The CW Upfront/General News and Discussion: 2022-23

[Pavan]

Blog story: https://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2022/...fall-2022.html

THE CW’S 2022 FALL PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

MONDAY
8:00-9:00PM ALL AMERICAN
9:00-10:00PM ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00PM THE WINCHESTERS (New Series)
9:00-10:00PM PROFESSIONALS (New Series)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00PM DC’S STARGIRL (New Night)
9:00-10:00PM KUNG FU

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00PM WALKER
9:00-10:00PM WALKER INDEPENDENCE (New Series)

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00PM PENN & TELLER: FOOL US
9:00-9:30PM WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?
9:30-10:00PM WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?

SATURDAY
8:00-9:00PM MAGIC WITH THE STARS (New Series)
9:00-9:30PM WORLD’S FUNNIEST ANIMALS
9:30-10:00PM WORLD’S FUNNIEST ANIMALS

SUNDAY
8:00-9:00PM FAMILY LAW (New Series)
9:00-10:00PM CORONER (New Night)

All times Eastern/Pacific

THE CW NETWORK ANNOUNCES ITS

SEVEN-NIGHT PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR 2022-2023

The CW Kicks Off the Week with Multiplatform Hit “All American” on Mondays
Followed by Season 2 of “All American: Homecoming”

New Drama “The Winchesters” Debuts on Tuesdays
Paired with the New Original Series “Professionals”

“DC’s Stargirl” Returns for a Third Season on Wednesdays
Followed by the Third Season of “Kung Fu”

Thursdays are Action-Packed with the New Season of “Walker”
Followed by the New Series “Walker Independence”

Fan Favorite “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” Returns on Fridays
Followed By the Eleventh Season of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”

New Alternative Series “Magic With the Stars” Starring Criss Angel
Premieres on Saturdays Followed by “World’s Funniest Animals”

New Original Series “Family Law” Debuts Sundays
Followed by the Fourth Season of “Coroner”

New Series “Gotham Knights” to Make Midseason Debut Along with
Returning Hits “The Flash,” “Nancy Drew” and “Superman & Lois”

Pop Culture Sensation “Riverdale” to Conclude with
Seventh and Final Season This Midseason

May 19, 2022 (Burbank, CA) — The CW Network will launch its seven-night 2022-23 primetime schedule in the Fall of 2022 with a strategic mix of new and returning original scripted series and alternative programming, it was announced today by Mark Pedowitz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The CW Network.

“As The CW looks towards the future, we are evolving and adapting to become more than just a network. We are a brand that drives our passionate and dedicated audiences to engage directly with our programming across all platforms, both linear and digital,” said Mark Pedowitz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The CW Network. “In the tradition of The CW’s commitment to high-quality programming that features diverse and inclusive storytelling and characters, we are rolling out a fall lineup that features an exciting new crop of series including the prequel to one of our most successful franchises, THE WINCHESTERS, a wild-west origin story to another hit CW franchise, WALKER INDEPENDENCE, the action-packed original series PROFESSIONALS, the delightful legal drama FAMILY LAW and our latest magical alternative series MAGIC WITH THE STARS, as well as our expansion of The CW DC Universe GOTHAM KNIGHTS this midseason. We will also be saying goodbye to an iconic CW series that shaped and defined popular culture, RIVERDALE. All of these new series will also bolster The CW’s growing digital footprint by adding to the growing library of content available to fans on our free, ad-supported CW App.”

The CW is also joining forces with the United States Surgeon General on his effort to tackle the number one issue facing America’s youth: mental health. Working closely with Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, the network will be launching a new initiative next season that will address this important issue by developing storylines across its programming, collaborating with advertisers and affiliates and using the network’s expansive social media reach to engage directly with viewers.

Mondays feature the return of The CW’s critically-acclaimed drama and most-streamed series ALL AMERICAN (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT), paired with the second season of the latest multi-platform hit ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING (9:00-10:00pm ET/PT).

The new drama THE WINCHESTERS opens demon hunting season on Tuesdays (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT), followed by the new original action series PROFESSIONALS (9:00-10:00pm ET/PT).

DC’S STARGIRL returns for its third season of adventures in Blue Valley on Wednesdays (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT), followed by the third season of KUNG FU (9:00-10:00pm ET/PT).

Thursdays are bigger than the state of Texas with the return of WALKER (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT), followed by the premiere of the new Western drama WALKER INDEPENDENCE (9:00-10:00pm ET/PT).

Two of The CW’s longest-running franchises come together on Fridays, with the ninth season of PENN & TELLER: FOOL US (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT) paired with the eleventh season of WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (9:00-9:30pm & 9:30-10:00pm ET/PT).

The CW’s newest alternative series MAGIC WITH THE STARS starring Criss Angel kicks off Saturdays (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT), followed by new episodes of WORLD’S FUNNIEST ANIMALS (9:00-9:30pm & 9:30-10:00pm ET/PT).

Sundays feature the premiere of the new original drama FAMILY LAW (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT), followed by the fourth season of the crime procedural CORONER (9:00-10:00pm ET/PT).

The CW also has five original scripted series on deck for its 2023 midseason, including the new series GOTHAM KNIGHTS, as well as the returning hits THE FLASH (Season 9), NANCY DREW (Season 4) and SUPERMAN & LOIS (Season 3), plus the new alternative series RECIPE FOR DISASTER and returning series MASTERS OF ILLUSION (Season 9). The CW will also bid farewell to the cultural sensation RIVERDALE when it returns for its seventh and final season this midseason.

Additionally, every episode from the upcoming 2022-23 season of ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING, CORONER, DC’S STARGIRL, FAMILY LAW, GOTHAM KNIGHTS, KUNG FU, NANCY DREW, PROFESSIONALS, SUPERMAN & LOIS, WALKER, WALKER INDEPENDENCE and THE WINCHESTERS as well as MAGIC WITH THE STARS, MASTERS OF ILLUSION, PENN & TELLER: FOOL US, WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? and WORLD’S FUNNIEST ANIMALS will be available to stream on The CW’s free ad-supported App following its broadcast on The CW Network.

THE NEW FALL 2022 SERIES:

THE WINCHESTERS
(Instagram: @TheCWWinchesters / Twitter: @WinchestersOnCW / #TheWinchesters)

Before Sam and Dean, there were their parents, John and Mary. Told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles, “Supernatural”), THE WINCHESTERS is the epic, untold love story of how John Winchester (Drake Rodger, “The In Between”) met Mary Campbell (Meg Donnelly, “American Housewife”) and put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world. When John returns home from fighting in Vietnam, a mysterious encounter sparks a new mission to trace his father’s past. In his journey, he crosses paths with 19-year-old demon hunter Mary, who is also searching for answers after the disappearance of her own father. Together, the two join forces with young hunter-in-training Latika (Nida Khurshid, “Station 19”) and easygoing hunter Carlos (Jonathan “Jojo” Fleites) to uncover the hidden truths about both their families. Their investigation leads them to a rare book emporium, whose owner Ada (Demetria McKinney, “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”) takes an interest to the occult and could provide the missing pieces to their puzzle. But secrets run deep for both the Winchesters and Campbells, and despite the best efforts of John’s mother Millie (Bianca Kajlich, “Legacies”) to protect her son from pursuing a dangerous life of demon hunting, John and Mary are both determined to work together to uphold their families’ legacies while beginning to form a family of their own. A prequel to The CW’s long-running hit series “Supernatural,” THE WINCHESTERS is written and executive produced by Robbie Thompson. Jensen Ackles and Danneel Ackles executive produce via their Chaos Machine Productions. Glen Winter directed and executive produced the pilot. David H. Goodman joined the creative team as an executive producer for the series. McG serves as an executive producer. The series is from Chaos Machine Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios.

