The future of The CW is beginning to take shape.
The broadcast network has renewed its drama All American for a sixth season in 2023-24. The pickup is the first since local TV giant Nexstar acquired a 75 percent stake in The CW and hired former Pop TV head Brad Schwartz as entertainment president.
All American has consistently turned in some of the better ratings for the network: This season, it’s the top show on The CW among adults 18-49 in Nielsen’s seven-day ratings and ranks fourth in total viewers. The network also says it had the largest cross-platform audience on The CW in the 2021-22 season.
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“Over the last five seasons, All American has established itself as one of the all-time CW flagship franchises,” Schwartz said in a statement. “All American is not only the network’s youngest series, but also the strongest performer when combining all our platforms. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll, [executive producers] Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, the entire creative team and the incredible cast for another season of captivating family drama.”
With the pickup of All American, The CW will have at least some on-screen continuity under its new ownership. Nexstar has committed to turn a profit with the network — which, under former owners Warner Bros. and ViacomCBS, it never did — by 2025 and has signaled that it will be looking for less expensive programming than what currently populates the network.
That could mean cutbacks on the scripted side to as few as four or five home-grown original series alongside low-cost acquisitions — a la Canadian imports Family Law and Coroner on the current slate — and unscripted shows. Schwartz told The Hollywood Reporter in November that the network will “have to be a little scrappier. It’s not as easy as saying there won’t be scripted; I think if we do scripted, we have to figure out a smart way of doing it.”
Berlanti Productions produces All American with Warner Bros. TV and CBS Studios. Carroll, Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, John A. Norris, Jameal Turner, Mike Herro and David Strauss are the executive producers.
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