‘Crazy Ex Girlfriend’ and ‘iZombie’ Get Additional Episodes at the CW

The two series will complete current seasons with a respective 18 and 19 episodes.  Tyler Golden/The CW; Jack Rowand /The CW

The two series will complete current seasons with a respective 18 and 19 episodes.

The CW has given both Crazy Ex Girlfriend and iZombie orders for additional episodes. The move comes just a month after the network asked both series for additional scripts and in the wake of their solid critical response but softer linear ratings.

Freshman Crazy Ex Girlfriend, an hourlong musical-comedy, will get 5 additional episodes for a total of 18 this season. And the second season of genre drama iZombie is adding 6 for a grand total of 19 episodes.

For Crazy Ex Girlfriend, the moves shows the network's commitment to diversifying its portfolio. Paired with fellow comedic hourlong Jane the Virgin on Monday nights, the block is something of an outlier for the comic book and vampire-heavy broadcast network. Crazy Ex Girlfriend's ratings have been exceptionally modest, averaging just a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 1.04 million viewers with live-plus-seven day ratings, but it was one of the lone new fall series to garner overwhelmingly positive reviews.

iZombie, from Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas, has been doing considerably better in the ratings — thanks, in large part, to a lead-in from flagship The Flash. The sophomore run has been pulling an average 0.9 rating in the key demo and a total audience of 2.06 million in live-plus-seven.

Crazy Ex Girlfriend comes from CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television, while iZombie is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Spondoolie Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

These additional orders mean there won't be much room on the lineup come midseason. And the CW still has two new series, Containment and Legends of Tomorrow, set to roll out before the end of 2015-16.
 

The CW iZombie Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Michael O'Connell