The CW Picks Up Black Lightning, Renews iZombie
The CW broke a lot of cancellation/renewal notices this afternoon, but let’s focus on the two Popgeeks readers most likely care about the most: Black Lighting (a fifth Berlanti DC superhero series) and iZombie. Black Lighting has been greenlit for its first season; iZombie has been renewed for a fourth.
There wasn’t much of a doubt that the network would be ordering Black Lightning given the photos and conversations with cast members that have come out in recent months. It was a bigger question whether iZombie would survive (and thank the heavens it has), but creator Rob Thomas revealed earlier this week that he changed the Season Three ending anticipating a renewal.
Black Lightning is a retired superhero who finds himself pulled back into the game when his daughter, who has powers of her own, becomes a superhero herself. Unlike everything else on The CW, it’s not an origin story or even a “young superhero makes mistake after mistake” story. This guy’s been around the block and knows better than to juggle girlfriends or mess with time. Will that be enough to justify its presence as yet another CW super-series? We will see.
The CW has also greenlit Valor (a military action drama), Dynasty (something your parents or possibly grandparents thought was good), and Life Sentence, about a woman with a terminal cancer diagnosis making the most of her remaining time (sorta like No Tomorrow, except….dark). To make room for these four shows The CW has cancelled….two shows, Frequency and the aforementioned No Tomorrow.
Last year I asked how The CW planned to squeeze all their new acquisitions into their tight ten-hours-a-week schedule, and this year I must ask the same question. They could give everything 13 episode seasons, but they won’t, because they already promised Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Supernatural full runs. Black Lighting, being another super-series, may get the same deal.
Of course some shows have already been cancelled and others may get the axe soon. The future doesn’t look good for Reign and The Vampire Diaries aired its last episode two months ago. As for its spinoff, The Originals…..it just got renewed.