The American chain The CW has just announced the renewal of 13 of its current series, that is to say almost the whole of its catalog. According to several American media, this decision was taken in anticipation of a possible strike by the writers, which could take place in the spring.
The adapted comic series, The Flash , Supergirl , Legends of Tomorrow , Black Lightning, Batwoman and Riverdale , are almost all renewed for the 2020-2021 season. The only exception: Arrow , whose shutdown was scheduled after season 8. The CW has also ordered 13 additional episodes for Katy Keene , the spin-off of Riverdale worn by Lucy Hale ( Pretty Little Liar ) and whose broadcast is scheduled to start in February.
Renewed series not yet broadcast
Similarly, the new Nancy Drew is already renewed for a second season. All American , Charmed , Legacies , In The Dark and Roswell, New Mexico will all return for a third season. The surprise is Dynasty , renewed for a fourth season, which nevertheless achieves very weak audiences. Like Arrow , the Supernatural series will not return: the fifteenth season was to be the last.
TV Line notes that, if this is not the first time that the CW has carried out a massive renewal of its series, it is rarer for it to renew series that have not yet been broadcast (such as Kathy Keene ) or whose last season does not has not yet been broadcast (this is the case of Roswell, New Mexico which is due to return on March 16).
"An advance to reflect on our narrative arcs"
"These first orders for new seasons give our production teams a head start to reflect on our narrative arcs, and on hiring, and this also gives us a strong foundation of established series, loved by fans on which to build the next season", said The CW president Mark Pedowitz.
According to several American media, including TV Line, Deadline and Variety , this massive renewal of the series of The CW would have been encouraged by the prospect of a writers' strike in the spring. The contract between the WGA, the main American union of screenwriters, and the association of film and television series producers, expires in 5 months. The working conditions of the writers will therefore be renegotiated, and the TV industry is preparing for a battle over these conditions, while streaming is taking up more and more space.
An early renewal, explains Deadline, allows to end the scenarios of the next seasons in advance, and to limit the slowdown in filming. In 2007, a scriptwriters' strike had put the production of many films and series on hold, and several series like Desperate Housewives had been shortened.
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