The CW Cancels Gotham Knights After One Season Amid Programming Cuts

The CW has announced that Gotham Knights will not be returning for a second season. 

The show, which premiered earlier this year, was a unique DC adaptation that did not have any ties to the Arrowverse, unlike most of the other CW DC shows. The adaptation had a decent viewership, but it was not enough to secure a renewal as The CW is scaling back on its scripted content. On the other hand, another DC adaptation, Superman & Lois, will be continuing with its fourth season.

Gotham Knights faced a challenging situation at The CW. The network, which is now majority-owned by Nexstar with a 75 percent stake, has changed its programming approach by significantly reducing the number of original scripted shows it will produce next season. 

Before this, only All American and Walker had been renewed for the 2023-24 season, while popular shows like Walker: Independence, Kung Fu, and The Winchesters had been cancelled. Superman & Lois and All American: Homecoming will complete the lineup, bringing The CW’s scripted originals total to four.

Gotham Knights was already a contentious project before all this. Despite having the same name and premise as the video game Gotham Knights, the show focused mainly on original characters, such as Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan), Bruce Wayne’s adoptive son. 

This disappointed some who expected a more faithful adaptation. Moreover, Gotham Knights was criticized for its low-budget look, though it gained some fans with the casting of Supernatural star Misha Collins as Harvey Dent.

It is worth mentioning that after the announcement of Gotham Knights being cancelled, a fan-led campaign to save the series was trending on Twitter. However, it may not be sufficient to rescue the DC series.

Earlier, The Winchesters had a similar campaign that was supported by star and producer Jensen Ackles, but it still failed to find a new network. Whether its DC affiliation will give it an advantage remains uncertain, but for now, Gotham Knights has come to an end.

About Gotham Knights

Gotham Knights is an American superhero television series developed by Natalie Abrams, Chad Fiveash, and James Stoteraux for the CW. Based on the DC Comics, it premiered on March 14, 2023 and follows Turner Hayes, Batman’s adopted son and his allies in the aftermath of Batman’s death.

The series features an unexpected alliance between Turner; the children of Batman’s enemies, Harper and Cullen Row; Duela; Batman’s former sidekick, Carrie Kelley; and a coder, Stephanie Brown. The group races to clear Turner’s name of Batman’s murder and to defeat the nefarious force rising up in Gotham City.

The shows stars Oscar Morgan, Olivia Rose Keegan, Navia Robinson, Fallon Smythe, Tyler DiChiara, Anna Lore, Rahart Adams and Misha Collins among others.