The CW's end-of-year ratings may end up proving what shows will survive into the coming season. The network is currently undergoing a major scheduling shakeup after being put up for sale in early 2022 and having the bulk of their shares taken over by the media company Nexstar. In addition to a rash of cancelations earlier this year and the announcement that the next seasons of several popular series, including Riverdale and The Flash, would be their last, the company revealed that only the highest-performing shows this season have a chance of carrying over into their 2023-2024 slate.
Per TVLine, the midseason ratings for The CW's 2022-2023 season are looking good for some series and dire for others. As far as scripted programming goes, the football show All American (871,000 total viewers) and its spinoff All American: Homecoming (611,000 total viewers) took the No. 1 and No. 4 positions, with the former series experiencing a huge 20 percent audience boost on DVR, and the latter only dropping 7 percent from last season's viewership. Between those are the Western reboot Walker (1.38 million total viewers) at No. 2 and the Supernatural prequel The Winchesters (899,000 total viewers) at No. 3, with the Top 5 being rounded out by the prequel Walker Independence (1.02 million total viewers), another series that experienced a big bump on DVR.
What Will The CW Look Like in the 2023-2024 Season?
So far, Nexstar has been keeping tight-lipped about the slate of original programming they're planning for the future of The CW, which a recent report revealed was essentially handed over to them for free by its former parent company. Most of The CW's former programming was licensed material from other production companies, so they will be kicking off a shift to more in-house programs. It is unclear how close they will attempt to hew to the themes and aesthetics of the teen, superhero, and reboot-oriented slate that the network has developed over the past decade and more.
Regarding the future of the shows in the Top 5, it's anything goes for the time being. Between All American capturing the coveted 18-49 demographic and both Walker and its prequel nabbing the most viewers, those shows seem the safest for the time being. The Winchesters' ratings seem to be middling, putting it more on the brink, but its connection to Supernatural, which was the tentpole franchise of The CW for 15 years, might give the new owners more incentive to keep it around and see if audience interest grows during a potential season 2.
However, other shows have less promising outlooks on The CW. Kung Fu, which is a reboot of the 1972 David Carradine series of the same name, landed at No. 7 behind the competition series Penn & Teller: Fool Us, which presumably has a much lower budget than the scripted series, now in its third season. Even lower are Coroner season 4 at No. 9 and DC's Stargirl season 3 at No. 10, though that show has already been canceled. Anything lower than Stargirl, which includes Family Law at No. 11, likely stand no chance at being renewed at all.
Source: TVLine