Despite CBS President Les Moonves making positive comments about the potential renewal of all the network’s freshman shows just a few months ago, CBS hasn’t handed down renewal orders to any of its newbies. Furthermore, we’ve been hearing along the grapevine that Supergirl didn’t round out the season with numbers that were particularly appealing to the network, and now the female-led superhero series may also be on the line. Clearly, the production team is scrambling to find ways to bring back Supergirl for Season 2, and they may have just come up with an idea to save the drama by moving production to a cheaper location.
Reports this week indicate that Supergirl might be looking to move production from sunny Los Angeles to the decidedly not-so-sunny Vancouver. Reportedly, some of the people who work on the series are not particularly stoked about the move, but if they are going to keep their jobs and return for a second season, it might have to happen. Deadline says that Supergirl was initially hoping to get a tax credit for filming in Los Angeles. Regardless, the application was denied, making shooting in an already-expensive location even less viable, especially considering the ratings Supergirl has been bringing in. (The show has actually done pretty well and routinely crushes The Flash and Arrow in the competition; however, it’s not doing well enough to account for its budget.)
This isn’t the only move the CBS drama might make to try to earn that elusive Season 2 order. Other rumors have suggested that Supergirl could even be moved over to the CW and given a smaller budget to work with, which would make the show’s middling ratings less of a problem. (As mentioned before, more people currently watch Supergirl than the CW shows.) Obviously, CBS isn't being open about the future of the show right now, but a decision is going to have to be made, and it is going to have to be made soon.
In just a couple of weeks, CBS will finally announce which shows will be airing on the network during the 2016-2017 TV season. Because a lot of CBS shows, including both comedies and dramas, have already been renewed by the network, there aren’t a ton of slots left open. Plus, we have to assume that CBS is going to want some primetime slots next season to be devoted to brand new content. In the drama department, currently CBS hasn’t announced renewals or cancellations for Supergirl, Limitless, Code Black, Criminal Minds, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders and CSI:Cyber. Although The Good Wife and Person of Interest are ending, you would think the network would want at least one or two more slots open for new dramas in the fall. Whether Supergirl fits into CBS’ budget and vision remains to be seen.
Suffice to say, we’ll let you know as soon as we know. In the meantime, you can see what TV has coming up this summer with our premiere schedule. You can also check out what has been cancelled and renewed already with our network rundown.
