As the old saying goes, “all good things must come to an end.” In the streaming video service, that usually means that a favorite show is departing a favorite streaming service.
That’s why eventually, all CW shows are leaving Netflix. The good news is, they aren’t all leaving at the same time.
The bad news is that eventually all the CW shows leaving Netflix will be spaced out on different streaming services. That means it’s going to be a bit harder to keep track of what is where.
September Departure for The CW
The most recent CW show leaving Netflix is Beauty and the Beast. The fairytale based series is headed out to greener pastures on Septebmer 19. Sooner or later, it will be joined by the rest of the network’s catalog.
The reason for this? Just plain business decisions.
Netflix and The CW first struck a streaming deal in 2011 which meant each new show aired during the TV season would see its episodes added to Netflix shortly after the season finale aired.
The deal was renewed again in 2016.
In 2019, The CW and Netflix chose not to renew the deal. The owners of the CW, WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS decided to move all streaming episodes to their own streaming services, Paramount+ and HBO Max. This new setup began with the Fall 2019 slate of series. This is why Nancy Drew and Star Girl is on HBO Max right now, instead of Netflix.
The Good News About The CW Shows Leaving Netflix
There is one caveat when it comes to programs leaving Netflix. They aren’t going to happen all at once. Some aren’t going to be departing for quite a while.
Language in the 2016 deal required each show to remain exclusively on Netflix for five years after Netflix obtains the final season.
As a result, there is still a significant number of CW series streaming on Netflix. These shows are gradually waiting for the clock to run down. In some cases, the series continues to get renewed for new seasons each year and so the five-year countdown hasn’t even begun!
The other piece of good news is that after Beauty and the Beast leaves, there won’t be another departure until next year. The next show making its exit will be The Vampire Diaries in March of 2022. That will likely be followed by Reign in September of the same year.
In 2023, Life Sentence and The Originals are the CW shows leaving Netflix. 2024 will see a trio of shows in Jane the Virgin, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and IZombie. The latter two shows are expected to end their run on Netflix just days apart from one another in August.
Arrow, The 100, and Supernatural are all set to depart in 2025, with The 100 leaving in February and the other two in the late fall.
Finally, in 2026, the last of the CW shows leaving Netflix is Black Lightning and Supergirl. At that point, fans of these programs will have to go looking elsewhere for the entire CW catalog.
