The CW Boss On the Future Of ‘The Vampire Diaries’, Plans For ‘Supergirl’

After a flurry of announcements (and some retractions) by The Vampire Diaries cast members in the past couple of months that the upcoming eighth season will be the series’ last, the CW president Mark Pedowitz said that “no determination” has been made yet.

“In my dreams it isn’t, but we will see how the audience will react,” he said. Also not set yet is the size of the show’s eighth season. That will be done in the next few weeks.

Pedowitz said he has “a rough idea” where Supergirl will go creatively in Season 2. He and executive producer Greg Berlanti will sit down next week to discuss that further. Tonally, no significant changes are expected in the series’ move from CBS to the CW.

“They had a pretty successful series,” Pedowitz said. “The fact that it’s moving where it should’ve been in the first place is not going to have a big effect.”

Ratings-wise, Pedowitz said the expectation is that Supergirl will draw “a little less” viewership than it did at CBS, where it averaged close to 10 million viewers in Live+7. “I believe it will be a strong performer for the CW, I believe it will be one of our top three performers, and I am confident that it will bring some of its audience on CBS.”

One of the first orders of business: Supergirl will be employed in the next annual CW crossover in December. Pedowitz declined to elaborate whether it will be a four-night event with Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow — all conveniently airing on four consecutive nights — but noted it will be the network’s “biggest ever” crossover. He will reveal details at the network’s upfront presentation later this morning.

Pedowiz said the CW’s discussions for Supergirl started a week and a half ago. In addition to the move to the CW, the series also is relocating production to Vancouver. Pedowitz was asked whether co-star Calista Flockhartwill remain on the show as a regular with the location change. “We are very happy to have her,” he said. “There are ongoing discussions. We are thrilled that she wants to continue on the show, and we are thrilled to have her in whatever capacity.”

I had heard that there was an idea for Flockhart to fly to Vancouver periodically, filming scenes for multiple episodes at a time.

In regards to new series Riverdale, based on the Archie comics characters, Pedowitz said that it’s a “more adult version.” It is Secrets Of A Small Town in an essence,” he said, noting the “tremendous adult presence on the show. “It’s a much more layered piece.”