The news that The CW’s Supergirl would be benched for nine weeks starting mid-February hit some fans like a kryptonite-laced arrow.

Supergirl resumes Season 3 on Monday, Jan. 15, but then will turn its time slot over to Legends of Tomorrow starting Feb. 12. The Girl of Steel will then reclaim her Monday home starting April 16, and air new episodes straight through to the Season 3 finale, which will air June 18.

Speaking with TVLine on Sunday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, CW president Mark Pedowitz (who just extended his deal with the network by two years) said that “production issues” played a part in the decision to spell Supergirl.

“We had a moment where they had some production issues,” he said — ones that predated and were independent of Andrew Kreisberg’s removal as co-showrunner, sources tell TVLine.

Pedowitz also cited his previous belief that The CW, for fear of “overload,” ideally doesn’t want all five superhero shows airing concurrently. (Black Lightning debuts Tuesday, Jan.16.)

“At the same time, we thought, ‘This is a good place put put Legends,’ knowing that iZombie would go behind it at the end of February,” he said. And with Supergirl‘s finale now airing outside of May sweeps, “It also allowed us to extend into the summer, to give us more original programming, which is actually a good thing for us.”

All told, Pedowitz maintained, “The fans of Supergirl should not be worried in any way, shape or form. We are big believers in the show, and big believers in [series lead] Melissa [Benoist] and the direction of the show.”

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