The CW Greenlights Fifth Season of Acclaimed Sci-Fi Drama THE 100

The CW Network has renewed its acclaimed hit sci-fi drama THE 100 for the 2017-18 season, it was announced today by Mark Pedowitz, President, The CW. THE 100, now in its fourth season, sees significant amounts of delayed and digital viewing. THE 100 averages a +70% increase in total viewers, a +73% gain in adults 18-34, and an +86% jump in adults 18-49 in Live+7 day ratings over Live+Same Day.

Based on the book series by Kass Morgan, THE 100 is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios with executive producers Jason Rothenberg and Leslie Morgenstein ("The Vampire Diaries").

Ninety-seven years ago, nuclear Armageddon decimated planet Earth, destroying civilization. The only survivors were the 400 inhabitants of 12 international space stations that were in orbit at the time. Three generations have been born in space, the survivors now number 4,000, and resources are running out on their dying "Ark" - the 12 stations now linked together and repurposed to keep the survivors alive. Draconian measures including capital punishment and population control are the order of the day, as the leaders of THE ARK take ruthless steps to ensure their future, including secretly exiling a group of 100 juvenile prisoners to the Earth's surface to test whether it's habitable. For the first time in nearly a century, humans have returned to planet Earth. Among THE 100 exiles are Clarke, the bright teenage daughter of the Ark's chief medical officer; Wells, son of the Ark's Chancellor; the DAREDEVIL Finn; and the brother/sister duo Bellamy and Octavia, whose illegal sibling status has always led them to flaunt the rules. Technologically blind to what's happening on the planet below them, the Ark's leaders - Clarke's widowed mother, Abby; the Chancellor, Jaha; and his shadowy second in command, Kane - are faced with difficult decisions about life, death and the continued existence of the human race. For THE 100 young people on Earth, however, the alien planet they've never known is a mysterious realm that can be magical one moment and lethal the next. With the survival of the human race entirely in their hands, THE 100 must find a way to transcend their differences, unite and forge a new path on a wildly changed Earth that's primitive, intense and teeming with the unknown.

The series stars Eliza Taylor (newcomer) as Clarke, Paige Turco ("Person of Interest," "Damages") as Abby, Thomas McDonell ("Suburgatory") as Finn, Eli Goree ("Emily Owens, M.D.") as Wells, Marie Avgeropoulos ("50/50") as Octavia, Bob Morley (newcomer) as Bellamy, Kelly Hu ("X2: X-Men United," "Arrow") as Cece, Christopher Larkin ("Squad 85") as Monty, Devon Bostick ("Aim High") as Jasper, with Isaiah Washington (upcoming "Blue Caprice," "Grey's Anatomy") as Chancellor Jaha, and Henry Ian Cusick ("Lost," "Scandal") as Kane.

Photo credit: Cate Cameron/The CW -- © 2017 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved