The upcoming fourth season of The CW‘s Superman & Lois will also be the DC series’ last.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, The CW has announced that it will not be renewing Superman & Lois for Season 5. As such, the show’s 10-episode fourth season — which is due to arrive next year — will serve as the final chapter in the story of Tyler Hoechlin‘s Clark Kent/Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch‘s Lois Lane. This marks the end of an era, as Superman & Lois was the Nexstar-controlled network’s last surviving DC show.
“Over the last three seasons, Superman & Lois redefined both the superhero genre and family drama as Tyler, Elizabeth and the entire cast effortlessly portrayed these classic characters with new layers of depth and complexity that had never before been explored in the Superman universe,” Brad Schwartz, The CW’s president of entertainment, said in a statement. “We are grateful for the years of hard work and graceful storytelling from the show’s writers, producers, actors and crew, as well as our terrific partners at Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions. As Superman embarks on his final flight, the team is leaving us with an absolutely epic 10-episode must-watch-every-minute farewell to one of the most legendary CW families ever.”
Superman & Lois was born of the Arrowverse
Hoechlin made his debut as The CW’s Man of Steel during the second season of Supergirl in 2016. Tulloch joined the fray as Lois Lane during the Arrowverse‘s “Elseworlds” crossover event in 2018. After the subsequent “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event restructured DC’s television universe, Lois and Clark spun off into their one show — one separate from mainstream Arrowverse continuity.
Superman & Lois premiered on The CW in early 2021 to widespread acclaim from critics and audiences. The show returned for a second season in 2022, followed by a third earlier this year. However, it was very touch and go regarding whether The CW would pick the show up for Season 4. Superman & Lois ultimately managed to secure a renewal, albeit with a downsized main cast and episode count.
These developments are indicative of larger changes at The CW. In recent times, the network has opted to end, downsize, or outright cancel many of its original dramas — including a number of DC productions. This year alone, Arrow spin-off The Flash ended after nine seasons, Gotham Knights got the ax after one, and prospective series Justice U died in development.
It was late last year that the Nexstar Media Group acquired a 75 percent stake in The CW. Warner Bros. Discovery, DC’s parent company, previously owned 50 percent of the network. Paramount Global owned the other 50 percent. Like Paramount, Warner Bros. held on to 12.5 percent of The CW following the Nexstar deal. However, most of the company’s small-screen DC content will live on its Max streaming service going forward.
Superman & Lois Season 4 premieres in 2024 on The CW.
