EXCLUSIVE: Tom Swift has swiftly gotten the boot at CW.
the low-rated, Nancy Drew spinoff only launched on May 31 and has aired six episodes to date. The series, which features a predominantly Black cast, started off as an unconventional backdoor pilot, with only Tian Richards (as Tom) getting an introduction on Nancy Drew last season. The rest of the characters were cast after the project was picked up to series in August.
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We hear CBS Studios, which is behind Tom Swiftis trying to extend the options on the cast, which expire today, and plans to shop the series elsewhere.
The CW brass have said that they like the show creatively. The cancellation is said to be performance-based as Tom Swift is among the CW’s least watched series on linear, with 535K viewers in Live+7, as well as on streaming.
The show’s speedy demise comes as Nexstar Media Group’s pursuit of majority control of the CW nears completion. There has been wide speculation that Nexstar’s plan is to create a more “wholesome” lineup of programs. Nexstar is expected to take a 75% stake in the broadcast network, and current partners Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery will each nab 12.5%.
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Sources told Deadline that if it stays on track, the deal could be formalized in the coming weeks.
Tom Swift, which has been pushing the content boundaries of network TV, is about a billionaire inventor who is thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena after the disappearance of his father. Besides Richards, it stars Ashleigh Murray, April Parker Jones, Marquise Vilson, Christopher B. Duncan and LeVar Burton.
The show is from CBS Studios and Fake Empire and was co-created by Nancy Drew EPs Melinda Hsu Taylor and Noga Landau and empire writer Cameron Johnson, who also served as executive producers along with Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage and Lis Rowinski.
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