CW's Batwoman has been canceled after three seasons, according to showrunner Caroline Dries. News broke Friday afternoon that the series will not be returning for a fourth season. The third season ended on a fairly serious cliffhanger, leaving fans disappointed that storylines will not receive appropriate closure. Javicia Leslie took up the mantel as Batwoman in 2020, following Ruby Rose's unexpected departure from the series. The series came under fire last year, when Rose levied accusations against the production, Dries, and former cast members. Leslie has yet to comment on this sad news, but she did retweet Dries' tweet with the unfortunate announcement that arrived just one day after National Superhero Day.

The news comes three weeks after Discovery merged with Warner Bros., following AT&T's divestment of the mass media conglomerate, and following news that the newly minted Warner Bros. Discovery was considering an overhaul of DC Entertainment. Viewership for the series had been on a steep decline, falling from 1.8 million at its premiere to roughly .41 million for the Season 3 finale. With new leadership in place, it looks like they're setting their sights on underperforming series. Despite less-than-favorable ratings, the series had a thriving fanbase online—like many of The CW superhero series.

This move may also be influenced with a renewed interest in the cinematic universe. While they are two separate characters, Leslie Grace is set to star as Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, in the upcoming Batgirl movie slated to premiere on HBO Max later this year. Additionally, the critical success of Matt Reeves' The Batman sparked the announcement this week at CinemaCon that a sequel is in the works, in addition to the two HBO Max spin-offs about Colin Farrell's Penguin and Arkham Asylum.

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Batwoman starred Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder, Bridget Regan as Poison Ivy, Rachel Skarsten as Beth Kane, Camrus Johnson as Luke Kane/Batwing, Meagan Tandy as Sophie Moore, Nicole Kang as Mary Hamilton, as well as Robin Givens and Nick Creegan. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the majority of The CW series are filmed. The final episode of Batwoman aired on March 2, 2022.

It is unclear at this time if the cancellation will have any impact on the recently announced Gotham City Knights pilot which was penned by Batwoman's writers. You can read Dries' tweet below: