Why Did CW cancel Tom Swift And Its Black Cast After One Season?

FEATURED PHOTO: MARQUISE VILSON CAST MEMBER OF CW’S ‘TOM SWIFT’

TheRoot.com, By Alexandria Jane, Posted July 22nd 2022

Why after the CW series re-imagined main character Tom Swift as a gay Black Billionaire, it couldn’t find an audience?

Why after the CW series re-imagined main character Tom Swift as a gay Black Billionaire, it couldn’t find an audience!,

I’ve got bad news for all my Swift fans out there, and I’m not talking Taylor. The Nancy Drew spinoff, Tom Swift, has been canceled after only five episodes on the CW network. The series which just launched on May 31 featured a nearly all Black cast, including Tian Richards who plays the show’s lead. His character Tom Swift was first introduced on the network’s Nancy Drew show which debuted in 2019.

In the world of the Swifts, technology is the name of the game, and is the sole reason behind the family’s billionaire status. And while fans were in love with the idea of a modern day, gay sci-fi superhero on the small screen, Black queer excellence was just not enough to save this show from its pending doom.

According to Deadline, CBS studios may be looking to shop the series elsewhere. The CW reportedly says that it likes the direction of the show creatively, however, the cancellation is apparently performance based. Tom Swift was the least watched show on the network with only 535,000 viewers including Live+7 (a primetime performance and ratings projector), and streaming.

Another reason for the cancellation could be the network’s new focus on promoting more wholesome content. Nexstar Media Group is purportedly taking control of the CW, and is spearheading this initiative. While NMG will gain 75% of the broadcast network, current partners Paramount Global and Warner Bros discovery will take 12.5% each.

The CW has been pushing boundaries for some time now, with shows that have become popular among young adults such as Riverdale, the hit show All American and it’s spinoff All American Homecoming, and the sci fi drama following a supernatural Black teen girl, Naomi, which was also tragically given the ax after just one season.

While we await the news as to whether or not the Swift series will get picked up by another network, Richards and his costars Ashleigh Murray, April Parker Jones, Marquise Vilson, Christopher B. Duncan and our beloved LeVar Burton will have to find work elsewhere. At least there’s always Reading Rainbow reruns.