PROFESSIONALS

PROFESSIONALS follows Vincent Corbo (Tom Welling, “Smallville,” “Parkland”), a top-tier security operative who is paid to protect the interests of rich and powerful clients by any means necessary - legal or not. After a next-gen medical-data satellite explodes on launch, Corbo is hired by the rocket’s designer, billionaire futurist Peter Swann (Brendan Fraser, “Trust,” “The Mummy”), who suspects sabotage. Complicating Corbo’s new gig is his former paramour and now Swann’s fiancée, medical visionary Dr. Grace Davila (Elena Anaya, “Wonder Woman,” “The Skin I Live In”), who is racing to help stave off a global catastrophe. As Corbo and his team of veteran security professionals investigate the rocket disaster, they expose a lethal conspiracy of Swann’s corporate rivals, corrupt government officials, and a shadowy crime syndicate – all working to destroy Swann and take control of his tech empire. Worse, Corbo must also contend with Swann’s spoiled, troublemaking teen daughter (Jazzara Jaslyn, “Lioness”) and a rogue Europol agent (Ken Duken, “Inglourious Basterds,” “Counterpart”) who is hellbent on busting him for past sins. A production of Most Media, Subotica, Spier Films and Roadside Attractions in association with Jeff Most Productions, LEONINE Studios, NENT Group and The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, PROFESSIONALS was created by Jeff Most (“The Crow,” “The Specialist”) and Michael Colleary (“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” “Face/Off”) who both serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. They are joined by fellow executive producers Tristan Orpen Lynch, Michael Auret, Howard Cohen, Eric d’Arbeloff, Jennifer Berman, Maijang Mpherwane, Dipak Chiba, William Smith, Herbert Kloiber, Thomas Augsberger, Cosima von Spreti, Fredrik Ljungberg, Maxim Korostyshevsky, Daniel Wagner, Bharat Nalluri, Brendan Fraser, Tom Welling, and Elena Anaya. The producers are Katy Most, Lwazi Manzi and Aoife O’Sullivan. Executive producer Bharat Nalluri (“The 100,” “MI-5”) directed three episodes of the series, including the pilot. Hollard Film Guarantors, represented by Paul Raleigh, provided a Completion Guarantee. PROFESSIONALS is distributed by Rainmaker Content for LEONINE Studios.

WALKER INDEPENDENCE

(Instagram: @Thecwwalkerindependence / Twitter: @CWWalkerIND / #WalkerIndependence)

Set in the late 1800s, an origin story of The CW’s current hit series “Walker,” WALKER INDEPENDENCE follows Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara, “Arrow”), an affluent and tough-minded Bostonian whose husband is murdered before her eyes while on their journey out West. After crossing paths with Calian (Justin Johnson Cortez, “911: Lone Star”), a curious Apache tracker, Abby arrives in the town of Independence, Texas, where she encounters diverse and eclectic residents running from their pasts, chasing their dreams, and keeping their own secrets, including Kate Carver (Katie Findlay, “The Carrie Diaries”), an idiosyncratic burlesque dancer with perhaps too keen an interest in Abby’s origins, and Kai (Lawrence Kao, “Wu Assassins”), a soulful Chinese immigrant who runs a local restaurant/laundry and offers Abby friendship without agenda. Abby also literally runs into Hoyt Rawlins (Matt Barr, “Walker”), a slippery rogue, thief, and con artist with a dented heart of gold who quickly eyes Abby as a mark, until she turns the tables on him. In seeking justice for her husband, Abby encounters Independence’s noble deputy sheriff, Augustus (Philemon Chambers, “Single All the Way”), and his new boss, Sheriff Tom Davidson (Greg Hovanessian, “Another Life”), who she has reason to believe is a very bad man indeed. Abby and Hoyt soon find themselves precariously aligned, both seeking to uncover the truth about the identity of Abby’s husband’s killer, and vow to save Independence – a frontier boomtown where nothing is what it seems. WALKER INDEPENDENCE is from CBS Studios with a teleplay written by Seamus Kevin Fahey from a story co-written by him and Anna Fricke of Pursued By a Bear. Both serve as executive producers along with Jared Padalecki, Dan Lin and Lindsey Liberatore of Rideback and Laura Terry of Pursued by a Bear. Larry Teng serves as executive producer and director on the pilot.

MAGIC WITH THE STARS

In each episode of MAGIC WITH THE STARS, two celebrities train with professional magicians and compete to create a show-stopping series of magic performances. The celebrity competitors are tasked with mastering three major categories of magic, which they perform in front of a team of judges led by magician Criss Angel. Only the highest-scoring celebrities will be invited back to the finale where they will compete for the golden wand. Produced by Angel Production Worldwide, Inc., MAGIC WITH THE STARS is executive produced by Criss Angel, Dave Baram and Erich Recker.

