With the COVID-19 pandemic having wreaked havoc on production, the CW’s “fall” season is being winterized. The strangest TV season in memory will continue in January and February with the network setting premiere dates for 11 returning series and three new ones: Walker, Superman & Lois and Canadian pickup Trickster.
The CW in May announced that its regular 2020-21 schedule will roll out in January and unveiled a fall 2020 lineup consisting of acquisitions and the final episodes of Supernatural.
The series are launching when they are ready based on staggered production start dates and length of post-production — especially the multiple superhero shows that require elaborate special effects.
The rollout begins Friday, January 8, with the season bows of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Both unscripted veterans originally were set to air on Mondays.
The new season continues with the Season 3 premiere of Two Sentence Horror Stories on Tuesday, January 12. That will be followed by the U.S. premiere of Trickster, a CBC pickup starring newcomer Joel Oulette as Jared, an Indigenous teen struggling to keep his dysfunctional family above water. When he starts seeing strange things — talking ravens, doppelgängers, skin monsters — his already chaotic life is turned upside down. Crystle Lightning, Kalani Queypo, Anna Lambe, Joel Thomas Hynes, Craig Lauzon , Gail Maurice and Georgina Lightning co-star.
Javicia Leslie will make her debut as Ryan Wilder and become Gotham’s new defender in Batwoman when its sophomore season bows on Sunday, January 17. Charmed will join the Sunday lineup a week later with its Season 3 premiere.
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All American returns for Season 3 on Monday, January 18, and the fourth season of Black Lightning joins the Monday lineup on February 8. The fifth season of Riverdale will debut on Wednesday, January 20, followed by the sophomore return of Nancy Drew.
The rebooted Walker, starring Jared Padalecki as the character played by Chuck Norris in the 1990s action hit Walker, Texas Ranger, premieres Thursday, January 21, followed by the Season 3 bow of Legacies.
The CW’s super Tuesday kicks off February 23 with the series premiere of Superman & Lois, starring Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch, followed by the Season 7 bow of the network’s most-watched series, The Flash.
Here are the premiere dates for The CW’s new season (all times ET/PT; season premiere dates in bold):
FRIDAY, JANUARY 8
8-8:30 p.m. WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (Cycle 9 premiere)
8:30-9 p.m. WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (Encore episode)
9-10 p.m. PENN & TELLER: FOOL US (Season 7 premiere)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 10
8-10 p.m. CRITICS CHOICE SUPER AWARDS (Two-hour special)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 12
8-8:30 p.m. TWO SENTENCE HORROR STORIES (Season 2 premiere)
8:30-9 p.m. TWO SENTENCE HORROR STORIES (Original episode)
9-10 p.m. TRICKSTER (U.S. series premiere)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 17
8-9p.m. BATWOMAN (Season 2 premiere)
9-10 p.m. TBA
MONDAY, JANUARY 18
8-9 p.m. ALL AMERICAN (Season 3 premiere)
9-10 p.m. TBD
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20
8-9 p.m. RIVERDALE (Season 5 premiere)
9-10 p.m. NANCY DREW (Season 2 premiere)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21
8-9 p.m. WALKER (Series premiere)
9-10 p.m. LEGACIES (Season 3 premiere)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24
8-9 p.m. BATWOMAN (Original episode)
9-10 p.m. CHARMED (Season 3 premiere)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8
8-9 p.m. ALL AMERICAN (Original episode)
9-10 p.m. BLACK LIGHTNING (Season 4 premiere)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
8-9 p.m. THE FLASH (Season 7 premiere)
9-10 p.m. SUPERMAN & LOIS (Series premiere)