TNT drama; and the acquisition of The Swarm, a German eco-sci-fi series; and Sullivan’s Crossing, a Canadian medical drama starring Chad Michael Murray based on books written by Robyn Carr.

Schwartz also celebrated unscripted acquisitions, like Max castoff FBoy Island. “A big, bold unscripted show like Fboy could really bust through,” he said, according to Deadline.