It’s renewal season for TV networks, but one series that has yet to receive a renewal is Supergirl on CBS. The network has not fully committed to giving the series a sophomore season, but Deadline reports the show would have to make a lot of changes in order to stay on air.
The biggest concern the network has is the cost. Between hefty licensing fees and the location, Supergirl has been a pricey endeavor for the network. The production for Supergirl takes place in California, which is neither a cheap place to live or to try and film a TV series.
If Supergirl hopes to have a chance at a second season, they will be facing budget cuts. One proposal to help reduce the expense of production is to relocate to Vancouver. Other ideas to afford the production costs include cutting the number of episodes in a season and proceeding with a reduced licensing fee.
Should CBS cancel Supergirl due to budgeting concerns, it is still highly unlikely a second season won’t run. Other networks have already expressed an interest in picking up Supergirl should it be dropped by CBS.
Of the networks Supergirl might land at, the CW makes the most sense, especially since there were rumors a while back that the CW would greenlight a Supergirl pilot, but the project ended up at CBS. Mark Pedowitz, the CW president of public comments has even admitted to regretting not pursuing Supergirl after the project was pitched.
If Supergirl were to relocate to the CW, the series would still go through a budget cut. And the show would probably end up moving to Vancouver anyway since all of Supergirl producer Greg Berlanti’s other superhero projects are Canada-based.
Furthermore, if Supergirl were to shift to the CW, it would become the fourth DC universe inspired superhero series on the network.
The future of Supergirl is, of course, still highly speculative. CBS ran several freshman shows this year including Supergirl, Limitless, Code Black, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, and Rush Hour. Of these five new shows, none have been renewed as of yet by the network.