'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' canceled, as The CW makes major shake-ups to the Arrowverse

Fresh off news that The CW had pulled the plug on Batwoman after its third season, the network has also decided not to renew DC’s Legends of Tomorrow after the conclusion of the long-running series’ recent seventh season.

With ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia reportedly pursuing a sale of the network, the schedule shake-ups look to be fairly severe as the programming slate faces some of the biggest changes in recent history. Along with Batwoman’s cancellation, the network is also rumored to be considering a plan to wrap up The Flash with a shortened ninth season next year. Supergirl already ended its run this past season, and there’s been no news on whether or not Naomi will return for a second season. Stargirl has a third season already ordered a while back, but no word on the show’s future beyond that. 

For Legends of Tomorrow fans, the cancellation news likely hits hard. The series has been one of the most diverse and critically acclaimed shows on The CW in recent years, and ended its latest season on a wild cliffhanger that introduced Donald Faison as major DC Comics character Booster Gold. But when the network was mum about a renewal at the end of Season 7, fans (and the creative team behind the show itself) started to worry the writing could be on the wall. A burgeoning “Save Our Show” campaign was getting off the ground, but seemingly wasn’t enough to keep the show flying for an eighth season.

The series’ co-showrunner Keto Shimuzu broke the news on Twitter, noting its been an “incredible run,” and she is “heartbroken” the show will not continue. 

By CW standards, the show was still a decent ratings performer. TV Line reports Legends of Tomorrow averaged 860,000 total weekly viewers and a 0.2 demo rating (with Live+7 playback). The latest season was up in audience and steady in the demo compared to last year. It was also among The CW’s most-watched shows, behind only All American, The Flash and Superman & Lois in the key audience demo. But it was also effects-heavy and featured a large ensemble cast (many of which would likely be due for contract extensions), which are always hard factors to square for a long-running show.

As for the future of the Arrowverse, Superman & Lois has been renewed, and The CW has two pilots in development — Justice U featuring Arrow alum David Ramsey training young heroes, and the Batman-related Gotham Knights, about villains teaming up with some of the Bat-family following Bruce Wayne’s apparent death. 

At the least, here’s hoping some of Legends of Tomorrow’s lingering storylines can be wrapped up via the other Arrowverse shows that have survived.

If you're looking for some sci-fi TV to check out in the meantime, Peacock has SYFY hit Resident Alien, as well as originals like Brave New World and Intergalactic, streaming now.