FAMILY LAW

FAMILY LAW centers around Abigail Bianchi (Jewel Staite, “Firefly”), a high-paid personal-injury lawyer who’s good at blaming others – particularly when it comes to her own problems. After Abby’s husband kicks her out of the family home because of her drinking, she goes on a bender, shows up drunk in court and pukes on a client. The law society’s punishment is swift. She’s suspended, fined, and can only practice law again if she finds a senior lawyer who is willing to take her on and mentor her for a one year probationary period. Only one man is willing to take that risk: Harry Svensson (Victor Garber, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”), who runs the top family law practice in the city. He also happens to be Abby’s estranged father, who left Abby and her complicated mother for his secretary when Abby was seven. Now, not only does Abby have to work for her father, she also has to work with her half siblings: Daniel (Zach Smadu, “Cardinal”), from Harry’s subsequent marriage and Lucy (Genelle Williams, “The Expanse”), from Harry’s third marriage. Thus begins the odd dynamic at Abigail’s new workplace. Abby has to try to put her shambles of a life back on track, all while dealing with family on three different levels: Other people’s families in her cases, the family she was born into, and her family: her husband and two children, all of whom she desperately wants back. Abigail not only has to prove herself in a new realm of law; she also has to work with and build relationships with a family she barely knows. Most challenging of all, she must work under the thumb of the man she’s spent a lifetime resenting. Produced by SEVEN24 Films and Lark Productions for Corus Entertainment’s Global (Canada), FAMILY LAW is created, written and executive produced by award-winning author Susin Nielsen (“Degrassi”). The series is executive produced by SEVEN24’s Jordy Randall (“Heartland”) and Tom Cox (“Fortunate Son”), and Lark’s Erin Haskett (“Motive”) and Andy Mikita (“Stargate SG-1”) serve as executive producers. eOne holds international distribution rights to the series.

THE NEW MIDSEASON 2023 SERIES:

GOTHAM KNIGHTS
(Instagram: @CWGothamKnights / Twitter: @TheCW_GothamK / #CWGothamKnights)

Batman is dead, and a powder keg has ignited Gotham City without the Dark Knight to protect it. In the wake of Bruce Wayne’s murder, his adopted son Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan, “De Son Vivant”) is framed for killing the Caped Crusader, along with the children of some of Batman’s enemies: Duela (Olivia Rose Keegan, “Days of Our Lives”), an unpredictable fighter and skilled thief who was born in Arkham Asylum and abandoned by her father, Harper Row (Fallon Smythe, “grown-ish”), a streetwise and acerbic engineer who can fix anything, and her brother Cullen Row (Tyler DiChiara, “The Virgin of Highland Park”), a clever transgender teen who is tired of being polite and agreeable. With the charismatic and hard-charging District Attorney Harvey Dent (Misha Collins, “Supernatural”) and the GCPD hot on their trail, Turner will rely on allies including his best friend and formidable coder Stephanie Brown (Anna Lore, “All American”), and unlikely Batman sidekick Carrie Kelley (Navia Robinson, “Raven’s Home”). But our Knights will soon learn there is a larger, more nefarious force at work within Gotham City. This team of mismatched fugitives must band together to become its next generation of saviors known as the GOTHAM KNIGHTS. From Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, GOTHAM KNIGHTS is written by Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux and Natalie Abrams. Fiveash and Stoteraux will serve as showrunners and executive produce the series alongside Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter. Abrams also serves as co-executive producer. Danny Cannon directed and served as an executive producer on the pilot, along with David Madden. GOTHAM KNIGHTS is based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.

RECIPE FOR DISASTER

In each episode of RECIPE FOR DISASTER, three professional chefs and their cooking partners compete to prepare spectacular dishes under absurdly adverse conditions. Our studio transforms into a bizarre new world each week, replete with themed disasters that challenge our chefs in ways they never imagined. They will attempt the perfect sear while stranded on an in-studio “desert island” during monsoon season, prep ramen while pulling off an art heist, or create a show-stopping soufflé while dodging aliens on Mars. To make matters worse, their cooking partners are people from their lives who are total kitchen novices. Who will impress the judges, and whose dishes will succumb to the ridiculous disasters du jour? Ultimately, only one team will be crowned Masters of Disaster! Produced by 3Bird Media, RECIPE FOR DISASTER is executive produced by Jennifer Twamley and Andrika Lawren.

