CW Renews 'Jane the Virgin' for Season Five

The CW renewed Jane The Virgin for a fifth season, despite a dramatic decrease in viewers for season four. The show was one of 10 renewed for next year by the network on Monday.

The other shows The CW picked up are Dynasty, Riverdale, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Supernatural. The network also renewed all five DC Comics shows - Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow and the freshman show Black Lightning - for new seasons.

"As The CW expands to a six-night, Sunday through Friday schedule next season, we are proud to have such a deep bench of great returning series for 2018-19," CW president Mark Pedowitz said in a statement. "By picking these ten series up for next season, we have a terrific selection of programming to choose from when we set our fall schedule in May, with more still to come. And I'm especially happy that we'll continue to work with the incredibly talented casts, producers, and writers who create the series our fans are so passionate about."

The network said in February it will add two hours of original programming to Sunday nights, reports Variety.

Jane The Virgin turned Gina Rodriguez, who plays the title character, into a major star. She recently appeared alongside Natalie Portman in the sci-fi movie Annihilation.

During a panel in Austin, Texas last month, Rodriguez talked about directing more episodes of the show after helming a season four episode, reports Variety. She hinted that season five might be the end of the series, as she moves on to other projects. She is developing two dramas for The CW - Femme and the undocumented immigration-themed series Illegal.

"Gina is a friend," Pedowitz said in January. "She is a special, special person. Really, she is the real frickin' deal. That's how much I feel about her and respect her."

According to TV Series Finale, Jane the Virgin has averaged 645,000 viewers for its fourth season, dropping 32.5 percent from the previous season. It has also averaged a 0.25 18-49 rating, a 29.7 percent drop.

The next episode of Jane The Virgin, "Chapter 79," airs on Friday, April 6 at 9 p.m. ET.

"After Jane (Gina Rodriguez), Rafael (Justin Baldoni), Petra (Yael Grobglas) and JR (guest star Rosario Dawson) all go out together, Jane is bothered to learn that JR doesn't like her," reads the CW episode description. "Jane and Rafael brush off a big relationship moment, but they both try to make up for it in different ways. Rogelio (Jaime Camil) is nervous to tell Darci (guest star Justina Machado) that he is no longer able to be a 'Danny' so he uses Xo (Andrea Navedo) as a scapegoat landing him in hot water with both Xo and Darci. Meanwhile, Jane helps Alba (Ivonne Coll) secretly prepare for the biggest test in her life."