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THE 100 Creator Has a Plan Beyond Season 5, CW Boss Mark Pedowitz Promises

The 100 isn’t going anywhere. At least, not anytime soon. Although The CW has yet to renew the midseason series for a sixth season, the upcoming season five will not be the show’s last.

When Nerdist sat down with CW President Mark Pedowitz at the 2018 Winter Television Critics Association press tour, the network boss assured both us and the fans that when the season five finale airs, it won’t be the series finale. While “it’s too soon to have that discussion,” according to Pedowitz, “I know [executive producer Jason Rothenberg] has a plan beyond year five.”

He then added with a smile, “May your nervousness calm down.” And while nothing has been decided officially, Pedowitz did give this little bit of exciting news: “He may have a six or seven year plan to it. I don’t know if I’m allowed to even say that, that he has a plan beyond year five, but he does.” That should definitely alleviate some of the worry about the future of The CW’s sci-fi drama as it heads into season five, which is more than can be said for literally every other season as the renewals have never been a sure thing.

Even Rothenberg was vocal a few years back about how he had a five-year plan for the series, but as he told Nerdist after the season four finale aired, “When I said that a couple of years ago, I had this idea for how I wanted the show to end. But it was scalable and that ending could have been at the end of season three, it could be at the end of season five, it could be at the end of season eight. Those decisions are not really mine. I don’t think that this is a show that runs for 10 seasons. But I love these characters and this world so much that it’s fresh for me every year. We tell a different story every year so we don’t get bored with it. I still have an end story in mind, but I don’t know when that end is going to be and I feel very, very confident that I’ll get to tell it eventually.”

Based on Pedowitz’s comments, it thankfully sounds like he will. But before The 100 season six can arrive, season five will air, and there is so much mystery surrounding the new installment as plot details are scarce. So mark your calendars now, but use pencil: Pedowitz reveals that fans can expect the first season five trailer in “probably March.”

“The show goes on end of April, [so the trailer comes] probably March,” Pedowitz said. “It’s a really good trailer, it’s a really good show. I actually think this might be one of his best seasons. I’ve seen seven or eight [episodes] already. I could tell you what happens. [Laughs] But he does a really good job.”

As for why The CW always holds off on scheduling The 100 until midseason, Pedowitz remarks that “it works better” in the spring vs. in the fall. “It started that way, it worked that way,” he said. “For some reason, it just feels right. I don’t know how else to say it. I think there’s only one year we used it in the fall, the rest of the time it’s been midseason. For Jason and his team, I think having all the episodes done before we put them up, or coming pretty damn close to it, makes a better product. He doesn’t have to worry about the pressure of those early fall weeks.”

Pedowitz also revealed that when The Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals airs its series finale later this spring, The CW won’t be going out of business with creator Julie Plec. “Actually Julie is developing a potential spinoff of The Originals,” he said, confirming the idea first discussed last summer which would make the potential new series a spinoff of another spinoff. “We have discussed it and we’re looking forward to seeing it. We have high hopes. I love being in business with Julie and I’d like to continue it. She’s pretty far [in planning] but I haven’t seen anything yet. It’s set around [Klaus and Hayley’s daughter] Hope.”

And with only short time until Supernatural airs its second attempt at a spinoff with the Wayward Sisters episode, which will serve as a potential backdoor pilot for a new female-led series, Pedowitz hopes that it’s better than the first attempt at a spinoff a few years back with Supernatural: Bloodlines. “Hopefully it’s better. I’m very pleased with what they did,” he said. “They have a great group of actors. Hopefully the fans will give us their opinion and it will be telling. But I’m very high on it.”

If Wayward Sisters does get picked up to series, the already male-dominated Supernatural will then lose those female stars. Will the flagship series then repopulate with new female characters to fill that void? “Too soon to ask that kind of thing,” Pedowitz said. “I can’t answer to that. But we’ll sit down with [executive producers] Bobby [Berens] and Andrew [Dabb] at that time to see what they’re going to do.”

Are you glad the future of The 100 isn’t in jeopardy this year? Do you want to see more from Plec’s Vampire Diaries world with a new spinoff centered around Hope? Is this Supernatural spinoff going to work? Tweet me at @SydneyBucksbaum and let’s chat all things CW!

Images: The CW

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