7 Canceled CW Shows We Want to Return

Megan Behnke

07/07/2023 06:45 pm EDT

It's no secret that The CW has canceled a lot of shows, especially in recent years, and a lot that were pretty premature. Even though the network used to be known for renewing almost its entire lineup, that has changed due to the Nexstar ownership. A lot of series have fallen through the cracks, unfortunately, and it's not just shows that recently got the ax.

From one-season favorites to franchise-enders and superheroes, many shows have come and gone from The CW, and not by choice. After going through some canceled CBS shows that should come back, we are now going through CW shows that need to come back, so buckle in and take a look.

'The Winchesters'

(Photo: Eliot Brasseaux/The CW)

Starting off fresh, The CW recently canceled Supernatural spinoff The Winchesters after just one season that consisted of just 13 episodes. The series was the third proposed Supernatural spinoff and the only one to go to series, centering on younger versions of Sam and Dean's parents, John Winchester and Mary Campbell, and their adventures as hunters. With Jensen Ackles on board as a producer and serving as narrator, once again portraying Dean, plus a few familiar faces from the original series showing up, it seemed like it was a shoo-in for another season.

That was not the case, however, as the series even failed to find a home after its cancellation. While the show did end on closure due to the uncertainty of being renewed, as it even revealed just what Dean was doing and what happened, it did still leave a door open to more adventures with John, Mary, Lata, Carlos, and co. This show ended way too soon, but since nothing in Supernatural stays dead, who knows what could happen in the future.

'DC's Legends of Tomorrow'

(Photo: The CW)

DC's Legends of Tomorrow was among the shows that was part of the "Red Wedding" of cancellations last year on The CW, and it was definitely one of the most surprising. Fans had to say goodbye to the misfit band of heroes on the Waverider after seven seasons, even after the show set up a Season 8 that would have included Scrubs alum Donald Faison as Booster Gold.

The Arrowverse may be done now that The Flash is also done, but it would be in true Legends fashion if the show were to come back and be the last Arrowverse show standing. Even if that doesn't happen, there is always the possibility that someone could show up in Superman & Lois, even if it isn't set in the Arrowverse. They could show up as a different version or as someone else completely, maybe even Faison could still appear as Booster Gold.

'Katy Keene'

The Lucy Hale-led Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene only lasted for a season on The CW before getting canceled in 2020, but reportedly it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hale starred as the titular fashionista, who is also friends with Veronica Lodge. Ashleigh Murray reprised her Riverdale role of Josie McCoy, who is just trying to make it in the Big Apple as a singer. The show also included a few familiar faces, such as Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge and Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, taking place a few years in the future.

Even though the series ended, there is a Katy Keene name-drop every once in a while on Riverdale, with Lucy Hale even providing her voice via phone call with Veronica last season. Zane Holtz, who was Katy's ex-fiancé and boxer, K.O. Kelly, also appeared in a few episodes of Riverdale. With only a handful of episodes left before Riverdale ends, it's unlikely any more characters will return, especially with the show taking place in the 1950s, but it would have still been nice to see the show continue amidst everyone's dreams starting to come true, especially since there were many missed opportunities for the spinoff.

'Legacies'

(Photo: Chris Reel / The CW)

When Legacies was canceled, and the doors closed forever on the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, the Vampire Diaries universe officially ended after almost 13 years. Focusing on Hope Mikaelson, a Tribrid — werewolf, witch, and vampire — and daughter of Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall from The Originals, and the students at the Salvatore School, the series brought in a new generation of supernatural beings for four seasons.

Like many cancellations, Legacies was a surprising one. While it did provide closure for Hope as she was able to get a message from her late father, and Candice King returned as Caroline to take on the duties of interim headmaster, there was much more story to be told, especially with the thought of getting much more Caroline and who knows what else. Of course, there's always the possibility that the TVD universe will come back in some way, and if it does, maybe there will be another way to bring back Legacies, even if it isn't the series.

'Roswell, New Mexico'

(Photo: John Golden Britt/The CW)

Also part of the wave of cancellations on The CW last year, the Roswell reboot, Roswell, New Mexico, was canceled after just four seasons. The show got mixed reviews throughout its run but switched to being a summer show beginning with the third season, which probably didn't help with ratings as opposed to being midseason, which is where it was the first two seasons.

There is definitely much more to tell with Roswell, New Mexico, considering the fact that Liz and Max got engaged before Max had to leave to save his planet. However, everything else did end on a happy note, with Michael and Alex getting married, Isobel and Kyle starting their relationship, Rosa going back to New York, and even Dallas and Maria confirming their own relationship. Even so, to see what Max is up to would be nice to know, and the aftermath of him leaving would have been interesting. If only...

'DC's Stargirl'

(Photo: The CW)

Another somewhat recent cancellation, DC's Stargirl completed its three-season run late last year, and although the DC series did have some closure with the new JSA taking over and doing pretty well, there was still so much more to tell with them while they were kids and still figuring it out. Before the show flash forwarded, they were in the midst of recruiting new members and finding kids of the other heroes, which would have made for an interesting fourth season.

Starman himself, Joel McHale, discussed the cancellation news recently, which was heartbreaking to hear. It is nice that the show ended on a nice note with the series finale, but to expand more on the new JSA would have been great, and it's sad that it won't happen.

'Gotham Knights'

(Photo: Amanda Mazonkey/The CW)

Also a recent cancellation, just like The Winchesters, Gotham Knights was just canceled after only one season, and it only premiered earlier this year. The DC series, which focused on Gotham City after the death of Batman, sees Bruce Wayne's son getting pulled into a group of kids who are the children of some of Batman's enemies who end up being framed for the Caped Crusader's death.

The Gotham Knights series finale saw Supernatural alum Misha Collins finally become Two-Face, but it was only a few seconds that was shown. To see the aftermath of that and how Two-Face will rise into being the villain he is known to be, while Harvey Dent likely still tries to deal with it, would have been a pretty captivating storyline, and it desperately needs to come back. However, even despite fan campaigns, the show failed to find a new home.

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