Renew/Cancel Watch Key
💀 - DSW (Dead Show Walking)/Effectively Canceled
😳 - Certain to be Canceled
😢😢 - Likely to be Canceled
😐😐😐 - Watching
😊😊😊😊 - Likely to be Renewed
😃😃😃😃😃 - Certain to be Renewed
| Show | Prediction |
| The Flash | 😃😃😃😃😃 |
| Jane the Virgin | 😃😃😃😃😃 |
Obviously, it's emojis. Like last season, there are five main categories: Certain to be Canceled, Likely to be Canceled, Watching, Likely to be Renewed, and Certain to be Renewed. The DSW or Dead Show Walking emoji designates fall freshman shows that have gotten their episode orders reduced after the premiere. For fall freshman and sophomore shows with an initial 13 episode season order, this designation will also be used if that show gets no backorder. Partial backorders no longer apply to the equation. If a CW show gets a follow up backorder that is less than 9 episodes, it will be treated as a limited series (like iZombie and The 100), and there will be no changes to the prediction. Here's the iZombie rule: if a show gets a partial backorder and a renewal is predicted, it will be predicted as such. Once premiere week rolls around, two more columns will be added to show a show's ratings average and the ratings percentage change year to year for a veteran show. Now, let's get on to the predictions.
On The Flash and Jane the Virgin
Third season shows are special cases where a show is usually predicted as a renewal in advance. In the case of The Flash, if it gets 23 episodes, the show will have 69 episodes at the end of its third season. The guarantee of the syndication gods states that if a show with three full seasons has at least 66 episodes, it will most certainly be renewed for a fourth season.
For woefully-rated Jane the Virgin, the case would be that it might either have its episode order reduced before the premiere like Reign this past season, or it would get 22 episodes to reach the guaranteed number of episodes needed to kick in the automatic fourth season renewal. The main reason why it's certain to be renewed for a fourth season are three words: CBS Studios Production. CBS affirmative action allowed Reign to be renewed for a fourth season despite not hitting the number of episodes (66) that would guarantee the automatic fourth season renewal. Even so, I'm not betting against renewal at this point.
Last season, my preseason predictions, except in the case of Reign aligned closely to the actual predictions of a show, leaving me with a prediction record of 9-2-0. Last season, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and iZombie were predicted as cancelations all season before being renewed in a mass renewal spree for the ages.
What surprising things could the CW come up with this time around? Let me know in the comments below!
