The CW network’s chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz has opened up about and discussed the network’s recent cancellations of many of its scripted shows. Pedowitz took on the position in 2011, following the departure of the former president of entertainment, Dawn Ostroff. The network has canceled a large selection of its programming in recent months, including several of its adaptations of DC Comics properties.
Created in 2006 by the CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment to originally target audiences between the ages of 18-34, The CW has been the home of many popular shows of the late 2000s and throughout the 2010s, from teen dramas like 90210 and Gossip Girl, dark fantasy like Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries, and DC Comics’ shared television universe, the Arrowverse. However, The CW has seen many unprecedented moves and decisions in recent months, leading to numerous waves of cancellations of some of its most popular titles. Following the recent confirmation that Riverdale season 7 will be it’s last, bringing the darker Archie Comics reimagining to a close in 2023 after six years, the network’s current president has explained the reasons behind the recent onslaught of cancellations. Other canceled shows include Legends of Tomorrow, Batgirl, The Vampire Diaries spinoff Legacies, Charmed, and many more.
As reported by The Wrap, current chairman and CEO Pedowitz discussed the motivations behind the unprecedented moves of recent months to reporters during a conference call. Pedowitz emphasized that each cancellation decision hadn’t been made lightly, with parties involved such as studios and parent companies recognizing that “this was a time of transition for The CW,” meaning that difficult decisions about the network’s current slate of programming had to be made. Despite this, the CEO firmly stated he was “very proud of the stories we told, the producers and writers who created those shows,” before revealing he had to “encourage all of those producers to try to treat their finales as if they could be series finales” to leave longtime fans satisfied.
Reports of The CW’s possible sale emerged in January 2022, calling the network’s future into question among dedicated members of its audience. Following the firm establishment of their own streaming services, HBO Max and Paramount+, parent companies WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS were reported to be exploring the sale of The CW to a new buyer, with it at the time being unclear whether each company would retain any stake in the network following a sale. It had previously been revealed that The CW hadn’t been profitable to either company since its creation, with much of its profits coming from the sales of its content to other streaming services like Netflix.
While series such as The Flash, Nancy Drew, and Superman & Lois have been renewed for further seasons, many longtime audience members have been taken aback by The CW’s recent waves of cancellations, most notably popular titles from the Arrowverse and The Vampire Diaries franchises. Though Pedowitz’s statement may not offer the clearest picture of discussions behind the scenes of the network, the CEO’s affirmation that its titles will receive clearly defined endings will at least comfort those who were concerned their favorite series may have been cut short out of the blue. However, with both WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS moving onto their own platforms, The CW‘s place and future in a changing media landscape remains uncertain.
