Although the TV and movie industries are taking the necessary baby steps in order to bring the entertainment industry back to functioning levels, many remain cautious about how easy it will be to return to form. That pragmatic state of mind is presumably what inspired The CW president Mark Pedowitz's decision to postpone premieres for the majority of the network's traditional Fall TV series until 2021. Which means fans will be waiting even longer to watch The Flash Season 7, Legacies Season 3, Batwoman Season 2 and many more CW dramas.
It's that time of year when broadcast networks start finalizing their fall schedules in order to both get audiences buzzing about upcoming projects, as well as to secure advertising dollars. But while other networks seems to be largely sticking to old guns with their fall schedule plans, The CW has confirmed the majority of its marquee series will be pushed to 2021 premieres, and the network's fall lineup will be a mix of original and licensed series (such as the recently acquired-for-broadcast Swamp Thing and Tell Me a Story), plus the final seven episodes of Supernatural. But first, let's go over what The CW's schedule will look like in 2021.
SundaysBatwoman - 8 p.m.Charmed - 9 p.m.MondaysAll American - 8 p.m.Black Lightning - 9 p.m.TuesdaysThe Flash - 8 p.m.Superman & Lois - 9 p.m.
The first big change that fans will notice is that Batwoman will no longer be paired with Supergirl whenever the Arrowverse returns to primetime. That matches up with past rumors that The CW was mulling the option to push Supergirl deeper into the schedule, so it could potentially become a summer series, depending on how things play out.
No big changes to the Monday lineup, with the Netflix-popularized drama All American being followed by the superhero action of Black Lightning. Tuesdays feature a new addition to The CW, with Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch's new Arrowverse entry Superman & Lois landing the key time slot behind The Flash, which should help the new show's chances.
WednesdaysRiverdale - 8 p.m.Nancy Drew - 9 p.m.ThursdaysWalker - 8 p.m.Legacies - 9 p.m.FridayPenn & Teller: Fool Us - 8 p.m.Whose Line Is It Anyway - 9 p.m.
Riverdale and Nancy Drew will remain the flagship series to lead Wednesday nights for The CW in 2021, although Thursdays get getting a big change. Rather than the Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene or the long-running Supernatural returning to lead off the night, networks execs decided to give that spot to Jared Padalecki's new show Walker, which is a reboot of Chuck Norris' classic western drama Walker, Texas Ranger. Oddly enough, Walker will be followed by the Vampire Diaries and Originals spinoff Legacies, even though those audiences bases would at first glance seem to be mutually exclusive.
Friday nights will now welcome the magical cunning of Penn & Teller: Fool Us, which will be flipping from its Monday night placement in The CW's fall schedule. It will be followed by Whose Line Is It Anyway, which will also be bouncing from Mondays to Fridays as the year changes.
For everyone who was worried that Supernatural would never return, The CW has set the final seven episodes of the long-running and fan-beloved drama to air on Thursdays this fall, to be followed by Season 2 of The Outpost. Here's hoping everything can get filmed and finalized before more delays can happen.
For now, it looks like The CW is holding back quite a few shows to presumably premiere later on in the spring, or potentially to make summer debuts. Those series include DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Dynasty, In the Dark, the Kung Fu remake, The Republic of Sarah and Roswell, New Mexico. That could always change, of course, but it looks like fans will have to be extremely patient in these cases.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more on specific dates for when The CW will choose to debut all the fan-favorite shows that will be glaringly missing this fall. While waiting, our Summer 2020 TV schedule is full of shows that probably won't get postponed anytime soon.
