OK, please tell me what the ...
Question: OK, please tell me what the new CW is thinking. I just read in the news section that the CW announced they will not be picking up
Reba for next season. Yet when they first announced the merger, they listed
Reba as an asset. Do they really have enough quality comedies in the works that they can afford to dump WB's No. 1 comedy? Is there any hope of
Reba being picked up by another network? I am a huge
Reba McEntire fan (both of her acting and singing). How can they treat this wonderful woman like yesterday's garbage?
Answer: All I can say is that CW must really not want this show on its schedule, because according to what the trades say, the network may have to pay a steep penalty to cancel
Reba, which still had a year to go on its current WB contract (although in the long run, it may be cheaper not to produce a full season of episodes — don't ask me). To be honest, I was always puzzled about why
Reba was on WB instead of on a more mainstream network like CBS, where she would be an amazing fit.
Reba is at least as good as — and much better than, actually — run-of-the-mill CBS fare like
Still Standing or
Yes, Dear (to resurrect a couple of reliable punching bags). But I could never reconcile
Reba with the rest of WB's youth-oriented programming. Which may explain why CW is apparently dropping it. The network is going to have enough of an identity crisis merging the various preexisting elements of the WB and UPN lineups as it is. Reba would again be an odd bird out, although as Matthew says, it's hard to imagine CW having many comedies that are much more promising. But will any other network pick it up? As usual, the answer is: Highly, almost certainly, doubtful.
