It’s only June, but it’s never too soon to start thinking about what we’ll be watching in the fall. Below is a preview of The CW’s new fall and midseason series, a look at The CW’s schedule, a list of the shows that have been renewed for at least another year, those that have been canceled, and those whose fates remain in limbo. And now you know.
The CW chose to not hold an upfronts presentation this year because … well, why? Instead of hosting a big expensive event on Zoom, they could just call individual advertisers and be like, “Hey, here are the four new shows we have coming up, and you know the rest of our schedule is just non-stop teens and superheroes and teen superheroes, what more do you need from us?”
And their new schedule is keeping in that vein, though there are two very interesting new reboots on their fall schedule: a Nickelodeon game show — but now for adults — and a cult sci-fi favorite from 2004. The midseason replacements are much more in line with traditional CW programming, so I guess the decision here is, “Let’s try something new, and if it doesn’t work out, we can return to what has always worked in the past.” And you know what? I respect that.
Schedule
SUNDAY
7/8 p.m.: LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE
8/9 p.m.: Killer Camp
MONDAY
7/8 p.m.: All American
8/9 p.m.: 4400
TUESDAY
7/8 p.m.: The Flash
8/9 p.m.: Riverdale
WEDNESDAY
7/8 p.m.: DC’S Legends of Tomorrow
8/9 p.m.: Batwoman
THURSDAY
7/8 p.m.: Walker
8/9 p.m.: Legacies
FRIDAY
7/8 p.m.: Penn & Teller: Fool Us
8/9 p.m.: Nancy Drew
SATURDAY
7/8 p.m.: Whose Line is it Anyway?
7:30/8:30 p.m.: Whose Line is it Anyway?
8/9 p.m.: Whose Line is it Anyway?
8:30/9:30 p.m.: Whose Line is it Anyway?
New Fall Shows
Legends of the hidden temple
Official synopsis: This supersized, adult version of LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE is taken out of the studio into a “jungle” and scaled up with tougher challenges and much bigger prizes on the line. It preserves the original Nickelodeon series’ favorite elements including: “Olmec” (the giant talking Mayan head), the“Moat Crossings,” “The Steps of Knowledge,” the “Temple Run,” and of course, the iconic team names: “Purple Parrots,” “Blue Barracudas,” “Orange Iguanas,” “Red Jaguars,” “Silver Snakes” and “Green Monkeys.” Every episode is a hero’s journey through a mysterious jungle. Five teams begin the journey, but only one is “strong enough and smart enough” to enter the ominous Olmec’s Temple, avoid the “dreaded” Temple Guards, retrieve a lost treasure, and return it to its rightful owner.
T’s Take: I am old and the original version of this game show was long after my time, so, you know, sure? Why not? Good for The CW for trying something in primetime that isn’t a superhero drama?
4400
Official synopsis: Over the last century at least, four thousand four hundred people who were overlooked, undervalued, or otherwise marginalized vanished without a trace off the face of the planet. Last night, inexplicably, they were all returned in an instant to Detroit, MI, having not aged a day and with no memory of what happened to them. As the government races to understand the phenomenon, analyze the potential threat, and contain the story, an empathetic social worker (Joseph David-Jones, “Arrow”) and hardened community corrections officer (Ireon Roach, “Candyman”) are among the civil servants called upon to deal with the uncanny refugees. The new partners clash in ideology and approach, but gradually find they have more in common than they thought as they become familiar with those under their care, including: a lawyer and resilient young mother from the early aughts (Brittany Adebumola, “Grand Army”), whose unexpected reunion with her estranged husband (Cory Jeacoma, “Jersey Boys”) and suddenly teenaged daughter is immediately rocky; a WWI Army surgeon fresh from the Harlem Renaissance (TL Thompson, Broadway’s “Straight White Men”); an influential hidden figure from the Mississippi civil rights movement (Jaye Ladymore, “Empire”); a black sheep reverend-scion born to a notable televangelist family in 1990s Chicago (Derrick A. King, “Call Your Mother”); a seemingly shallow but misunderstood D-list reality TV star (newcomer Khailah Johnson) from Miami, circa 2015; and two wildly different unaccompanied teens, a vibrant girl (newcomer Autumn Best) whose bell bottoms give away her 1970s upbringing, and an introspective, prescient boy (Amarr Wooten, “Liv and Maddie”) whose origin remains a mystery. These unwilling time travelers, collectively the 4400, must grapple with their impossible new reality, the fact that they’ve been returned with a few…upgrades, and the increasing likelihood that they were brought back now for a reason they’re only beginning to understand.
