On most networks, quirky genre shows are often pariahs that get pushed aside so viewers who want TV shows about cops and doctors—and only cops doctors—don’t get offended. NBC, for example, is seeing something resembling success by dumping Grimm and Constantine on Friday nights. The CW, though, isn’t like most networks. It got where it is today by embracing quirky genre shows. However, even The CW—a network that actually prides itself on how many of its shows have superheroes and vampires—has that one pariah that it’s not really sure what to do with, and thus, keeps on the air for no discernible reason. NBC has Grimm, and The CW has Beauty And The Beast.
Now, suggesting that it’ll just let every show keep going as long as it doesn’t actively hurt anyone, The CW has renewed Beauty And The Beast for a fourth season—before the third season has even aired. The series, which is a reboot of the Beauty And The Beast show from the ‘80s, didn’t make it to The CW’s regular season schedule this year, with the network bumping it to the summer instead—apparently, summer is The CW’s “Friday night.” Deadline says Beauty And The Beast‘s ratings aren’t too hot—unlike every actor on The CW—but it “does well online” and is, apparently, “a sentimental favorite” of network head Mark Pedowitz. The series’ third season will be back for more adventures with Kristin Kreuk, Jay Ryan, and whoever plays Gaston on May 21. The fourth season will probably start a year from that.