[MA]

The CW Announces Fall Premiere Dates

https://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2022/...dates-hbo.html

[TMC]

The CW Widens Programming Scope To Include Sitcoms & Procedurals, Begins Testing Outside Studio Deals With ‘The Hatpin Society’ From EP Rachel Bloom

[icecream]

Leonardo is the first CW drama I have liked since Frequency in 2016, and just the second CW drama I have liked since Life Unexpected in 2010 (I watched season 2 of Supergirl but only because I had been a fan of the CBS season, dropped it ahead of season 3).

[irehtman]

Did you know, TBH, that before the WB was shut down back in 2006 there were too many confederate incidents in the WB's upper-level office only, nothing else?

[MA]

Nexstar Is Looking for New Shows as It Acquires the CW Network

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...the-cw-network

[icecream]

Mark Pedowitz is leaving immediately.

https://tvline.com/2022/10/03/the-cw...star-takeover/

[TMC]

End of an Era: The Highs and Lows of The CW

If Jared Pedalecki and Jensen Ackles were the heartthrobs of The CW, Mark Pedowitz was its heartbeat.

When Nexstar announced its completed acquisition of (75 percent of) The CW on Monday, it installed board member Dennis Miller, a venture capitalist with executive stints at Sony, Lionsgate, and Turner, as the broadcast network’s new president. Pedowitz, who was chairman and CEO of the youth-skewing broadcast network for the past 11 years is out; he’ll stay in the game via the revival of his former production company.

Though The CW never quite soared like so many of its DC superheroes, the decade-plus under Pedowitz had its moments — and its misses. IndieWire looks back on both below.

[MA]

‘The Winchesters’ & ‘Walker: Independence’ Get No Back Orders As CW Cutbacks Continue, No Decision On Season 2

https://deadline.com/2022/11/the-win...ed-1235159619/

[TMC]

CW's Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery Shows 'Minimal' by 2023-2024

The writing was already on the wall, but now it’s getting bolder: The CW’s carryover programming from its former parent companies Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery will be “minimal” by the next broadcast season.

“Programming for the CW is in place for the 2022-2023 broadcast season, that extends through the end of August/early September timeframe of next year. You’ll see that programming is consistent with what the programmers have historically had on the air for that timeframe,” Nexstar executive vice president and chief financial officer Lee Ann Gliha said during the company’s Q3 earnings call Tuesday. “Over the course of the next year, we’re really working to develop our slate, which will then come online in the 2023-2024 broadcast season. We will have some carryover commitment for the CBS and the WBD programming in that year, but it’s minimal at that point.”

“Warners and Paramount are not precluded from selling us programming, it’s just going to have to be a financial deal that we like and there may be a couple of shows that distinguish themselves that we want to hold over into next year,” Nexstar CEO Perry Sook added.

Currently, the CW has just a handful of Paramount and WB Discovery-produced titles left to be considered for carryover into the 2023-2024 season, as many have already been canceled or announced final season end dates. These remaining contenders include “Walker,” “Walker: Independence,” “Superman & Lois,” “All American,” “All American: Homecoming,” “The Winchesters” and the upcoming DC Universe series “Gotham Knights,” which will debut at midseason.

Sook brought up the recent appointment of CW programming chief Brad Schwartz, a vet of Pop TV network, who was tapped by new CW network president Dennis Miller. The exec noted that Schwartz, “on a much smaller budget than we’ve given him at the CW, was able to find and develop a show called ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ which, boom, your job is easy — just go find a couple more of those and we’ll be in fine shape at the CW.”

As Nexstar has previously laid out, Sook again indicated the TV station group is looking to shift the CW to a mix of scripted and unscripted content for a “broader audience.” The company hopes to make the CW profitable by 2025.

Also on the call, Sook spoke about how NBC doing away with the 10 p.m. primetime hour and joining Fox and the CW in handing that block to local station groups would be “extremely profitable” for Nexstar.

“Oh, that would be good,” Sook said. “We’ll make more money with an hour of news at 10 than we do with an hour of network programming where, a) we have all the inventory and, b) I would expect NBC goes from 89 hours a week of network programmed time to 81 or 82 hours a week of network program time and we pay them less. But all around, we have a number of Fox and CW and MyNetwork stations who program news in that last hour of prime and they are extremely profitable.”

[MA]

Nexstar Focused On The CW “Ratings, Revenue, And Profitability” As Network’s New Owner Posts Q3 Numbers

https://deadline.com/2022/11/nexstar...ue-1235166495/

[icecream]

On the weekend of December 2 and 3, the CW is making a change swapping two shows. Criss Angel's Magic With the Stars moves to Fridays at 9:00, and Whose Line is it Anyway? moves back to Saturdays at 8:00, leading into the World's Funniest Animals hour like last season.

