SUPERGIRL Moves to CW; AGENT CARTER Canceled
On the heels of rumor that CBS chief Les Moonves was shopping the idea of a reduced budget for Supergirl — lower license fees, a possible move to Vancouver, etc. — we now have official word that the show has been picked up for a second season, and will be moving to CBS’ other network, The CW.
CW president Mark Pedowitz had publicly expressed regret at passing on Supergirl the first time around, and many have commented that the younger-skewing network would be a better fit for the show. And with a highly-anticipated crossover with The Flash, the show has already cemented connections to the other Vancouver-based shows in the “Flarrowverse” (as some call the CW’s superhero set).
Supergirl was the top-rated freshmen show for CBS, but only averaged about 10 million viewers — not the best performance for the Tiffany Network, but a huge audience if it were on the CW. The series has also been CBS’ most expensive to produce. The move to Vancouver will allay some of those cost concerns, but it remains to be seen how the decision will affect the show’s overall production value.
One element of the show that will remain the same: Calista Flockhart will make the move to Vancouver with the rest of the company after having been “adamant” about working in Los Angeles, which became too expensive for the show to continue since it failed to get approval for much-needed tax incentives, the lifeblood of many Hollywood productions.
We discussed the possible move on the most recent episode of the Rogues Gallery podcast.
This makes five CW shows produced by Greg Berlanti and his team (six if you count Vixen on CW Seed). All are DC Comics properties except the newly minted Riverdale, which just received a full series order.
Co-producer Ali Adler told The Hollywood Reporter that the season finale was produced with the assumption that a second season would happen. “Season two is going to be more reflective of their past and how they’re going to change their future as a result of it in a really emotional way,” she said. “We definitely want to continue making more of this show.”
Which means Lynda Carter’s appearance as the President of the United States is just around the corner…
Meanwhile, over at ABC, Agent Carter has been canceled after only two seasons.
Never a ratings powerhouse, the show finished its second season — like Supergirl, based in Los Angeles — with only 4.3 million viewers. And with star Hayley Atwell committed to Conviction, a crime drama that ABC ordered to series, it seems the writing was already on the wall; we were just waiting for the ink to dry.
Rumors about the show’s demise started to circulate after the departure of ABC exec Paul Lee, who had been a strong advocate for the show. It seems many of his pet projects were considered not-too-pet by everyone else. Could this have been one of them? Certainly, it’s a small blow to the Marvel brand to have a cancellation on their record now, but with Marvel’s Most Wanted still a possibility, the bruises will fade soon.
So, farewell, #AgentFlamingo…
As to the cliffhanger ending, perhaps Marvel will see fit to produce another one-shot.
