Though it has been able to build a strong fanbase, CBS’ Supergirl, starring Melissa Benoist, has never gotten the ratings it needed for the network to confidently give it a season renewal. The show comes from the minds of the same creative force behind The Flash, Arrow, and Legends Of Tomorrow, so it seemed to make sense that the same formula could work on a bigger network with a bigger budget. However, low ratings have now put the future of Supergirl in limbo, with the possibility of it jumping to the CW, a network they co-own with Warner Bros. Entertainment. More on the story below.

The Wrap says nothing is official yet, but one of the reasons why the series hasn’t been renewed is the $3 million price tag fee that CBS has to pony up to broadcast each episode. This makes it “one of the highest license fees ever for a freshman show” and it’s lower than expected ratings do not justify the high cost to broadcast each episode.

Nielsen ratings show that Supergirl had an impressive 13 million viewers in its debut; however, those numbers were cut in half by the season finale. But if you are taking the bad news as something that could result in a cancellation, then you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that it may jump on over to the CW network.

We can expect to hear more on the matter when CBS announces its Fall schedule in two weeks at the upfront presentations in New York. If Supergirl does end up moving over to The CW, it won’t be as bad as you think. First, the CW has a lineup that is more suited for the younger demographic. Plus The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow are three DC series’ that have established themselves as the superhero shows to watch. The only downside to this would be that Supergirl would get a significantly smaller budget. One of the show’s biggest criticisms was that despite its bigger budget, it had rather poor visual effects. However, it isn’t something that they couldn’t deal with as The Flash has shown us that it has been able to have high-quality visuals while maintaining high-quality storytelling.

We’ll be sure to keep you up-to-date on the future of Supergirl should any new developments come in.

[Source: The Wrap]