EXCLUSIVE: The CW is nearing renewal decisions on the three remaining scripted series in limbo, Superman & Lois, All American: Homecoming and Gotham Knights, sources tell Deadline. Because of the shows’ high price point compared to the lower-license-fees model the network is shifting to in pursuit of profitability, I hear two of the three series — Superman & Lois and All American: Homecoming — would return for another season, joining previously renewed tentpoles All American and Walker. UPDATE 6 PM: The CW has officially renewed Superman & Lois for a 10-episode fourth season and All American: Homecoming for a 13-episode Season 3.
To make it happen, I hear producing studio Warner Bros. Television made a proposal about a reduced license fee it could make the shows for. While not close to the $1 million an episode the new CW regime had been targeting, I hear it was a significant reduction that could make the series feasible for the network while still making financial sense for the studio.
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If the CW proceeds with renewing Superman & Lois and All American: Homecoming as expected, that would come with major budget cuts that would include reducing the number of series-regular cast members. Superman & Lois, now in its third season, has 12 series regulars; sophomore All American: Homecoming has nine. I hear the leads are not expected to be affected but supporting cast members likely would be. (Speeding up the decision is the fact that cast options are set to expire this week.)
As Deadline reported recently, WBTV only picked up Bob ❤️ Abishola leads Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku as series regulars for next season after the license fee of the CBS comedy series was cut; the rest of the actors were offered to continue as recurring. Most famously, David E. Kelley’s ABC/20th TV legal drama The Practice in 2003 released a number of its most popular cast members after its budget was cut in half, including leads Dylan McDermott and Lara Flynn Boyle.
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“We’re still looking at those analyzing these shows … and looking at our budgets in 2024. We love all those shows, and they all do very well for us in different ways,” The CW’s Entertainment President Brad Schwartz said last month about the three dramas in limbo, noting that Superman & Lois was one of its “strongest” shows but also warning that the series were expensive and that the CW didn’t have out-of-season streaming rights, which he said was “frustrating.”
I hear that, in the event of a renewal, the CW likely would share some library streaming rights to Superman & Lois, which is now available on Max. (All American: Homecoming is on Netflix through a deal Warner Bros. TV made with the streamer last summer.)
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Performance-wise, Superman & Lois has been on par with All American and Walker. But, with its superhero nature, it also is more expensive due to extensive special effects. In addition to trimming the cast, the series likely would lean more heavily into its core premise as a family drama going forward while still honoring its superhero roots.
While not VFX-driven, All American: Homecoming films in Los Angeles, which makes it expensive. (Most CW series, including all DC shows, shoot in Canada.)
The size of the orders also is likely to be impacted. The new CW regime has renewed legacy scripted series for 13-episode each because of their higher cost; the 10-episode pickup for Superman & Lois reflects its bigger budget compared to its peers.
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Both Superman & Lois and All American: Homecoming hail from Warner Bros. TV and studio-based Berlanti Productions.
Created by Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing and based on the DC Comics characters, Superman & Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch as the famous duo.
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All American: Homecoming was created by Nkechi Okoro Carroll. It follows All American‘s Simone Hicks (Geffri Hightower), who leaves her boyfriend Jordan behind in Los Angeles to attend Bringston University, a historically black college in Atlanta.
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