Kung Fu & Stargirl get renewed at The CW

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Two of The CW's female-fronted series are being renewed!

The broadcast company that loves to showcase women kicking ass has picked up Kung Fu for a second season and greenlit a Season 3 order for DC's Stargirl ahead of its second season debut.

The renewal for Kung Fu comes as a no-brainer for the network after the Olivia Liang-led martial arts drama series launched with 3.5 million viewers during its premiere. To put things into perspective, this was The CW's highest total viewership number for a Wednesday debut in 7 years. The last show to come out of the gate this strong for The CW was The 100 in 2014.

Kung Fu centers around a young Chinese American woman, Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang), who after a quarter-life crisis, drops out of college and goes on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to San Francisco, she finds her hometown is overrun with crime and corruption and her own parents Jin (Tzi Ma) and Mei-Li (Kheng Hua Tan) are at the mercy of a powerful Triad. Nicky will rely on her tech-savvy sister Althea (Shannon Dang) and Althea's fiancé Dennis (Tony Chung), pre-med brother Ryan (Jon Prasida), Assistant District Attorney and ex-boyfriend Evan (Gavin Stenhouse), and new love interest Henry (Eddie Liu) as well as her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice…all while searching for the ruthless assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor Pei-Ling (Vanessa Kai) and is now targeting her.

By that same token, DC's Stargirl is also getting another season ahead of its Season 2 debut on August 10th.

DC's Stargirl follows high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) as she leads an unlikely group of young heroes against villains of the past. The show chronicles the rise of Stargirl as well as the establishment of DC's first superhero team, the Justice Society of America. Joining Bassinger as members of the STARGIRL cast are Luke Wilson, Amy Smart, Trae Romano, Cameron Gellman, Yvette Monreal, Anjelika Washington, Meg DeLacy, Neil Jackson, Jake Austin Walker, Christopher James Baker and Hunter Sansone.

Stargirl's renewal marks a deal between The CW and HBO Max to co-finance the show. The show originally launched as a part of DC Universe, but the second season renewal comes from The CW. Isn't it nice to see these two networks playing nicely together? It's almost like everyone wins when we all get along.

“We are beyond proud to continue to share the stories of Nicky Shen and Courtney Whitmore, two strong, powerful young women at the center of this new generation of hit shows for The CW in Kung Fu and DC’s Stargirl,” said Mark Pedowitz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The CW Network. “While each boasts remarkable talent on both sides of the camera, Kung Fu and DC’s Stargirl have not only treated fans to some visually stunning action and high-flying heroics, but they also both strike very powerful emotional chords as they delve into the family dynamics and personal relationships at their core, and we are so excited to see what happens next.”

Other series recently renewed at The CW include Superman & Lois, Walker, All American, Batwoman, Charmed, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Dynasty, The Flash, In the Dark, Legacies, Nancy Drew, Riverdale and Roswell, New Mexico.