The CW to Announces Delayed January 21 Start for New TV Season

The CW has announced its programming plans for next season, which due to the current health crisis will not begin until January 2021. The network will introduce four new dramas. There will be two in the fall (“Superman & Lois” and “Walker” and the reboot of “Walker, Texas Ranger”) and two later in the season (the reboot of “Kung Fu” and “The Republic of Sarah.” Five returning series — “Supergirl,” “D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Dynasty,” “Into the Dark” and “Roswell, New Mexico” — will be back at an undisclosed time later in the season.

Five nights of the week will be changed (excluding Monday and Wednesday), with upcoming “Superman & Lois” slated at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday out of “The Flash,” and “Walker” in the Thursday 8 p.m. ET hour (into “Legacies”). “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” and “Whose Line is it Anyway?” have been upgraded to kick off Friday, while “Charmed” will step in for “Supergirl” in the Sunday 9 p.m. ET hour (out of “Batwoman”).

What follows is the primetime schedule for The CW effective in January 2021, followed by the new series descriptions. The new shows are bolded.

MONDAY
8:00-9:00PM ALL AMERICAN
9:00-10:00PM BLACK LIGHTNING

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00PM THE FLASH
9:00-10:00PM SUPERMAN & LOIS (New Series)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00PM RIVERDALE
9:00-10:00PM NANCY DREW

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00PM WALKER (New Series)
9:00-10:00PM LEGACIES

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00PM PENN & TELLER: FOOL US (New Night)
9:00-9:30PM WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (New Night)
9:30-10:00PM WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?

SUNDAY
8:00-9:00PM BATWOMAN
9:00-10:00PM CHARMED (New Night)

New Series Descriptions

SUPERMAN & LOIS

In SUPERMAN & LOIS, after years of facing megalomaniacal supervillains, monsters wreaking havoc on Metropolis, and alien invaders intent on wiping out the human race, the world’s most famous superhero, The Man of Steel aka Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin, “Teen Wolf”) and comic books’ most famous journalist, Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch, “Grimm”), come face to face with one of their greatest challenges ever – dealing with all the stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents in today’s society. Complicating the already daunting job of raising two boys, Clark and Lois must also concern themselves with whether or not their sons Jonathan (Jordan Elsass, “Little Fires Everywhere”) and Jordan (Alexander Garfin, “The Peanuts Movie”) could inherit their father’s Kryptonian superpowers as they grow older. Returning to Smallville to handle some Kent family business, Clark and Lois are reacquainted with Lana Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui, “Entourage”), a local loan officer who also happens to be Clark’s first love, and her Fire Chief husband Kyle Cushing (Erik Valdez, “Graceland”). The adults aren’t the only ones rediscovering old friendships in Smallville as the Kent sons are reacquainted with Lana and Kyle’s rebellious daughter, Sarah (Inde Navarrette, “Wander Darkly”). Of course, there’s never a dull moment in the life of a superhero, especially with Lois’ father, General Samuel Lane (Dylan Walsh, “Nip/Tuck”) looking for Superman to vanquish a villain or save the day at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile, Superman and Lois’ return to idyllic Smallville is set to be upended when a mysterious stranger (Wolé Parks, “All American”) enters their lives.

Based on the characters from DC created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, SUPERMAN & LOIS is written and executive produced by Todd Helbing (“The Flash”) and executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Geoff Johns. The series is from Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

WALKER

WALKER, a reimagining of the long-running series “Walker, Texas Ranger,” stars Jared Padalecki (“Supernatural”) as Cordell Walker, a widower and father of two with his own moral code, who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home. He’ll attempt to reconnect with his creative and thoughtful son (Kale Culley, “Me, Myself and I”) and his headstrong, somewhat rebellious teenaged daughter (Violet Brinson, “Sharp Objects”) and navigate clashes with his family – an ADA brother (Keegan Allen, “Pretty Little Liars”) who stepped in during Walker’s absence, his perceptive mother (Molly Hagen, “Herman’s Head”) and his traditional rancher father (Mitch Pileggi, “The X-Files”). Walker’s former colleague is now his Ranger Captain, (Coby Bell, “The Game”). Walker finds unexpected common ground with his new partner (one of the first women in Texas Rangers’ history) played by Lindsey Morgan (“The 100”), while growing increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death. The show also stars Jeff Pierre as Trey Barnett.

WALKER is written and executive produced by Anna Fricke (“Being Human,” “Valor”), and executive produced by Dan Lin and Lindsay Liberatore and Jared Padalecki. WALKER is from CBS Television Studios in association with Rideback.

KUNG FU

A quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang), to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to San Francisco, she finds her hometown is overrun with crime and corruption and her own parents (Tzi Ma and Kheng Hua Tan) are at the mercy of a powerful Triad. Nicky will rely on her tech-savvy sister (Shannon Dang), pre-med brother (Jon Prasida), Assistant District Attorney and ex-boyfriend (Gavin Stenhouse), and new love interest (Eddie Liu) as well as her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice … all while searching for the ruthless assassin (Gwendoline Yeo) who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.

Inspired by the original series created by Ed Spielman, KUNG FU is from Warner Bros. Television in association with Quinn’s House and Berlanti Productions, with writer/executive producer Christina M. Kim (“Blindspot,” “Lost”) and executive producers Martin Gero (“Blindspot,” “LA Complex”), Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Riverdale”) and Sarah Schechter (“Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Riverdale”).

THE REPUBLIC OF SARAH

The bucolic tranquility of Greylock, New Hampshire is upended when a massive vein of coltan – an incredibly valuable mineral used in tech – is discovered under the town. State-backed mining company Lydon Industries swoops in with plans to extract the mineral … plans that include wiping Greylock off the map. With her friends and family in danger of losing their homes, rebellious high school teacher Sarah Cooper (Stella Baker) vows to stop Lydon’s bulldozers. It won’t be easy. Leading Lydon’s efforts is Sarah’s estranged brother, Danny Cooper (Luke Mitchell). After enduring a difficult childhood at the hands of his mother, former state senator Ellen Cooper (Megan Follows), Danny is eager to exact his revenge on a community he feels abandoned him. Sarah enlists her friends – fellow teacher Corinne Dearborn (Hope Lauren), police officer Amy “AJ” Johnson (Nia Holloway), and diner manager Grover Simms (Ian Duff) – in the fight against Danny, but there seems to be no way to stop the town’s impending demise … Until Sarah proposes an oddly intriguing solution: Greylock could declare independence. Citing various historical maps, she explains that the land on which Greylock sits was never properly claimed by the United States. If Sarah and her friends can convince the town to vote for independence, Greylock would gain international sovereignty and could protect its land for good. With the help of a group of supporters that includes three of her teenage students – LA transplant Maya Jimenez (Izabella Alvarez), introspective outsider Tyler Easterbrook (Forrest Goodluck), and preppy “popular girl” Bella Whitmore (Landry Bender) – Sarah and her friends win the vote. And after a federal judge agrees that Greylock isn’t – and never was – part of the United States, the town becomes a new nation. Now, Sarah and her allies must confront an even more daunting task: building a country from scratch.

Executive Produced by Jeffrey Paul King (“Elementary”), Marc Webb (“Why Women Kill), Mark Martin (“Rendition”), Jeff Grosvenor and Leo Pearlman, THE REPUBLIC OF SARAH is a production of CBS Television Studios in association with Fulwell 73 and Black Lamb.