The CW: Network Lite
Tyra Banks courtsy The CW
The question that has been keeping no one I know on the edge of their seat: What's next for the CW, coming off its mostly dismal freshman year, in which the biggest news was made by posting closing notices on shows that had long ago peaked or lost much of their buzz (
7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, the latter still apparently having an itty-bitty chance of midseason resurrection). A year in which the closest thing to a new breakout hit that didn't originate on either the WB or UPN was an insipid Pussycat Dolls reality show- slated for a midseason return, begging the question: How many Pussycat Dolls do we really need?
It took the CW long enough to get busy in the reality game, which is actually rather puzzling considering its target demographic of young females has been weaned on the format on MTV, VH1, as well as the bigger networks.
America's Next Top Model has long been a signature show, first for UPN and now CW, and now the network is getting serious with the genre, leading Tuesday with reality as well, with the unexpectedly charming
Beauty and the Geek. (Hate to say it, but this is just the sort of guilty pleasure Lorelai and Rory would have loved to curl up to and obsess over in the good old days.) Other reality projects for midseason include a mother-daughter pageant and a dating show in which the bachelor is a farmer. Ain't we got fun?
Otherwise, what is there really to say about this lineup, which includes six new series (three times as many as on last year's fall schedule), except that much of it still feels awfully familiar.
Some quick thoughts about CW's schedule, night by night:
Monday. Tradition rules as CW sticks with its long-standing African-American comedy block, which loses
All of Us (was that still on?). The promising-sounding
Aliens in America, a culture-clash comedy featuring a Pakistani exchange student, is positioned between the terrific
Everybody Hates Chris and the durable
Girlfriends, now entering its 8th (!) season.
The Game closes out the night.
Tuesday.
Beauty and the Geek leads the night (no doubt to rotate with other high-concept reality franchises in the wings as the season wears on), paired with
The Reaper, the network's newest attempt at supernatural chills and thrills (a genre that has worked for these niche networks since
Buffy the Vampire Slayer's glory days).
Wednesday. In what sounds like a very compatible lineup, the addictive
America's Next Top Model is teamed with the female-friendly
Gossip Girl, a teen drama set in the world of Upper West Side prep-school privilege, from
The O.C.'s talented Josh Schwartz. (
One Tree Hill, which used to occupy this spot, is due back at midseason, but if
Gossip Girl is a hit, I'm betting not on this night.)
Thursday. To the relief of cultists coast to coast,
Smallville and
Supernatural return, thrilling their loyal core audience while doing battle against the blockbuster hits of their mightiest network rivals.
Friday.
WWE Smackdown. For those who care.
Saturday. Closed.
Sunday. CW will continue to fly under the radar on this busy night, leading off with two reality-based half-hours that sound both cost-effective (read: cheap) and negligible: infotainment newsmag
CW Now and a grabbag of user-generated Internet material titled
Online Nation. This is followed by a new family drama for the post-
7th Heaven world:
Life Is Wild, set on a South African game reserve. A
Top Model replay closes out the night.
And there you have it. No more Gilmores. Very likely no more Veronica. The watercooler has become an emptier, sadder place.
