Our comprehensive coverage of the TV network upfront presentations this week in New York concludes with a look at The CW's plans for the 2016-17 season. See more upfronts coverage...
Highlights and notes
- With Beauty & The Beast and the just-canceled Containment the network's only scripted shows not returning next season, there is room for just three new shows in The CW's 2016-17 lineup. Those are detailed at the bottom of this page.
- The network's fall lineup will launch in October.
- The CW will also be the new home of Supergirl, as the DC Comics series moves from CBS for its second season. That addition means DC series will run across four consecutive nights at 8p. And all of them (including Supergirl) will be involved in the CW's annual DC comics crossover event in December.
- Several returning series will be held for midseason, including The Originals and iZombie.
- In what appears to be the first-ever deal of its kind, current Legends of Tomorrow star Wentworth Miller will exit that series to become a "floating" regular on all of The CW's DC Comics shows, splitting his time next season mainly between Legends and The Flash.
- Despite rumors to the contrary, no decision has been made yet about the future of The Vampire Diaries beyond the upcoming 8th season. It won't necessarily end next year.
Renewed and canceled
No surprises today, as the network announced all of its major renew/cancel decisions last week (or earlier). Containment is the CW's only first-year drama not moving on to a second season.
Scripted shows are in bold below.
| Renewed | Canceled or Ended | Fate Uncertain | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 100 Arrow Crazy Ex-Girlfriend DC's Legends of Tomorrow The Flash iZombie Jane the Virgin The Originals Reign Supernatural The Vampire Diaries |
America's Next Top Model ** Beauty & The Beast Containment |
Dates Masters of Illusion * Penn & Teller: Fool Us * Significant Mother Whose Line Is It Anyway? * A Wicked Offer |
The CW's 2016-17 primetime schedule
New programs are indicated in bold in the schedule below. All times are ET/PT unless otherwise indicated.
| 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MON | Supergirl ** | Jane the Virgin | ||
| TUE | The Flash | No Tomorrow | ||
| WED | Arrow | Frequency | ||
| THU | DC's Legends of Tomorrow | Supernatural * | ||
| FRI | The Vampire Diaries | Crazy Ex-Girlfriend * | ||
The CW's new shows at a glance
The three first-year series ordered for the CW's 2016-17 season are detailed below. The network passed on a new paranormal drama from Kevin Williamson, though that project could resurface next year, along with fellow rejected shows The Notebook (based on the Nicholas Sparks novel) and Weaveworld (based on Clive Barker's novel). Also rejected was period monster drama Transylvania and an untitled series about the colonization of Mars.
Frequency
DRAMA Wednesdays at 9p
Originally developed a few years ago for NBC, this "reimagining" of the 2000 sci-fi film of the same name centers on a female cop (Peyton List, The Flash) who discovers that she can communicate with her long-dead father (also a cop) via ham radio. Together, they work to solve a murder case (yes, that's exactly what you would do if you could suddenly speak with a dead relative), but learn there are unintended consequences of meddling with two different time periods. Riley Smith (Nashville) and Mekhi Phifer also star. Current Supernatural showrunner Jeremy Carver will leave that show to assume the same duties at Frequency.
No Tomorrow
DRAMA/COMEDY Tuesdays at 9p
From some of the team behind Jane the Virgin (and, like that show, based on a South American format, in this case the Brazilian series How to Enjoy the End of the World) comes this dramedy about the budding romance between a straight-laced office worker (Tori Anderson) and a man (Galavant's Joshua Sasse) who lives life to the fullest—because he thinks the apocalypse is rapidly approaching.
Riverdale
DRAMA midseason tbd
Yes, it's yet another comic book show, though this one is superhero-free: the source material here is the 75-year-old Archie Comics series. The drama aims to present a "surprising and subversive take" on Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and the rest of the gang from Riverdale, emphasizing the "surrealism" and "darkness" of small-town life. The new series (along with Supergirl, moving from CBS) will give producer Greg Berlanti five shows on The CW next season, matching Shonda Rhimes' current ABC total and Dick Wolf's NBC haul. (Berlanti actually bests them by one, since he also produces Blindspot on NBC.)
Bonus trailers
More coverage of the 2016-17 upfront presentations ...
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