[TMC]

The CW Sale Details Reveal Network Was Basically Given Away For Free

Details about Nexstar's deal to acquire the television network, The CW, reveal that their 75% share was offered essentially for free.

[MA]

The CW: 'A Couple of Shows' May Survive Into Fall 2023, Says New Owner

https://tvline.com/2022/11/08/the-cw...son-fall-2023/

[TMC]

Nexstar’s Next Battle: Making The CW Numbers Work

In the end, Nexstar was paid $54 million to take The CW off of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s hands.

Actually, that’s an oversimplification. In fact, Nexstar, led by CEO Perry Sook, was given its 75 percent stake in the network for free, but after factoring in its cash on hand, accounts receivable and accounts payable (and other liabilities), the local TV giant ended up with its $54 million gain “on bargain purchase,” reflecting just how seriously its former corporate owners were ready to move on.

The national broadcast network (a distant NO. 5) had long been known to be a money pit, but a review of unaudited financial statements shed some light on the complex finances of the network, and just how big of a challenge it will be for Nexstar to turn its fortunes around to meet its goal of profitability by 2025.

According to a Hollywood Reporter analysis of the financial statements that were included in Nexstar’s latest quarterly filing with the SEC on Nov. 9, The CW had revenue of about $100 million per quarter in 2021-22, for an annual run rate of $370 million to $405 million. However, it had annualized losses of between $300 million and $400 million. In other words, for every dollar it took in, as many as two were flowing out. (The CW has never turned a profit since being formed in 2006.) The largest source of expenses for The CW was programming, and it acquired that programming from Warners and Paramount, making it economical for the joint owners.

The network has consisted exclusively of scripted originals produced by both Warners and CBS Studios, supplemented by a few unscripted shows and low-cost Canadian series acquired to help flesh out its slate. While the network wasn’t designed to turn a profit, both studios were making money thanks in part to a 2010 $1 billion Netflix output deal, as well as international sales for well-known titles like Dynasty.

While that model proved extremely fruitful, the network’s parent companies opted against extending the Netflix deal in order to bolster their respective streamers, HBO Max and Paramount+, with CW programming instead of seeing all of their originals land on Netflix. What’s more, the need for all streamers to retain global programming rights as platforms expand into foreign markets meant an end to those lucrative international sales. Without revenue streams from Netflix and foreign sales, The CW’s business model no longer made sense, and Warners and CBS Studios began exploring sale options, leading to the sale to Nexstar.

And while other suitors (including at least one private equity firm) kicked the tires, the local TV giant emerged victorious, benefitting from being the largest owner of CW stations in the country (where it can more efficiently monetize political ads, for example). “Nexstar believes it was able to acquire The CW for $0 purchase consideration due to the recurring losses of The CW and its position as the largest affiliate of The CW which it believes limited the number of interested acquirers,” the company wrote in its 10-Q.

Now comes the hard part, as the local TV giant needs to find a way to stem the steep losses The CW is facing. For now, it has agreed to carry 12 scripted series from the previous owners, primarily for the 2022-23 season. But after that, it will turn to new entertainment chief Brad Schwartz to chart a new, much less expensive content strategy. “We just have to be scrappier. If we do scripted, we have to figure out a smart way of doing it,” Schwartz told THR on Nov.  2.

Nexstar CFO Lee Ann Gliha told a financial conference that the company intends to take $155 million from the sale of property in Chicago and funnel it to the network. “That goes a long way to funding the investment that we’re going to have in The CW,” the executive said.

And the company also plans to use The CW to enter the increasingly crowded ad-supported streaming market. “The acquisition is expected to solidify Nexstar’s revenue opportunities as the largest CW affiliate, diversify its content outside of news, establish it as a participant in advertising video-on-demand services via The CW App and create value by improving The CW ratings, revenue, and profitability,” Nexstar wrote in the filing.

And sooner rather than later, the company is likely to acquire the 25 percent of The CW that WBD and Paramount are holding on to. Per its filing, Nexstar has a call option in August 2024 to acquire the remaining stake, and the sellers have an option in June 2026 to force Nexstar to acquire the remaining equity.