Here's why The CW didn't rescue Lucifer

Sorry, Lucifer fans, but The CW isn’t going to give the Fox devil drama an 11th hour save.

The Tom Ellis-starring Lucifer, which was in its third season, was among the more than 20 shows canceled across the five broadcast networks last week. The axing drew immediately online outrage, and fervent fans took to social media in a bid to rescue the series. #SaveLucifer was trending on Twitter worldwide after the announcement.

“We have had no conversations about it whatsoever,” CW boss Mark Pedowitz told reporters ahead of the network’s upfront presentation on Thursday morning about, well, saving Lucifer. “We are happy with what we have. There’s been no discussion about it. There’s just been no discussion and we’re focused on our own development.”

The series followed the devil (Ellis), who is fed up with the underworld and becomes an L.A. nightclub owner and LAPD consultant, helping to solve crimes. Lucifer was averaging only 4.1 million viewers and a 1.1 rating among adults 18–49 this season, including DVR playback.

In the past, The CW has come to the rescue for a few other Warner Bros. TV projects — the studio co-owns The CW with CBS. Following the cancellation of Constantine on NBC, the network brought Matt Ryan’s titular character onto Arrow in live action — he’s joining Legends of Tomorrow as a series regular in the fall — while also green-lightning the animated Constantine: City of Demons on CW Seed. The network also picked up Black Lightning and Riverdale, both WB/Greg Berlanti projects, after they were initially developed at Fox. The CW also picked up Supergirl for its second season after it was canceled at CBS.

Check out The CW’s new fall schedule here.