'Beauty and the Beast' Returning Midseason 2015, Renewed for 'Upside Potential'

After the renewal of Beauty and the Beast for Season 3 finally let Beasties everywhere breathe a sigh of relief (before spontaneously bursting into celebratory breakdancing), questions remained about the specifics of the renewal.

At today's Upfronts, CW president Mark Pedowitz revealed that Beauty and the Beast would be returning at midseason in 2015 alongside Hart of Dixie, of all things. Granted, he didn't confirm that the two shows would be paired on Fridays, but this seems to be the prevailing conclusion many are leaping to. And honestly, it's not the worst pairing in the world, especially because BATB is a show that can become whatever kind of show it needs to be at the drop of a hat. While the amount of episodes for the new season has not been specified, Pedowitz did go on to explain just why Beauty and the Beast was renewed over its competition.

As predicted, much of the renewal had to do with the network's business model, as the series is lucrative in the international marketplace, in addition to being a solid performer digitally. This is to say nothing of its intense, passionate following on social media. As Pedowitz explained, by way of example, the recently-cancelled The Tomorrow People was a “really, really good show” but “just didn’t have the same level of social engagement or digital that Beauty and the Beast had.” In short, Pedowitz stated that BATB was renewed for its "upside potential" and because it's a "fan favorite," which is honestly not at all a bad reason to renew a show on-the-bubble. At the very least, your network will have a loyal, consistent audience that will follow at least one of your programs to wherever you move it on the schedule.

So yeah, we'll have a bit of a wait in store after Beauty and the Beast ends the latter half of its second season in June, but it should be well worth it for Beasties who feared Season 3 wouldn't happen at all.

Via: Deadline

Credit: The CW