CW’s ‘The Carrie Diaries’ & ‘Nikita’ Renewed
And just like we predicted a month ago, the CW has renewed all of its existing series. The last to get the nod today are The Carrie Diaries and Nikita. The network is not confirming the sizes of the pickups, but Carrie’s is automatically a 13-episode order as it is a midseason show, and I hear Nikita will return for a six-episode cycle. I had heard that could be the final chapter for Nikita, though if the limited event series format works, the CW may leave the door open to additional installments. The network had been looking to break into the limited series format for the last couple of seasons. Carrie Diaries and Nikita join previously renewed Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Hart Of Dixie and Beauty And The Beast.
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More than other networks’ series, the online performance of CW shows, most of which are serialized, plays an important part in the net’s renewal decisions. After all, episode streaming provides a key revenue stream for the CW. In addition to commercial-loaded play on the the network’s website, the CW’s current series are available on Hulu under a five-year, $75 million deal, while previous seasons of CW shows are on Netflix as part of the eye-popping four-year, $1 billion pact the two companies inked in late 2011. The Netflix deal in particular represents an incentive for the CW to keep shows on the air longer because that raises interest in previous seasons. That includes perennial bubbler Nikita, a very modest performer on Friday night. Its renewal came after creator Craig Silverstein, who has a hot new pilot, Turn, at AMC, closed a deal for one last installment of 6-13 episodes. Additionally, Nikita ranks as one of the CW’s top series on social media and, because of its brand, has been a strong international seller for producing studio Warner Bros TV. That also is the case with Sex And The City prequel Carrie Diaries, which has had a very strong online play including on Hulu.
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