Supergirl & Legends of Tomorrow to Rotate Same Monday Night Slot

The CW has announced Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow will both take the prime Monday night at 8pm timeslot at different points when the networks’ line-up returns in early 2018. The move comes as a surprise as it seemed as though Legends would make a prime contender for the 9pm slot, following the adventures of the Girl of Steel and giving The CW another block of back-to-back DC Comics shows. The network has different plans, however, one that involves Supergirl taking a nine-week break during its third season.

The moves come as The CW readies the premiere of Black Lightning, its fifth DC TV show – that is, at the moment anyway, not connected to the official Arrowverse – which moves into Legends‘ old spot after The Flash on Tuesday nights. Displacing the crew of the Waverider meant delaying the midseason premiere of Legends of Tomorrow until February 12, at which time it will supplant Supergirl until it finishes out its third season. That means Supergirl season 3 won’t pick up again until April 16, delaying that show’s third season finale until June 18.

Such an adjustment seems odd, especially as it looks like The CW is squandering the benefit of a lead-in audience for one of its core Arrowverse shows. But reconfiguring the schedule to be split between Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow suggests the network has a great deal of confidence in both shows, enough that it will split them up so they can each anchor the network’s Monday nights for an extended period of time. That frees up an hour for The CW to either move things around in the midseason or, more likely, find a home for one of its new shows, like Life Sentence, which is currently without a premiere date.

The following is The CW’s Monday 8pm schedule for midseason 2018:

MONDAY, JANUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 5

8:00-9:00 PM SUPERGIRL (New Episodes)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12 – APRIL 9

8:00-9:00 PM DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW (New Episodes)

MONDAY, APRIL 16 – JUNE 18

8:00-9:00 PM SUPERGIRL (New Episodes)

It isn’t unusual for networks to play musical chairs with their shows when the midseason rolls around, but having two key series take substantial breaks in the middle of their respective third seasons is less common. Alternating between Supergirl and Legends will also put their finales off from shows like Arrow and The Flash. Seeing its shows close out their seasons relatively close to one another might have once been a priority for The CW, but that line of thinking seems to be changing.

At this point, the hope is that Supergirl can end its four-episode run back from the holiday break in a way that isn’t too frustrating for fans but also enticing enough that they will gladly return in April. Legends has it much easier, as that show’s return guarantees a solid block of episodes, some featuring the return of John Constantine to the Arrowverse, all leading up to the finale. For now, fans will have to see what the Girl of Steel has planned and if it makes sense to break the season up this way.

Supergirl season 3 continues Monday, January 15 @8pm on The CW.