Here's Why It Was A Mistake For The CW To Cancel ‘DC's Legends Of Tomorrow’
On April 29th, The CW announced that they were not renewing DC's Legends of Tomorrow for an eighth season. Fans of the show are distraught. Typical tweets in the following days say things like, "There's a hole in my chest," and, "I'm gutted." The show has had a particularly loyal fanbase, but that is only a small part of why The CW was wrong to cancel it. There is so much to the show.
Before getting into why they were wrong, though, it is worth looking at why they did cancel Legends. The CW did not make an official statement, so we can only speculate, but the obvious answer is ratings. Television is a business after all. Only it can't be that simple.
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When you look at The CW's ratings, Legends does not look bad. It is in the middle of the pack for overall ratings and the 18-49 demographic:
It got better ratings than two shows that got renewed. Plus, it was the only CW scripted series to have improved ratings in 2021-2022 both overall and in the 18-49 demographic. So, ratings didn't kill Legends of Tomorrow, which just makes the decision look worse. It must have been other factors. Perhaps there were budget issues or politics or something else we will likely never know about. So, reason number one why The CW made a mistake is that there was no clear reason why they removed Legends from their lineup.
Second, there are story reasons why canceling Legends is a mistake. Season seven ended with the Legends getting arrested by the Time Cops. We just learned of Sara's pregnancy. Gideon was still struggling to embrace being human. Spooner came out as asexual and hasn't gotten a moment to explore what that means for her. Donald Faison's Booster Gold was just introduced as a new character to replace Nate who went to live in the Wind Totem with Zari. With no planned final season, the audience is left hanging in so many ways. It's just not right.
There is another reason why the fanbase is so loyal. Legends of Tomorrow does representation better than any other show out there. Sara Lance and Ava Sharpe are married and known by the couple name of Avalance. Spooner's asexual status was mentioned earlier. Zari and Behrad Tarazi are Persian Muslims. Zari does not drink alcohol nor touch pork. On the other hand, Behrad imbibes all sorts of things. Nate and Ray have one of the best male friendships ever captured on screen. John Constantine has relationships with both men and women. There are interracial relationships, and none of them is just for the sake of representation. Every one of these characters and relationships makes sense for the story being told. It never feels forced at all. The fans, especially fans from marginalized communities, see themselves on the screen in a way that's rare and special. Denying these characters and these stories real closure is hurtful and cruel.
Finally, Legends is just too good to be cancelled. There should be room on television for high quality shows regardless of their ratings. Since The Good Place ended, Legends has been the best thing on television. The writing is spectacular, the acting is wonderful, and the messages are important. It is one of the few shows ever made that can make the audience laugh out loud one moment and then sob the next. It is simultaneously innovative and accessible. So much of "Prestige TV" is overhyped garbage. Legends is what true high-quality television looks like.
It doesn't seem likely to work, but there is a #SaveLegendsOfTomorrow on Twitter. Fans are suggesting a two-hour movie-like wrap-up or maybe a shortened final season. There has even been some talk of trying to finish some of the stories on other Arrowverse shows (although many fans don't like that idea). Any of those ideas would be better than leaving with no closure whatsoever. Only a true final season would be completely satisfying.
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Source(s): TV Series Finale, Nutmegger Daily, Twitter