Supergirl is confirmed to be returning for a second season. The show is also officially changing networks from CBS to The CW.
According to Entertainment Weekly, CBS has officially passed on airing the second season of Supergirl. Instead they will be moving to The CW, a channel which is co-operated by CBS and Warner Bros. Entertainment. Deadline reports that the switch was announced just hours following CBS’ deadline to renew the series for their upcoming upfronts.
Melissa Benoist as Kara aka Supergirl
One decision for the change is budget. The show reportedly costs around $3 million per episode. The show films in Los Angeles and had planned to get tax credit from the California Film Commission. However, the show’s application was denied and the budget ballooned.
Executive producer Greg Berlanti has commented to Entertainment Weekly, “…trying to do something of this scope and size, and, quite truthfully, in Los Angeles. It’s an expensive city to shoot in. These things don’t come cheap, and we didn’t want to do it if we couldn’t give it the scope that it really deserves.”
The show will also relocate from its current production location in Los Angeles to Vancouver. Producers planned to relocate back when the show’s future was uncertain. The move is now official along with the channel hop. Vancouver is the current shooting location for the other CW superhero shows and has notably cheaper production costs than Los Angeles. Actress Calista Flockhart, who portrays Kara’s boss Cat Grant, has reportedly agreed to stay with the show following the move, despite rumors that she would depart in order to remain in LA.
Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant
The other main reason for the switch is ratings. Supergirl premiered to strong ratings, with 13 million viewers. By its first season finale, the ratings had dropped to 6.11 million viewers. The shows’s strong 3.1 share of the 18-49 demographic had also dropped, going down to 1.3. These ratings put the show on par with the usual CW ratings. The Flash is currently the highest rated show in CW history with over 5 million viewers.
Supergirl and The Flash
Berlanti also produces The CW’s current DC Live Action content. The three shows, Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, all exist within the same universe and often cross over with one another. The Flash’s Grant Gustin recently guest starred on Supergirl as Barry Allen, where it was established that Supergirl is set in an alternate universe from the other three shows. As of now it is unknown when Supergirl‘s second season will premiere.
