Posted in: CW, Preview, TV | Tagged: lois lane, season 4, superman, superman & lois, the cw
Superman & Lois: The CW's Brad Schwartz on Why Series Was Renewed
Brad Schwartz, President of Entertainment for The CW, explains the reasons behind the decision to renew Superman & Lois for a fourth season.
Last month was a mix of good news & bad news, with word coming down that Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Michael Bishop, Alex Garfin, and Michael Cudlitz would be returning to The CW for a fourth season of Superman & Lois. Unfortunately, the season order was reduced to 13 episodes, and cuts to the series' overall budget resulted in series regulars Dylan Walsh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Erik Valdez, Inde Navarrette, Wolé Parks, Tayler Buck, and Sofia Hasmik not returning. Speaking with The Wrap, Brad Schwartz, President of Entertainment for The CW, explained that the series (along with the returning All American, All American: Homecoming, and Walker) is one of the network's biggest performers. With Superman & Lois, the network has a top earner when it comes to total linear audience and scores well as a digital performer (based on how the series performs on The CW app only and not other streamers – though the show would often appear on HBO Max/Max's Top 10 shows).
But Schwartz added that Superman & Lois (as well as the three other series) were also saved because they're also successful for The CW's two minority shareholders, Warner Bros. and CBS Corporation – with Superman & Lois scoring a nice deal with Max. "It was very easy to focus on those four as our biggest shows and best performers. And then it was also easier to have conversations with CBS and Warner about 'how can we make these shows work for everybody?' because there was a successful track record. CBS and Warner Bros. know what they make on them internationally, know what they make from their Netflix and HBO sales. We know how they do for us. They can project what a library of 60 or 70 episodes is going to make for them forever. You can put all the math together and be like, 'Is there a path for us as partners?'" Schwartz explained. "For those four shows? We made it happen."