SUPERMAN & LOIS Season 4 Budget Cuts Sees Series Part Ways With A Number Of Writers

SUPERMAN & LOIS Season 4 Budget Cuts Sees Series Part Ways With A Number Of Writers

Superman & Lois has already reduced its series regular cast members from twelve to four, but the show's writers' room has also been impacted by season 4 budget cuts. You can find more details right here...

By JoshWilding - Oct 27, 2023 05:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Superman & Lois
Source: Deadline

DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has made it clear that, moving forward, he wants pretty much all DC content to take place in the DCU. That includes animated TV shows, video games and, crucially, everything we see in live-action. 

There will be some "Elseworlds" projects like Joker: Folie à Deux and The Penguin, but following the Arrowverse's conclusion, it seems the days of TV shows like Doom Patrol, Titans, and Superman & Lois and over. All but the latter have been cancelled, with the small screen Man of Steel set to receive a fourth - and presumably final - season. 

The series has a dedicated fanbase and giving it one last batch of episodes appears to be a way of placating viewers (after all, Warner Bros. won't want #RestoreTheSupermanAndLoisVerse to join #RestoreTheSnyderVerse). 

We've already heard that several supporting cast members have been released from their contracts - including Dylan Walsh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Erik Valdez, Inde Navarrette, Wolé Parks, Tayler Buck, and Sofia Hasmik - with them now expected to make little more than brief cameo appearances across the course of the season.

Today, Deadline brings word that the show's writers' room has also been condensed. 

It's gone from eight to five, and this comes as a result of Warner Bros. Television agreeing to deliver Superman & Lois for a significantly lower license fee to ensure The CW would produce it under its new lower-cost original programming model. That means major budget cuts. 

As the the series boasts extensive special effects, this one being hit hard was inevitable, hence why only four of the twelve series regulars are returning (Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Michael Bishop and Alex Garfin). 

On a brighter note, one of the fired writers has been tapped to pen an episodic script as a freelancer, while another is going to direct and also write on a freelance basis. 

Superman & Lois season 4 will consist of just 10 episodes and, hopefully, isn't going to become a victim of the SAG-AFTRA strike. As things stand, it may struggle to return before the end of 2024 and we can't say for sure whether Gunn will be happy for it to release the same year as Superman: Legacy...

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TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 10/27/2023, 5:51 AM
Damn man , I really hope this turns out well but I am concerned (though glad they were able to keep a couple of them as freelancers)….

I have been a big fan of the show so I hope this doesn’t affect the quality too much at the least , especially production wise as in VFX etc.

Anyway , majority of the main cast being dropped aswell as this have bummed me out but I’m still rooting for this show as it’s been a favorite of mine for awhile!!.

TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 10/27/2023, 5:56 AM
Superman and Lois season rankings so far (favorite to least).

1.S1
2.S3
3.S2
DiegoMD
DiegoMD - 10/27/2023, 6:53 AM
IMO it´s better to just cancel the show. Better to end on a high note than make a dissapointing season and ruining the show's reputation!
ZomZom
ZomZom - 10/27/2023, 6:54 AM
Just close it down now. Did nothing for the status of the character and felt like cheap Saturday morning pap. Such an odd choice for Supes, looks like an Eastern European taxi driver.
JobinJ
JobinJ - 10/27/2023, 7:32 AM
@ZomZom - hhahahahahah
KWilly
KWilly - 10/27/2023, 7:13 AM
Season 4 is gonna look like a middle school student film
TheOtherOn
TheOtherOn - 10/27/2023, 7:53 AM
Blergh
Blergh - 10/27/2023, 8:00 AM
I hope they give it a definitive ending here and are aware that this is the end for them.

TheCW is moving away from original programming and buys up whatever it can.
Their only upcoming original production will be a co-production with Electric Entertainment, a company that keeps its rights and sells them off to streaming (so the CW clearly only has a minimal stake in the new Librarian show)
Blergh
Blergh - 10/27/2023, 8:05 AM
Shame what’s happening to the network, during my youth they were the bastion for YA shows like Smallville, Veronica Mars and later the Arrowverse.
A lot of their shows fell into teen trappings but once in a while some of their shows were truly special.

Arrows first two seasons had some top notch world building, Season 2-3 of The Originals was the VtM show I always wanted, Smallville accompanied me growing up, Veronica Mars had brilliant storytelling and Supernatural was an all around joy to watch.

Sad to watch it go and fall prey to overly Christian media like “The Chosen” and it’s fanbase but given who bought it that shouldn’t be a surprise.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 10/28/2023, 1:12 AM
@Blergh - Agreed with everything you said. It was the network where the "little shows" could work and build audience, especially because the programming was everything but procedurals of law, fire, medicine and cop dramas.

On The CW you could find all different kind of genre: shared universes for superheroes and supernatural type ones, morally grey survivor series (The 100), teen/sport dramas (All American), decent remakes of shows (Roswell: New Mexico, Dynasty and Charmed), mystery dramas (Nancy Drew, In the Dark), well-written spoofs of novelas (Jane the Virgin), martial arts (Kung Fu) and even some western. (Walker: Indepedence) It really was a bastion for some variety on network TV.

The buyout to those cheap scripted content haters of Nexstar from WBD is just one of the main reasons I hate Zaslav, these folks never cared about doing a reasonable transition into their newest cheap model to 2025 and instead continued with what Zaslav did in continuing canceling shows and pushing away literally everyone. At least nowadays barely anyone watches their imported crap from other places, their latest comedy just opened to more low ratings and they had to move a reality show to Fridays because, surprise, no one cares to watch that on week prime time. (And even less will stay home to do it on weekends)

IDK how much "profitability" they've achieved till now with ADs or their golf shows on weekends, but it's clear they've never been meant to run a network. I miss the old,OG CW so damn much.
micvalpro
micvalpro - 10/27/2023, 8:32 AM
Sell the show to Netflix and let them give it the budget it deserves. It’s so sad that they’re ok with letting it diminish like this.
Forthas
Forthas - 10/27/2023, 9:04 AM
It was a middling show. Superman deserved better!

Timerider
Timerider - 10/27/2023, 10:43 AM
The writers in Hollywood really shot themselves in the foot, they demand a bigger paycheck and now studio heads are reducing budgets so they can pay them their bigger checks. That money has got to come from somewhere, so less episodes, cheaper budget, actors and writers reduced. This will happen across the board, and for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, they will raise subscription rates again soon, probably another 3-4 dollars more, It’s coming.
Himura
Himura - 10/27/2023, 1:08 PM
I wouldve prefer them end this with a tv movie/mini series if they were gonna cut THIS many people from the show.
knomad
knomad - 10/27/2023, 6:38 PM
Sad the show had to go out on a note like this. I agree; better to just cancel.

It was good while it lasted. Every superhero property is going down the crapper.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 10/28/2023, 1:18 AM
This took me a little by surprise because after the WGA got a new deal I thought all would be fine.

Should've known that can't be the case with the current losers suits running a TV network that care more about imports shows from other places than actually spending a penny to keep helping to create something that brings them an actual AUDIENCE and ratings.

Then again I'll never stop holding Helbing accountable for not preparing S3 as the final story in light of what happened to previous shows that did take care of being potentially canceled (you deserved so much [frick]ing better Stargirl) so losing half of his talented cast and now as well of his writers team is also on him. Dumbass.
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