At the CW Upfronts this week, the president of the network, Mark Pedowitz, explains the decision to pass on WAYWARD SISTERS, and fans remain unappeased.
The idea of Wayward Sisters began as a wish from Supernatural fans. A female family (that does not start, nor end, with blood) of hunters who team up to fight monsters and consequently expand the world of Supernatural? I’m completely on board. Regrettably, the decision-makers at The CW are not.
Confused fans became even angrier with Pedowitz’s reasoning for saying “no.” He claimed the show “had great material” and that those at The CW are “big fans of [Wayward Sisters’] characters and the women who played those characters,” but that they “did not feel creatively that the show is where [they] wanted it to be.”
“The show is [not] where [they] wanted it to be.”
So, a show that explores the lives of women far beyond their (romantic or otherwise) relationships with men is not where The CW wants to be. A show highlighting the bravery and imperfections in women and representing them as real, fully-encompassed characters is not where The CW wants to be. A show that portrays two female main characters who are over the age of 30 as wise, bad-ass fighters is not where The CW wants to be. A show that appears to include at least two characters who are LGBTQA+ is not where The CW wants to be. A show that unites people of various races and backgrounds and celebrates their loving relationship is not where The CW wants to be.
If you want to go beyond representation and inclusion, fine. Let’s talk money.
Pedowitz also stated that The CW “felt [the network] had a better shot with Legacies.” What is Legacies, you ask? Why, it’s a spin-off of The Originals, which is a spin-off to the recently-ended series, The Vampire Diaries. Is your head spinning yet?
The Originals has only had a handful of episodes air in its current (fifth) season, but all struggled (and most failed considerably) to obtain a 1.00 million in ratings, with an rough 0.3 million in viewers 18-49. Believe it or not, those numbers are on-track to match the previous four seasons’ stats.
Supernatural just ended its (whopping) 13th season, and averaged 1.69 million viewers per episode. Wayward Sisters’ backdoor pilot episode pulled in 1.85 million viewers–that’s the seventh highest-rated episode in season 13. A couple others on that gleaming list? The season premiere and “Scoobynatural”–the much-anticipated animated crossover with Scooby-Doo.
It is no secret that Supernatural rakes in plenty of money off-screen, too. There is oodles of licensed Supernatural merchandise on the market. The biggest deal is likely with Hot Topic. Beyond “merch,” Creation Entertainment offers over a dozen Supernatural conventions each year. Would fans buy the heck out of Wayward Sisters merchandise, too? You betcha. (You should see the fan-based art and items out there!) Would fans spend hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars to go to conventions that include the Wayward ladies? They already are.
It’s not to be forgotten that when the backdoor pilot of Wayward Sisters was set to air in season 13 of Supernatural, Pedowitz professed, “I’ve seen it; I like it, but the fans determine…Nothing is perfect but the real question is whether fans will go watch it if the boys aren’t in it.”
Well, Mr. Pedowitz, the fans showed up. We watched. We tweeted/Facebook’d/Instagram’d. We asked for more. So, where were you?
Upon hearing The CW’s decision to skip over Wayward Sisters for fall 2018, I still had hope that maybe they would hear our roar one more time and give it another shot. Maybe we wouldn’t get a full 23-episode season, but why not a 13-episode one? Why not a mid-season or summer pilot? After hearing Pedowitz’s explanation, I’m feeling far less optimistic that Wayward Sisters will find a home on The CW. However, that does not mean I’ve given up.
Netflix and The CW/Warner Brothers have a impressive deal. Netflix gets recently-completed seasons of The CW’s shows eight days after their season finales air. Netflix and Warner Brothers also recently made a deal to go forward with a pilot season of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina [The Teenage Witch], which was originally in talks to air on The CW. Maybe–just maybe–Netflix can be our wayward girls’ home.
So, what can you do give Wayward Sisters hope?
- Contact Netflix via Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, expressing why you want the show/what the show means to you. Request the show on their website.
- Contact Warner Brothers Television via Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram also expressing your love for the show.
- Contact The CW via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, e-mail request, and phone: 1-818-977-2500, and keep showing your support of the show!
- Sign the (extremely successful) petition started by fan @Georgia_Heapyx.
- Use the hashtag “#SaveWaywardSisters” far and wide on social media platforms and keep an eye out for fan-based projects to gather and show our support.
- Don’t stop talking about the show. The possibility of a full series can hang in the air for a long time. Keep it afloat. Together, we continue the fight.
(cover photo source) (gif photo source)