T’s Take: Honestly, I didn’t watch The 4400 when it originally debuted, I was a little busy being COMPLETELY OBSESSED with a different show that premiered that same year called Lost. But I’m all for a reboot of a series that had a devoted — if small — following, and see where it takes us under new management. That said: KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF LOST.
Midseason
ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING
Official synopsis: From the executive producers of ALL AMERICAN, ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING is a young adult sports drama set against the backdrop of the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) experience at Bringston University, where Black excellence is a way of life. The series follows Simone (Geffri Maya, “All American”), a young tennis hopeful from Beverly Hills who is trying to fight her way back to great after some time away from the court, and Damon (Peyton Alex Smith, “Legacies”), an elite baseball player from Chicago who is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. After Simone’s aunt Amara Patterson (Kelly Jenrette, “Manhunt”), a journalism teacher and activist, exposes a scandal that threatens to derail the school’s beloved baseball program, new coach Marcus Turner (Cory Hardrict, “The Outpost”) is determined to bring a championship back to Bringston the honest way — with Damon’s help. Damon will adjust to his new normal with fellow baseball player and childhood friend JR (Sylvester Powell, “Five Points”) by his side. Meanwhile, as Simone struggles to find her footing, she will get a little guidance from Thea (Camille Hyde, “Katy Keene”), the super-competitive queen bee of the Bringston tennis team, and Keisha (Netta Walker, “Come as You Are”), the school’s unofficial mayor, who will help Simone learn how to live her best life. As they contend with the high stakes of college sports, Simone and Damon will also navigate the highs, lows, and sexiness of unsupervised early adulthood at a prestigious HBCU.
T’s Take: Sounds like this is All American‘s A Different World.
NAOMI
Official synopsis: From Oscar® nominee/Emmy® winner Ava DuVernay and Jill Blankenship (“Arrow”), and starring Kaci Walfall (“Army Wives,” “Power,” “The Lion King” on Broadway) in the title role, the DC drama NAOMI follows the journey of a cool, confident, comic book–loving teenager as she pursues her hidden destiny. When a supernatural event shakes her small hometown of Port Oswego, Naomi sets out to uncover its origins, with a little help from her fiercely loyal best friend Annabelle (Mary-Charles Jones, “Kevin Can Wait”). She also has the support of her adoptive, doting parents, veteran military officer Greg (Barry Watson, “7th Heaven,” “The Loudest Voice”) and linguist Jennifer (Mouzam Makkar, “The Fix”). After an encounter with Zumbado (Cranston Johnson, “Filthy Rich”), the mysterious owner of a used car lot, leaves her shaken, Naomi turns to tattoo shop owner Dee (Alexander Wraith, “Orange Is the New Black”), who becomes her reluctant mentor. While unraveling the mystery of herself, Naomi also navigates her high school friendships with both military kids and local townies, including ex-boyfriend and high school jock Nathan (Daniel Puig, “The System”); Annabelle’s longtime, loyal boyfriend Jacob (Aidan Gemme, “Deliver Us From Evil”); proud “townie” Anthony (Will Meyers, “Bad Education”); and fellow comic book enthusiast Lourdes (newcomer Camila Moreno). As Naomi journeys to the heights of the Multiverse in search of answers, what she discovers will challenge everything we believe about our heroes.
T’s Take: I have come to the very adult realization in the past decade+ that not everything is for me and that’s OK. I don’t like superhero series or movies, but that does not require me to complain about people making superhero series or movies, it just requires me to allow people to enjoy what they want to enjoy. And so in that vein, I will admit I will not be watching this (just as I haven’t watched The Flash or Supergirl or Legend of Tomorrow or or or) and note that Ava DuVernay is a talented creator and people are excited about this.
Cancellations
- Black Lightning
- Bulletproof
- Supergirl
- Supernatural
- Trickster
Renewals
- All American
- Batwoman
- Burden of Truth
- Charmed
- Coroner
- Dynasty
- The Flash
- In the Dark
- Kung Fu
- Legacies
- Legends of Tomorrow
- Nancy Drew
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us
- Riverdale
- Roswell, New Mexico
- Stargirl
- Superman & Lois
- Walker
Shows Still Up in the Air
- The Outpost (premieres in the summer)
- Pandora
- The Republic of Sarah (premieres in the summer)
- Two Sentence Horror Stories
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?
It’s a shame you don’t watch Legends of Tomorrow. This show does not take itself seriously, and is straight up hilarious at times. These guys aren’t superheroes and they know it. And they get creative: last year they had a Bollywood episode, and this year part of an episode was in cartoon/animated format. Not to mention the season finale where Earth was saved by a giant stuffed toy.
It still stings a little to scan the lineup and not see Supernatural on it. SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH.
Agreed. I miss Cas.