The CW has been a loyal, consistent producer of TV shows in Atlanta but that has thinned out significantly this week.
It has not only canceled “Dynasty” after five seasons but it’s also ending “Legacies” after four seasons and “Naomi” after just one season. All three series were shot in metro Atlanta.
This leaves just tow CW shows shot in metro Atlanta: “DC’s Stargirl,” which will likely air its third season this fall, and the upcoming “Tom Swift,” debuting later this month.
“Naomi” was a superhero series starring Kaci Walfall as Naomi McDuffie, an intelligent, confident comic book-loving teenager who discovers she has superpowers. The series ended on May 10.
“Legacies” is the second spin-off of “The Vampire Diaries,” the first network TV show to sign on in Atlanta after generous tax credits were passed in Georgia in 2008.
“The Vampire Diaries” debuted Sept. 10, 2009, and ended in March 2017, lasting 171 episodes. It helped propel the careers of Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder.
The first spinoff “The Originals” aired from 2013 to 2018 and 92 episodes. “Legacies” debuted in the fall of 2018 and will finish its run with 65 episodes.
The final episode this season for “Legacies” on June 16 will serve as its series finale. And this will end the franchise run on the CW after 13 years.
The network last year ended another Atlanta-shot TV show “Black Lightning” after four seasons. It also shot an apocalyptic drama set in Atlanta called “Containment” for a brief run in 2016.
The CW has not said if any of its new shows will be shot in Georgia. It has three upcoming dramas scheduled for next season: “Gotham Knights,” “Walker: Independence” and “The Winchesters,” a prequel to “Supernatural.”
The network has seen a precipitous drop in its ratings in recent years as its core 18-34 female audience has jumped to streaming services.
The Hollywood Reporter noted that “Legacies” and “Dynasty” were attached to a Netflix deal that ended in 2019. The studios who own the CW made more money on those shows via international rights deals and Netflix than from ads on the network itself. But those sources of income have dried up.
On top of that, the owners ― Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global ― are trying to sell the CW. Most of the shows they are keeping on the network can now also be seen on the CW app and online.
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