Gossip Girl Moves Out of Idol's Way, Plays with Dolls

• Jan 5, 2008 11:36 PM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

Fearing that its beautifully trendy kids will get crushed by the American Idol juggernaut - and also looking to get the best play from an upcoming rash of strike-induced repeats - the CW is moving Gossip Girl to Mondays at 8 starting Jan. 28. The thinking is that while in reruns, the show might get exposed to a different crowd on a new night, thus broadening its reach. "There's great buzz and a great reaction to Gossip Girl," a CW scheduling exec explains to Variety. "Now we just want to grow the audience a bit."

Serena, Blair and the bratty bunch won't be alone on Mondays for long. Starting Feb. 18, GG's lead-out will be Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious, which will seek to form a brand-new (and presumably girlicious) girl band.

One other major CW programming note: any remaining new Reaper episodes (there are two, by Ausiello's count) will piggyback Smallville starting Feb. 28. But don't fret, Supernatural fans - a CW rep assures me the series will be back Jan. 31, as planned, to air three or four new episodes in a row.