We know they’re leading up to a spectacular season 2 finale, which they’re currently working on. Jason Rothenberg and his team are not only incredibly talented, they are also very lucky. It’s every showrunner’s dream, to not only be allowed to put their show on the air in the first place, but to take their characters and lead them exactly where the story demands that they go.

So now, instead of crying bitter tears and bemoaning the unfairness of the network TV model, we’re actually heading into the third season of the little show that could, a fantastic piece of serialised fiction which seems to be enjoying surprisingly free rein on a network whose attention is shifting elsewhere. So what does this mean? The low ratings and lack of advertising could easily have meant cancellation, and absolutely nothing was certain until The CW unveiled their decision to renew practically its entire lineup for the 2015/2016 season. On a network which is relying more and more heavily on superhero programming, there’s very little room for gritty real people. Not only does its teenage cast and science fiction-adjacent premise turn off a large percent of prospective viewers, but The CW is doing very little to promote one of its few remaining standalone dramas. (Or, in some cases, a really good legal contract allowing it to stay on the air long enough to build a viewership.)Īnd let’s face it: for one reason or another, people are just not watching The 100. There’s no real chance to grow – either a show has an audience, or it doesn’t. These days, the big networks look for very specific types of shows, that need to hit it big straight away. Bad, obviously, because of the “teen” label so easily placed on its programming, and because of the inherent glossy quality one associates with its cinematography (although looking at shows like Supernatural and The 100, it may be time to revise that assumption).īut good, because on a more mainstream network like ABC or Fox, The 100 would probably have been axed six episodes in.

For a show like The 100, the CW is both a good and bad network to be on.

Love Means... Renewal by Andrew Grey