The Winchesters, Kung Fu Both Canceled at The CW

 Posted on September 18, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  959 words  |  Reinaldo Massengill

“The Winchesters” has been canceled after one season at The CW, with the network also canceling the reboot of “Kung Fu” after three seasons.

“As we reimagine the new CW, we had to make some tough programming decisions,” The CW said in a statement. “We thank our partners at Warner Bros. and the casts and creative teams of ‘Kung Fu’ and ‘The Winchesters’ for all their hard work, creativity and dedication.”

The “Supernatural” prequel series “The Winchesters” followed demon hunters Sam and Dean’s parents, John (Drake Rodger) and Mary (Meg Donnelly), telling the story of how the couple met as teens and how they ultimately came together to save the entire world. The story is told from Dean’s (Jensen Ackles) perspective, marking the first return of Ackles’ character since the series finale in November of 2020.

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In addition to Rodger and Donnelly, Bianca Kajlich, Demetria McKinney, and Nida Khurshid also starred.

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Robbie Thompson wrote and executive produced the series. Jensen Ackles and Daneel Ackles also executive produced through their Chaos Machine banner. Glen Winter directed and executive produced the pilot. Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios produce. Chaos Machine was previously under a first-look deal with WBTV, but has since moved to Amazon.

Inspired by the original “Kung Fu” created by Ed Spielman, the reboot of the 1970s series follows Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang), whose quarter-life crisis causes this young Chinese American woman to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to San Francisco, she finds her hometown is overrun with crime and corruption and her own parents Jin (Tzi Ma) and Mei-Li (Kheng Hua Tan) are at the mercy of a powerful Triad.

Tony Chung, Shannon Dang, Jon Prasida, Gavin Stenhouse, Eddie Liu, and Vanessa Kai also starred in the series.

“Kung Fu” was executive produced by Christina M. Kim, who also penned the pilot and served as co-showrunner alongside Robert Berens. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Martin Gero and David Madden also served as executive producers. Hanelle Culpepper directed and co-executive produced the pilot episode. Berlanti Productions and Quinn’s House produced the show in association with Warner Bros. Television.

This marks the latest cancellations at The CW, with the network previously canceling “Walker: Independence.” “Walker,” meanwhile, has been renewed for next season, as has the high school football drama “All American.” The shows “All American: Homecoming,” “Superman & Lois,” and “Gotham Knights” are still awaiting word on their fates, though none are expected to continue at this time.

Since acquiring a majority stake in The CW last year, parent company Nexstar has largely moved away from the network’s previous scripted series strategy and has instead focused on low-cost unscripted fare, foreign acquisitions, and live sports like LIV Golf.

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