Arrowverse series 'Batwoman' canceled after 3 seasons on The CW, no word on 'Legends' yet

Batwoman will prowl the rooftops of Gotham City no more. The Arrowverse television series has officially been canceled after three seasons on The CW. Showrunner Caroline Dries made the announcement on her Twitter account Friday afternoon. "Just got the sad news that #Batwoman will not be seeing an S4," she wrote. "I am bummed, but full of gratitude. What an honor to make 51 episodes. So many inspiring, brilliant people contributed to this series. Thank you producers, cast and crew. Thank you, fans! We love you." 

While unconfirmed, this development may have something to do with the imminent sale of the network. Earlier this month, Deadline reported that a number of small screen projects were at risk of cancellation as The CW was shopped around to new owners. Batwoman — along with fellow DC titles like Legends of Tomorrow and Naomi — were noticeably absent from the list of renewed shows for the 2022-23 programming season.

At this point, there's still no word on the fates of Legends, Naomi, or Stargirl. The Flash and Superman & Lois were the only ones renewed, though it's rumored that Barry Allen's fast-paced adventures will come to an end after a truncated ninth season. Another potential explanation for Batwoman's cancelation is that The CW plans to focus its attention and financial resources on another Batman-adjacent show — Gotham Knights — which scored a pilot order back in early February.

The first season of Batwoman premiered in 2019 with Ruby Rose (The Meg) occupying the cape and cowl of Kate Kane. Rose ended up bowing out of the series after a single season, forcing the network to recast the titular role for Season 2.

Javicia Leslie (God Friended Me) was ultimately chosen as the replacement in September of 2020. Instead of continuing Kate's character, however, the writers decided to create a brand-new one from scratch: Ryan Wilder. She didn't have any basis in the original DC Comics, but got to make her print debut in the pages of a Batgirl story published ahead of the second season.

"Ryan reminds me of a young me before I really started to work on myself," Leslie said during an Instagram Q&A for National Superhero Day, which was celebrated on Thursday. "I didn't have a filter, I didn't know when, maybe, that wasn't the most appropriate thing to say. I really love the fact that she just reminds me of me before my little inner transition. I love her sense of humor, I love her loyalty. One of my favorite things about playing Ryan is to be able to lean into the loyalty she has. That is fun and it's beautiful and it makes it fun on set because I get to play with my cast mates in that way."

Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Camrus Johnson, Victoria Cartagena, Robin Givens, and Nick Creegan rounded out the cast. Greg Berlanti, Caroline Dries, Geoff Johns, Chad Fiveash, James Patrick Stoteraux, and Sarah Schechter were executive producers.