Why was DC's Naomi canceled? Possible reasons behind The CW nixing the show

Naomi has now joined a long line of The CW shows that have been canceled. Developed by Ava DuVernay and based on the DC comics series of the same name, the show ran for only one season after it was announced at DC Fandome. It starred Kaci Walfall as Naomi McDuffie, a Superman fan who develops superpowers after a supernatural event occurs.

There are many factors that might have played into Naomi being canceled. Recently, Warner Bros. has been axing The CW projects left and right, beginning with the cancelation of Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow. With that being said, let's explore some of the possible reasons why Naomi was canceled.

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Naomi has been canceled on The CW after one season

Poster for the show (Image via The CW)

It was recently revealed that Warner Bros. is actually looking to sell The CW as it hasn't turned a profit for them since 2008. Burdened with long-running shows whose viewerships fade over time, the CW has been facing problems in this regard for a while now. This is an especially prevalent issue for DC shows. While the network was the birth place of the Arrowverse, it has failed to hold on to the success. However, Naomi's cancelation also had to do with it releasing at the wrong time.

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Naomi premiered right on the heels of the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger

With every merger, there comes cancelations. We saw it when Disney bought 20th Century Fox, and it was no different when Discovery bought Warner Bros. Any product that's not delivering good results gets the axe so as to cut costs effectively.

In Naomi's case, the ratings for the show were hardly existent at the time. Moreover, the show was not marketed properly, which added to the lack of audience enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, this season still has seven episodes left, but most people aren't even aware of this show.

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The CW's track record with DC Shows

There is no doubt that The CW pioneered live-action superhero shows in many ways. Starting with Smallville, The CW managed to create an audience that would tune in every week to watch Clark Kent's latest adventures. Then they moved on to Arrow, that helped launch their universe. Arrow branched out into many spinoffs, starting with The Flash, which received praise in its first few seasons, but the quality dipped over time.

In the last few years, The CW has offered some of the worst-reviewed superhero content on their network, and fans have started losing interest as a result.

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Fan reactions to Naomi

The fan reaction to the show has been almost non-existent. Sadly, the few reviews that it did manage to garner have been mostly negative. However, this is not very surprising considering the network's lack of marketing efforts and the huge deviation from the source material.

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DC's move to HBO Max

A still from the show (Image via CW)

With Peacemaker, DC might have realized that HBO Max has a higher chance of making their content successful. The show by James Gunn was acclaimed upon release, and is already getting a second season. Even shows like Titans (which had a pretty mixed reception) and Doom Patrol receive great ratings on the network.

Moreover, DC also has a bunch of new projects in development as a Green Lantern series is reportedly set to go into production next year. There are mutiple Justice League Dark projects in development from JJ Abrams' Bad Robot production as well.

At this point, The CW is probably in the process of being sold. Their shows have hardly enjoyed any success recently, and the ratings keep dropping down by the day with fans not liking what they are offering. Naomi was one of those shows, and its cancellation was pretty much inevitable considering how the fanbase remained disengaged.