Kung Fu has been canceled after three seasons by The CW. What is the reason behind that cancellation? Is it just due to viewership?
It was bad news in May for Kung Fu fans. The Season 3 finale would be the series finale. The CW opted to cancel the show. There is no time to wrap up any of the lingering storylines.
Why did The CW opt to cancel the show? After all, this is a series that offers the diversity and inclusivity that we need on our screens right now. Was it simply due to the viewership?
Why The CW canceled Kung Fu
There were a few reasons for the cancellation, and one of them was certainly the viewership. This was one of the lower-rated shows on the network in terms of live ratings.
Of course, low viewership hasn’t led to the cancellation of established shows in the past. It’s only been in recent years, and that’s where one of the other reasons comes into play. It’s all about Nexstar’s take over of the network.
Before, shows would get through to syndication levels as long as the first season was strong enough. This was the way the network planned to make money. It wasn’t working, though, and when the network was sold last year, it came with the news that not all shows would keep being renewed to syndication levels. Nexstar wanted to turn the network into a profitable one.
Kung Fu is a supernatural drama, which means some extra CGI compared to a few other shows. That means higher costs. With the lower live ratings, the network wouldn’t keep it going, and sadly it led to cancellation. On top of that, Warner Bros. TV Studios was one of the main production studios, which would mean the show headed to Max instead of a CW-owned streamer or another streamer that would offer CW some money.
Kung Fu is available to stream on Max.