It’s one and done for the Riverdale spinoff, Katy Keene. It has been announced that The CW has canceled the series after only one season but there are plans to shop the show for a potential new home.
It was revealed in May that The CW extended the options on the cast because they were still mulling over a renewal for season 2. The options on the cast, which is headlined by Lucy Hale, originally expired on June 30 but was extended until July 31. The extension presents a smidge of hope for the show to find a new home because it gives Warner Bros. Television time to shop the show to another network or service. The likely new home could be HBO Max since the show has a streaming deal with the streamer and its first season is currently housed there.
There are reasons why I think, despite the effort, this move won’t happen. Katy Keene was a soft performer in live ratings, placing at the bottom quarter of the series’ currently on the network. The CW isn’t known for huge live ratings but they are known for significant gains via delayed viewing and streaming. There was hope that Katy Keene could rebound on that platform but “Deadline” reports that the show hasn’t seen much of a bump via delayed viewing or streaming. Would HBO Max want to invest in a show that isn’t a strong digital performer? Highly unlikely.
Katy Keene follows the lives and loves of four iconic Archie Comics characters — fashion legend-to-be Katy Keene (Lucy Hale), singer/songwriter Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), performer Jorge Lopez/Ginger (Jonny Beauchamp), and “It Girl” Pepper Smith (Julia Chan) — as they chase their twenty-something dreams in New York City. The series also stars Lucien Laviscount, Camille Hyde, Katherine LaNasa, and Zane Holtz.
What is currently unknown is if Ashleigh Murray, who began her run as Josie on Riverdale before heading to the spinoff, will be able to return to the mothership series. In most cases, some contracts stipulate in these spinoff situations that if the show doesn’t work out, you’ll most likely be able to return to the original series so I’m confident that will happen for Murray if she wishes to return to Riverdale.
