CW explains renewing 'Beauty' while axing 'Tomorrow People'

Couple things. First: The CW isn’t finished trying to spin off Supernatural.

After this year’s unsuccessful attempt to develop an extension of the long-running hit, The CW is going back to the drawing board. The CW president Mark Pedowitz told reporters Thursday he’s looking to try again. The show’s producers and studio, Warner Bros., will seek a new concept to develop for next year’s pilot season. “We believe there is a really good brand in Supernatural,” he said. “We felt the Supernatural [spin-off pilot Bloodlines] didn’t quite get there … We know we want to develop once more for next season a Supernatural spinoff.”

Bloodlines debuted as part of the regular Supernatural season. While fans tuned in to watch, many felt the show was creatively lacking, with EW’s poll showing only a third of Supernatural fans wanting to see the spin-off continue.

Next, the executive addressed his decision to renew Beauty and the Beast while axing the newer and higher rated The Tomorrow People (Beauty averaged only 1.2 million viewers this season; Tomorrow averaged 1.9 million, though among ages 18-34 the shows were tied).

Pedowitz explained that Beauty and the Beast performed better in terms of international sales and social engagement. “We’ve always said we’re a very different style of broadcast network,” he said. “We have situations where shows like Beauty have created upside potential … it’s a fan favorite. It has a great international [interest]. Primarily, Tomorrow People was a great show — [it] just didn’t have the same level of social engagement or digital side that Beauty and the Beast gets.”

See The CW’s newly announced fall schedule.