Batwoman Canceled At The CW After Three Tumultuous Seasons
After three seasons and 51 episodes, the CW has decided not to pursue a fourth season of the DC Comics series, "Batwoman." The announcement was confirmed today when showrunner Caroline Dries took to social media to express her sadness about saying farewell to Gotham. "Just got the sad news that 'Batwoman' will not be seeing a S4," she said. "I am bummed, but full of gratitude."
Season 3 of "Batwoman" came to a close last month, and the cancellation comes on the heels of the CW's owners, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global, debating a sale of the station with Nexstar. Since the sale discussions were made public back in January, many have speculated that the CW would begin pulling back on continuing their scripted series. "Batwoman" very well could be the start of a wave of additional cancellations.
Just got the sad news that #Batwoman will not be seeing an S4. I am bummed, but full of gratitude. What an honor to make 51 episodes. So many inspiring, brilliant people contributed to this series. Thank you producers, cast and crew. Thank you, fans! We love you. ❤️
— Caroline Dries (@carolinedries) April 29, 2022
"Batwoman" has been plagued with controversy from the get-go, with original star Ruby Rose unleashing some pretty damning accusations regarding the safety standards during production, and claimed they endured unprofessionalism from co-star Dougray Scott, which a representative from Warner Bros. has described as "revisionist history." Rose was later replaced by Javicia Leslie, who took over the titular role as Ryan Wilder, a former criminal who takes on the Batwoman persona after Rose's Kate Kane's disappearance. The "Batwoman" writer's room also took to Twitter to share their feelings about the decision, saying, "It was a fun ride and you made it so much better by our side."
The future of the CW
The cancellation of "Batwoman" leaves "The Flash," "Legends of Tomorrow," and "Stargirl" as the remaining DC Comics shows on the CW, with no guarantees that they'll all survive, either. "The Flash" was renewed for a ninth season in March, "Stargirl" will debut its third season later this year, but "Legends of Tomorrow" is still awaiting a renewal notice. "Batwoman" executive producers Chad Fiveash, James Patrick Stoteraux, and writer Natalie Abrams are currently prepping for the "Gotham Knights" pilot, so at least some of the folks behind the series will continue working at the network despite the cancellation.
If the CW does eventually go up for sale, there's a good chance that everything will change, even for the series that have been renewed. If the CW sale goes through, it's been speculated that Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global would keep minority stakes in the CW, with the new owner (likely Nexstar) taking the majority order. The end of "Batwoman" is a sad one, as Javicia Leslie's take on the character was well-loved by fans across the globe. Leslie can next be seen in the upcoming film "Something from Tiffany's" for Prime Video.