Welcome to the all-new CW Renew/Cancel! There has been massive shakeups at the network since our last column in May of 2023, with the new owners completely reshaping what the CW is what what it airs. The network is now home to a heavily-unscripted slate, with nearly all of its scripted programs being acquired programs from Canada and the UK. However, some originals do remain, as do several co-productions. For this renew/cancel, we're only predicting CW originals like All American and Walker, as well as international shows that CW has a hand in producing, like Wild Cards and Son of a Critch. These are shows that, while other networks hold much of the power for determining renewals, CW has at least some stake in them and will have a sway in the decisions. This means fully acquired shows, like Children Ruin Everything, Family Law, and The Conners will not appear in this chart, though you can still get predictions for The Conners in our ABC Renew/Cancel.
*Shows are ranked in descending order from most to least likely renewal
All American: Ratings for shows on CW are so low that the difference between their top show and their lowest-rated shows is pretty minuscule. It's hard to get too excited about even the highest rated shows on the network when everything is so low. Despite that, their #1 show is very easy to detect, and it's All American. The long-running football drama has had an impressive life, being saved by that CW Netflix deal in its first season after rating as one of their lowest-rated shows before seeing a ratings renaissance and remaining among their top performers since then. It's now in its sixth season, and it is surely more expensive to produce than all of the Canadian imports and co-productions that now fill the network. Just today, in fact, CW ordered two more episodes of the show's sixth season, which are said to conclude the storyline of main character Spencer James. While I was previously of the belief that the Netflix deal would save All American this year and get it a seventh and final season, I no longer expect that. This feels like CW's way of giving the show closure without the expense of ordering a full farewell season. While the ratings should be enough for a renewal, I think the cost will do it in. It LEANS CANCELLATION, though I do feel it's the most likely renewal of the four surviving scripted shows from "Old CW."
Walker: The other "Old CW" show on the current schedule, Walker is easily the lower-rated in the key demo, though it's also their #1 show in total viewers. I do think that CW likely wants this show to continue, as it seems to fit their stated goal of finding shows that draw in high numbers of total viewers (their goal of one million viewers remains a pipe dream, but this is the closest they're getting to that). However, the licensing fee paid by CW to air it is said to not be financially feasible for producer CBS.. CBS has just a 12.5% ownership stake in CW now, so it's hard to imagine them bending over backwards to keep a show going that is losing them money, just for the sake of giving CW something to air. I've long expected that every show from the old era of the CW would be purged quickly into the Nexstar era, and I remain confident in that belief. It LEANS CANCELLATION.
Sight Unseen: This Canadian co-production has seen soft ratings thus far, with a 0.04 average over its first three episodes. That's somehow a pretty average rating for the network, though, so those ratings certainly won't doom it. Its ultimate fate will likely rely on whether or not its Canadian home, CTV, also wants to continue with it, but CW is repeating it pretty heavily and seems invested in it, so they certainly seem inclined to continue in spite of those middling ratings. It LEANS RENEWAL.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments below!
