The CW Just Renewed 12 Shows, Including ‘Riverdale,’ ‘The Flash’ and ‘Walker’

The CW renewed 12 of its scripted series for the 2021-2022 season, CW Network chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz announced Wednesday morning. The Network ordered a second season of its breakout hit Walker starring husband and wife duo Jared and Genevieve Padalecki, Riverdale (Season 6), Season 4 of All American, Season 3 of Batwoman with the ground-breaking Javicia Leslie returning as the titular character, Charmed (Season 4), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 7), Dynasty (Season 5), The Flash (Season 8), In the Dark (Season 4), Legacies (Season 4), Nancy Drew (Season 3) and Roswell, New Mexico (Season 4).

“Though we’re just a few weeks into the new season, we wanted to get a strategic head start on next season with these early renewals, which allows our production teams to start laying out story arcs and hiring staff, and at the same time, continues to provide us with a strong, stable schedule to build on for next season,” said Pedowitz in a statement. “As The CW‘s 2020-2021 season kicks into high gear, we are thrilled creatively with the direction of our first new shows out of the gate, WALKER and SUPERMAN & LOIS, that we wanted to order the additional episodes to complete their first seasons, and we are particularly pleased with the huge success of the launch of WALKER, which debuted as our most-watched series premiere in five years.”

In addition to the renewed shows, the CW also ordered an additional two episodes Superman & Lois, bringing the show’s episode count for 2020-2021 to 15, and another 5 episodes of its breakout hit Walker, making its episode count for the season 18. Padalecki recently spoke about how the series talked him out of his retirement plans post-Supernatural with TV Insider. “I’d often say I wanted to retire, especially from the acting portion of the business,” he admitted to the outlet. “I was like, ‘I’m tired of people looking at me. I’m tired of setting alarm clocks.’”

“At first, I just really wanted to develop this story about this version of Cordell Walker,” Padalecki says of his character who was originally played by Chuck Norris. Though, he reveals the original plan was for his former Supernatural co-star Jensen Ackles to take on the lead role, while Padalecki would executive produce. But, the role somehow grabbed him instead. “It kept looking like something I really wanted to be a part of,” Padalecki shared.