‘Supergirl’ Moves To The CW, Renewed For Season 2
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The CW has picked up its first new series for next season, and it is not that new. Afterweeks of speculation,Supergirl will move fromCBS to sister network the CW, which has renewed the superhero drama for a second season. The pickup, which comes hours after the most recent deadline for CBS to make a renewal decision on the freshman series, expands the CW DC superhero universe to four series, all from producerGreg Berlanti, asSupergirlis set to join The Flash, Arrow and DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow. One of them,Flash, already crossed over to Supergirlon CBS, making for a seamless integration of the newbie into the CW superhero squad.
A Supergirl move to the CW had been rumored for a while, with talks becoming real the last few days. A CW pickup was contingent on finding a way to produce a show of that scale (Supergirl commanded one of the highest license fees for a new series this season) for the CW. Producing studio Warner Bros TV already made a pre-emptive effort to trim costs witha planned move of production from Los Angeles to Vancouver in Season 2, which is now official. That will bring the show together with Berlanti’s current CW superhero drama series, which all are based in Vancouver.
Your Complete Guide to Pilots and Straight-to-Series orders
The CW frequently had been mentioned as a suitable home for Supergirl because of the show’s young skew, the CW president Mark Pedowitz’s public comments about regretting not going after the project when it was originally pitched, and the fact that the CW is co-owned by CBS and Warner Bros.
This is the second time Supergirl had been rumored to move from CBS to the CW; it didn’t happen after the pilot last year. Previously, drama Ringer moved from CBS to the CW after the pilot.
Being
based on a DC property, as it moves to the CW, Supergirl will remain solely owned by WBTV and not a co-production with CBS TV Studios as the original CW series automatically become.
Despite the fact that its numbers tapered off significantly after a strong start, Supergirl, aided by a solid DVR play, averaged a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 in a competitive time slot, ranking as the No. 1 new CBS drama and No. 4 new network series overall (behind onlyBlindspot, Life In Pieces andQuantico) in the demo this season. It is CBS’ youngest-skewing new drama and averaged nearly 10 million viewers.
Based on the characters by DC Comics, Supergirl is executive produced by Berlanti, Ali Adler, Andrew Kreisberg and Sarah Schechter for Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. TV. The series stars Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, David Harewood, Jeremy Jordan and Calista Flockhart.
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85 Comments
Screw how why what where or all that it is on CW now lets worry about more important things like Flash Arrow Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow cross overs working towards a real life JLU tv series!!!!
- Supergirl Fan
Oh. Oh. Moving Supergirl from CBS to CW is not good for me. Now I can’t watch Supergirl anymore which was my favorite series to look forward to each week. I am on a limited budget and can’t afford expensive cable. I use OTA broadcasts and receive CBS just fine but do not receive any of the CW stations, bummer!!!
- Ralph
If you have access to the internet you can check out episodes the day after on the CW website or if you have an Portable internet device (IPad, Surface, Kindle etc) you can get the CW app for free. You might want to check your local public Library, too. Most of them have Internet access for free.
- Anonymous
Great, Another CW show I will have watch on Hulu to be able to view it in HD.
- KET
The whole Supergirl cast is reportedly coming back, and the move to Vancouver gives the show back tax subsidies that it recently lost in California. The production will undoubtedly save money from the better dollar value on the American buck in Canada, so it’s really a giant ‘Winn’ for the show’s production values and continued success. Hats off to Greg Berlanti, Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz for making the Supergirl transition to The CW a potential ratings booster for the network.
- SC Vandy
Had CBS renewed “Supergirl” the cast would be getting their previously negotiated/guaranteed “bump” for season 2. So, not only are they celebrating a renewal, but an increase in salary.
Now, how much of “a hit,” “a loss” is each regular taking since year 2 is on the significantly lower, license fee paying CW?
Being sensitive to the privacy rights entitled to the performers, I’m not asking dollar figures, but rather proportionate percentage cuts.
Was it Nellie or someone else who said the $3 million-per-hour CBS was paying Warner Bros. Television was the highest license fee paid for a new series, 2015 – 16? Is that indeed the correct figure?
Additional questions related to this fascinating development, this reprieve:
1) This debut season, was Warner Bros. TV able to produce these episodes with the license fee covering the total budget, or did the studio absorb a deficit?
2) How many hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper is the CW paying per seg and how many hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper is Warner Bros. budgeting?
3) Is the plan in Vancouver to shoot each episode in 7 days, as opposed to the 8 (?) allotted in Burbank?
4) What additional steps are required to bring the production costs down?
5) This order is for 22 hours, right?
I don’t wish to wear out my welcome, so I’ll stop here. But, I believe the overall theme of my curiosity is valid and of considerable interest.How can you say they’re gonna get a salary increase? From Melissa on down, Freddie Krueger will be in charge of their financials, and they will be cut to the bone to defray costs. But the man to blame is Les Moonves: Lying Liar who Lies. On March 8, he promised THIS:
Moonves Says CBS Plans to Renew Freshman Shows:
variety.com/2016/tv/news/supergirl-renewed-cancelled-cbs-les-moonves-freshman-shows-1201725184/and then yesterday Supergirl gets sent down to the minor leagues, aka the SeeDub? Moonves double-crossed the show is what it looks from here. What changed in those 65 days between then and today? How can a multi-billion $ network like CBS, swimming in $$, have *licensing fee issues*? Unless they want to remain the old folks and procedurals network. There’s GOT to be more to this. Now you guarantee SG’s ratings + budget will be at least halved, shedding of cast members and looking as minor league as the minor league network it’s going to.
Flockhart’s a likely goner, maybe Chyler Leigh and David Harewood, too (big contracts). CDN dollar saves 25% off the bat, then another 25% or more saved in Provincial Tax Credits (when they employ local labor). They aren’t shooting in Vancouver just for the fresh air.
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