The CW is saying goodbye to two of its bigger shows from the long running Arrowverse. Legends of Tomorrow, the spinoff of Arrow and Flash focused on those shows’ respective C-listers traveling through time and saving reality, has been canceled, as has the relative newcomer Batwoman.
News broke late Friday of both shows not being renewed for an additional season. Legends has been a part of the Arrowverse since 2016 and made it to 110 episodes across its seven seasons; with numerous cast additions and departures over the years, Caity Lotz’ Sara Lance is the only member of the show’s original cast. Of the many shows that have been a part of the Arrowverse, Legends has always been one of the most fun and willing to experiment with itself. Not many superhero shows could famously feature a psychic gorilla attempting to murder Barack Obama in the 80s, nor would they devote part of an episode to turning one of the leads into an animated Disney princess, complete with a musical number and magical objects to cheer her on. On Twitter, co-showrunner Keto Shimizu thanked the show’s cast and crew for contributing to “the little show that could,” and the fans for helping the series thrive for as long as it could. “We see you, we love you, and you’ll always have a place on the Waverider.”
Batwoman premiered in 2019 after Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane was introduced in the “Elseworlds” crossover earlier that year. Following Rose’s departure at the end of the first season, the show pivoted to original character Ryan Wilder, as played by Javicia Leslie. Ryan stepped in as the Caped Crusader after Kane was presumed missing, and the show later wrote around Rose’s departure by bringing on Wallis Day to play Kate for the remainder of the second season. It was as the recently concluded third and final season was airing that Rose gave allegations of the conditions behind working on the show, including sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions.
Similar to Shimizu, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries and Leslie both took to Twitter to give their love to the fans. Leslie called it “an honor” to play the character for two seasons; Dries said she was “full of gratitude” in getting to create the series. Other actors, including Camrus Johnson (Luke Fox) and Nicole Kang (Mary Hamilton) took to social media to post set photos and give their own condolences.
Legends and Batwoman have both ended on cliffhangers, but there’s are two remaining Arrowverse shows kicking around in The Flash and Superman & Lois. Both those shows have already been locked in for their respective ninth and third seasons, so we may see Ryan or the Legends pop up in one of those two shows. The CW’s status as a network may be in flux, but they’re not saying goodbye to DC just yet: in addition to the currently airing Naomi, they’ve another Batman series in the works in the form of Gotham Knights, plus Justice University, a spinoff show starring Arrow’s John Diggle (David Ramsey) as he trains a group of college age metahumans.
[via Deadline]
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