The upfront presentations have been taking place over this week and for Supernatural fans, it’s been a mixed bag.
First, the good news. It was announced at Amazon Prime Video’s upfront that The Boys has been renewed for season five! This is a real show of confidence considering season four has yet to air. Naturally, our grand master Eric Kripke had some nice tongue-in-cheek words about the announcement:
“The Boys could be the best job I’ll ever have. What other show allows me to write about politics, capitalism, family, and exploding genitalia, though not in that order. The cast and crew are deeply grateful to Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios for the opportunity to tell this story for another season. My only problem is that since this year promises to be free of any conflict or misinformation, we’re not sure what to write about.”
I’m sure they’ll come up with something! Kripke also confirmed on Twitter that they’re already working on season five:
Fact Check: True! #TheBoys Writers are already hard at work in the writer's room. Love these sickos. #TheBoysTV @TheBoysTV https://t.co/luhm9VGmNM
— Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) May 14, 2024
Congrats to Eric Kripke, Phil Sgriccia, Meredith Glynn, Chris Lennertz, and all other Supernatural alumni involved in that project. We can’t wait to see what all that creative genius will bring us!
On the CW front, the news wasn’t as encouraging for Walker. CW network released their 2024-2025 schedule today and original scripted programming was definitely missing. Only Superman and Lois, which is airing its final season, made the cut. Missing from the schedule was their top rated scripted shows, All American, All American: Homecoming, and unfortunately, Walker. While CW hasn’t cancelled these shows, they haven’t committed to a renewal either. The rationale for that lack announcement was addressed by CW President Brad Schwartz:
We don’t need to make a decision on those anytime soon, unless except for some artificial Upfront deadline. I feel like we have really gotten to a 12 month a year development and greenlight cycle. You’ll hear some pickups in the next few weeks.
As we reported recently, Walker was going to be a tough sell for renewal for season five due to cost, even though it is the highest rated show on the network. CW network finds original programming too expensive, so any show that wants to air on their network has to accept a ridiculously low license fee. Without standard license fees, the producing studios have to eat a majority of the costs. Streaming deals are currently the best way for the studios to recoup those costs. While All American is enjoying success on Netflix, Walker and All American: Homecoming are missing that lucrative streaming piece.
CW President Dennis Miller addressed how any original scripted show is going to be a tough sell going forward:
It appears that you really need to have a multi-platform architecture in order to do scripted programming…It became a question of strategically what kind of SVOD or AVOD deal should we have so we could justify the economics of scripted.
When asked about whether any deals would save the three shows awaiting renewal, he said in a nutshell that having that type of streaming deal is critical to making a show work on their network.
Here’s more details from Deadline about what was said by Schwartz and Miller today about the possible renewals. Reading between the lines, unless the studios make their shows cost effective for the network, and the fact that CW released a schedule without them as proof that they have other options, renewals of any more original scripted shows right now looks very unlikely.