CW delays returning favorites until January after COVID-19 shutters production

USA TODAY

Tyler Hoechlin, center, will play the Man of Steel in "Superman & Lois," a new CW drama that will launch in January. He's seen here with in an episode of "Supergirl" with Melissa Benoist, left, and Chyler Leigh.

CW is delaying the traditional rollout of new and returning series from fall until early 2021, the network said Thursday, acknowledging the uncertainty over when TV production can resume.

Instead, the network will stock its fall schedule with scripted series, many of which have aired previously elsewhere, and reality shows that have already been filmed and will not be affected by the coronavirus-related shutdown.

The network's planned January lineup features new episodes of 10 returning series, along with new dramas "Superman & Lois" and "Walker," a reboot of the former CBS drama "Walker, Texas Ranger" starring Jared Padalecki ("Supernatural").

Jared Padalecki, left, will return in the fall with Jensen Ackles for the finale of "Supernatural," before starring in "Walker," a new drama reimagining "Walker, Texas Ranger," in January.

Two other new series, "Kung Fu" and "The Republic of Sarah," will launch later in 2021, along with five more returning series. But CW still plans to air the final seven episodes of "Supernatural" this fall (the last two of which have yet to be filmed), if production can resume by then, and will soon decide the fate of first-season drama "Katy Keene."

CW Chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz says the delayed start for its core series guarantees a supply of new, available programming for fall regardless of when TV production starts again.

"By moving our new season to January, we are stocking our fall with a balance of original and acquired scripted series and alternative programming that fits The CW brand and provides fresh programming through the fourth quarter,” he said in a statement.

Fox employed a similar strategy with high-profile returning series affected by the production shutdown, pushing back the season premieres of "9-1-1" and "The Masked Singer" until at least midseason.

During a conference call Thursday with reporters, Pedowitz said network and studio executives are hoping for a late summer or early fall return to filming shows to enable them to make the January premiere dates.

The January lineup includes "Superman," which follows Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) as working parents raising two potentially superpowered sons, and "Walker," a reimagining of the Chuck Norris action drama featuring Padalecki as Cordell Walker, a Texas Ranger and widowed father of two who returns to Austin after two years working undercover.

CW has acquired the CBS All Access streaming series, 'Tell Me a Story,' as one of programs that will fill its lineup. Here, Danielle Campbell, left, Sam Jaeger and Kim Cattrall are seen in the series pilot.

Some time after the January rollout, CW will premiere two other new series. "Kung Fu" is a new take on the David Carradine series that features a Chinese-American woman who returns to San Francisco after "a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. "The Republic of Sarah" is a drama that follows a rebellious high school teacher who successfully converts her tiny New Hampshire town into a new nation to fend off a mining company with plans to wipe it off the map.

Returning scripted series scheduled for January premieres include "All American," "Black Lightning," "The Flash," "Riverdale," "Nancy Drew," "Legacies," "Batwoman" and "Charmed." Alternative series "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" will be back with new episodes in the fall, with more originals in January.

CW also plans a shortened, and delayed, annual DC crossover event in late winter or early spring, featuring just two of its DC superhero series, "Superman & Lois" and "Batwoman." It will include appearances by characters from other DC shows.

Five other series – "DC's Legends of Tomorrow," "Dynasty," "In the Dark," "Roswell, New Mexico" and "Supergirl" – will be back with new episodes in 2021 after the January schedule launches.

The fall lineup includes returning scripted series "The Outpost," "Pandora" and "Two Sentence Horror Stories," along with streaming and international acquisitions "Coroner," "Dead Pixels," "Swamp Thing" (formerly on DC Universe) and "Tell Me a Story," (borrowed from CBS All Access). "World's Funniest Animals," "Masters of Illusion," "Penn & Teller" and "Whose Line" will round out the schedule.

CW's January schedule (all times ET/PT; new shows in bold; new time slots in italics):

Monday: 8, All American; 9, Black Lightning

Tuesday: 8, The Flash; 9, Superman & Lois

Wednesday: 8, Riverdale; 9, Nancy Drew

Thursday: 8, Walker; 9, Legacies

Friday: 8, Penn & Teller: Fool Us; 9, Whose Line Is It Anyway?; 9:30, Whose Line Is It Anyway

Sunday: 8, Batwoman; 9, Charmed