The CW opted to renew its entire swath of programming for another season, including the beleaguered and polarizing Batwoman and the rest of the remaining Arrowverse shows.
The network made the announcement on Tuesday at a time earlier than normal, reported Variety. Among those returning for the 2020-21 season are Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Supergirl (which was deemed on the bubble), Riverdale, and The Flash.
Network head Mark Pedowitz said the following in a statement:
“These early orders for next season give our production teams a head start in plotting out story arcs and a jump on hiring staff, and this also provides us with a strong foundation of established, fan-favorite CW shows to build on for next season.”
Pedowitz gave high marks to Batwoman and another new show receiving a second season, Nancy Drew, for “multiplatform viewership.”
“We’ve been thrilled with the creative direction of all three new series, and even though we are in the very early stages of our new full stack streaming strategy, which allows viewers to catch up on our new shows from the beginning, we’re already seeing incredibly positive results from our multiplatform viewership for Nancy Drew and Batwoman.”
Related: Batwoman and Supergirl Viewership Continues to Decline as Ratings Stay Steady
He may see “positive results” but the broadcast ratings tell a different story. Per TV Series Finale and our previous coverage, Batwoman’s viewership declined sharply week after week since it premiered in October.
Its series premiere scored a 0.47 in the coveted 18-49 demo with 1.86 million viewers. Episode 2 saw a 22 percent drop to 1.45 million, yielding a demo rating of 0.35 (a drop of 25.53 percent). Week 3’s numbers were 0.31 – a further decline of over 11 percent – and 1.221 million viewers – a decline of almost 16 percent from the previous week.
Ratings went down farther until Monday, Dec. 9, the night Batwoman’s Crisis on Infinite Earths tie-in aired. That episode garnered a 0.60 rating and 1.704 million viewers, a dramatic increase of 114.29 percent and 69 percent respectively.
Keep in mind there were guest appearances and surprises galore such as Kevin Conroy playing a Dark Knight Returns iteration of Bruce Wayne and Brandon Routh putting back on the cape as Kingdom Come Superman. Before that, the Sunday, Dec. 1 ep, a regular one boasting no major guest stars or deviating plotlines, drew only 0.28 and 1.008 million.
Related: Ruby Rose and The CW’s Batwoman Continues to Bleed Viewers After Episode 5
Batwoman’s ratings tie with Riverdale, Supergirl, and Supernatural (in its final season). Fastest Man Alive, The Flash not so surprisingly leads in viewership at CW with an average 0.9 rating among adults 18-49. Its next season will be the seventh.
Reboots Dynasty, Charmed, and Roswell, New Mexico, were also greenlit for new seasons. Premiere dates for the slate have yet to be set.