The CW summer shows: Barons, Down to Earth with Zac Efron, and more

The CW‘s 2023 Summer programming is about to land on the network by the end of May. While the board hasn’t been wiped clean of CW originals that have been airing since the start of the midseason, there are plenty of acquisitions that’ll be making their debut as Superman & Lois, Gotham Knights, and Riverdale continue airing their seasons. Joining these programs is the final season of Nancy Drew which will premiere on Wednesday, May 31.

Everything else on the schedule is an acquisition. The first two to launch will be the U.K. series The Rising and the Australian period drama Barons. The former follows the story of Neve Kelly, a young woman who realizes she’s not only dead but that she was murdered. Angry and in search of justice, she launches a campaign to find her killer and uses her new supernatural abilities to investigate her death in places the police can’t go.

Neve’s investigation leads her to uncovering secrets that force or to reconsider and examine every last piece of her life and her relationship with the people she cared for. The series is said to be about love, justice, and the cost one must pay in order to uncover a hidden truth.

Barons is set in the ’70s and is an eight part series focused on the surfing counterculture that emerged during the period as well as sexual liberation, protest, war, and social disruption. At the center of the plot are two best friends who will go on to create rival surf brands. But the show starts before this happens, when all they want is to showcase their love for the Australian beach and be successful. Their businesses, however, wind up tearing them apart as they and their friends navigate a new world of corporate politics that produces jealousy as well as contend with homophobia and racial tension.

Keep reading for the schedule and more show descriptions.

The CW Summer schedule 2023

With reporting from Deadline:

Monday, May 29

8 p.m. – The Rising

9 p.m. – Barons

Tuesday, May 30

8 p.m. – Superman & Lois (season 3 finale – June 27)

9 p.m. – Gotham Knights (season 1 finale – June 27)

Wednesday, May 31

8 p.m. – Nancy Drew season 4 (series finale – Aug. 23)

9 p.m. – Riverdale season 7 (series finale – Aug. 23)

The rest of the summer schedule dates have yet to be determined. Below you’ll find descriptions for the series set to make their premieres on The CW during the hottest season of the year, some of which will be returning in the fall.

Scripted CW summer shows

Bump season 2 – The comedy series debuted last summer and is back to reunite viewers with Olympia Chalmers-Davis, the pregnant teen whose life was turned upside down by her pregnancy. In the second season, she and Santi are working on getting to know each other better as they look to the future and begin to realize just how much your family can play a part in messing you up.

Family Law season 2 – This family court drama being on the summer schedule is a welcome surprise for viewers who tuned in last fall and fell in love with the dysfunctional family at the heart of the series. When the show picks back up, Abby has completed her six months’ probation at her father’s law firm and she’s starting to hit her groove at this side of practicing law. Her marriage, however, is not grooving. In fact, it’s a trainwreck.

As for Harry, he made Daniel a partner, but now he’s trying to figure out if he really is ready to share his firm with his son. Meanwhile, Daniel will be on a quest for approval which unexpectedly leads him to strike up a relationship with a carefree woman who doesn’t seem like his type at first. Speaking of relationships, Lucy will be crashing at Joanne’s place as she works to fix things with Maggie who’s pregnant.

Moonshine – Described as “an epic tale of lust, legacy, and lobster,” this series follows a family in crisis…the crisis of inheritance. Bea and Ken Finley-Cullen are the owners of the titular business that’s been a paradise in their lives but lately has been nothing but a nightmare. The couple want to pass the business on to one of their kids, but they’re not sure which one.

There’s Lidia, their eldest who is an architect, but she wants to redevelop the place and exploit the property because it’s valuable and located on the coast. She sees ownership as an opportunity to shine and to overcome some past disappointments, but Lidia isn’t the only one who sees this as her chance to do something important. So does her younger sister Rhian. There’s also Nora, the local DJ who knows all her family’s secrets, Sammy their adopted brother who has a gift for music and is holding onto secrets of his own, and Ryan, Rhian’s twin who’s a party boy and is running an illegal business out of the resort. Who will end up with The Moonshine? May the best Finley-Cullens win.

Run the Burbs – This comedy series, which will also air in the fall on The CW, follows the Phams. They’re a Vietnamese-South Asian family who live life to the fullest. The Phams always know what’s going on in their neighborhood and they love to hold community events. They’re considered to be the heart of their cul-de-sac as they often meet challenges head on and tackle the stress of every day life in their suburb together as a family.

Unscripted CW summer shows

The Great Chocolate Showdown season 4 – The chocolate dessert competition is back with ten home bakers ready to face off in order to win the title of Great Chocolate Showdown Champion and the $50,000 grand prize.

Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982 – 1982 saw the release of E.T., Blade Runner, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Poltergeist, Tron, and more films that went on to become classics. The year is considered to be “the greatest geek year in cinema” and in this documentary viewers will hear from stars, writers, directors, producers, pop culture historians, and critics as they explain what made 1982 so historic in geek history. The doc also features rare behind the scenes footage, exclusive interviews, and never before seen clips showcasing the impact of these films.

Down to Earth with Zac Efron – The Netflix original docuseries is coming to television this summer. You’ll be able to watch the famed actor and superfoods expert Darin Olien travel the world as they explore the secrets to living a long life in good health while also living by a higher level of eco-consciousness. The series is a “binge-worthy travelogue” that doubles as a food odyssey and an eco-warrior style program that pushes Efron out of his comfort zone.

Mysteries Decoded season 3 – Jennifer Marshall, the U.S. Navy vet turned private investigator, returns for another season of exploring historical haunts, the mysteries of time travel, monsters, and government conspiracies to get to the bottom of this local and sometimes national legends. As always, Marshall isn’t alone as she’ll have the help of a team of experts as they all work to answer the puzzles and conundrums of these mysteries through high-tech tools, witnesses, and newly discovered evidence.

Recipe for Disaster – The latest food competition series to land on CW is primed to be a doozy for its contestants. In the show, three professional chefs have paired up with their cooking buddies to create wonderful, delicious dishes, however, their challenge will be to do so while weathering a themed disaster. Each episode, the studio will be transformed into a “bizarre new world” examples include preparing meals while stuck on a sinking cruise ship during a tropical storm, trying to cook with only a chisel and a rock hammer with dinosaurs for dinner guests, just to name a few.

If a team is able to overcome these challenges–especially given the cooking buddies are actual novices with very little to no cooking experience in intense, pressure cooker situations–and impress the judges, they’ll have the honor of being crowned Masters of Disaster.

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