CW’s President of Entertainment Brad Schwartz recently shared exactly why the network decided to cancel Superman & Lois despite the show being a top performer.
Tyler Hoechlin as Superman in Superman & Lois (2021), The CW
In a wide-ranging interview with TheWrap alongside his colleague President Dennis Miller, Schwartz explained why Superman & Lois was cancelled despite the series’ third season one of the largest overall audiences for the network. According to TV Series Finale, the third season’s average viewership was 690,000 and it had a .09 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
Despite this solid ratings for The CW, Schwartz detailed that word came from Warner Bros. that the show needed to be cancelled because the media giant did not want a competing Superman for James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy.
Schwartz explained, “They don’t want a competing Superman product in the marketplace.”
Tyler Hoechlin as Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane in Superman & Lois (2021), The CW
This is not altogether unexpected. Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav explained his vision for the DCU back in November 2022 to The Hollywood Reporter explaining, ““I think over the next few years, you’re going to see a lot of growth and opportunity around DC; there’s not going to be four Batmans,.”
He added, “And so part of our strategy is, drive the hell out of DC, which James and Peter are going to do. I think they’ve thrilled the fans. I think they’re going to thrill you over a period of time.”
Tyler Hoechlin as Superman in Superman & Lois (2021), The CW
This idea is old hat to DC and is not unique to Zaslav or Gunn and his DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran. Arrowverse producer Marc Guggenheim revealed back in December 2017 that Arrow could no longer use Deathstroke in the series because he was introduced into the Justice League film.
Guggenheim shared at the time, “For a time they were saying ‘you can’t use Deathstroke’, and that changed and we were able to have Slade Wilson back on the show, and now we’re back to ‘you can’t use him’. They’re working on the feature film version, it really is sort of now that you’ve got obviously Slade, spoiler alert, Deathstroke appears at the end of the Justice League movie.”
Tyler Hoechlin as Superman in Superman & Lois (2023), The CW
Superman & Lois will end after a 10-episode fourth season that will air on The CW sometime later this year. Schwartz announced the end of the series in a statement to Variety in November, “Over the last three seasons, ‘Superman & Lois’ redefined both the superhero genre and family drama as Tyler, Elizabeth and the entire cast effortlessly portrayed these classic characters with new layers of depth and complexity that had never before been explored in the Superman universe.”
He added, “We are grateful for the years of hard work and graceful storytelling from the show’s writers, producers, actors and crew, as well as our terrific partners at Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions. As Superman embarks on his final flight, the team is leaving us with an absolutely epic 10-episode must-watch-every-minute farewell to one of the most legendary CW families ever.”
Tyler Hoechlin as Superman in Superman & Lois (2021), The CW
Executive producers and co-showrunners Todd Helbing and Brent Fletcher added their own joint statement, “We are grateful for the years of hard work and graceful storytelling from the show’s writers, producers, actors and crew, as well as our terrific partners at Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions. As Superman embarks on his final flight, the team is leaving us with an absolutely epic 10-episode must-watch-every-minute farewell to one of the most legendary CW families ever.
The duo concluded, “While we’re sad to say goodbye to ‘Superman & Lois’ at the end of Season 4, we’re grateful for the time we’ve had with our amazing cast, crew, VFX teams, editors, musical geniuses, and writers. Since the day this show was first discussed, it was about family. And that’s what was created—on and off screen,” said showrunners Todd Helbing and Brent Fletcher. “We’d like to thank our partners at Berlanti Productions, DC, WB and the CW for their endless support and enthusiasm during this journey … and give a very special thank you to all the fans for tuning in. We’re thrilled about what we have in store in our final season, and can’t wait for everyone to watch as Superman, Lois and all our heroes face off against the biggest threat in the show’s history — Lex Luthor.”
Tyler Hoechlin as Superman in Superman & Lois (2023), The CW
What do you make of the real reason why Superman & Lois got scrapped?
NEXT: James Gunn Claims “None” Of ‘Superman: Legacy’ Will Be Dedicated To Superman’s Origin Story
