Continuing our string of “Fall TV questions” articles, today, we (KSiteTV’s Craig Byrne and ScreenFad & TVHackr‘s Shilo Adams) now take our attentions to Wednesday. While some networks have made some big moves (particularly NBC), others, like CBS, have played things fairly safe.
Let’s get right into it, shall we?
Remember that this is split into multiple pages, with the navigation coming at the bottom of the article.
Will “Amell Wednesdays” be a slam dunk for The CW?
CRAIG: I think it will do well, but it might not be the pairing that Arrow and Supernatural were. While The Tomorrow People was my favorite of the Fall 2013 CW launches, it does have to do certain things to stand out and not be something that the audience has seen before.
The whole promotion of the Amell cousins all on the same night is a match made in TV publicity heaven, I’m sure, and I could see the comic book fans who enjoy Arrow sticking around for TTP, which has that superheroic feel in addition to some cool visual effects. But, ultimately, it all depends on how The Tomorrow People turns out, and having only a pilot to go on, I can’t really say. What I can say, though, is that standing out has to happen quickly, because The CW has The Flash on deck, which would be the perfect Arrow companion for 2014-2015 if TTP doesn’t perform.
SHILO: While I do agree with you that Arrow and The Tomorrow People won’t be quite as good of a match as Arrow and Supernatural, I think that this was the route that The CW had to go with Wednesdays. They had to split Arrow and Supernatural up in order to use two strong pieces with two new shows and of said new offerings, The Tomorrow People is far and away the most tonally (and content) similar to the Stephen Amell-fronted drama. Although it might have been better to give Arrow another season of cohabitating with Supernatural, if only to make sure it was strong enough to launch something new in a crowded time slot, the network is in such a need of solid players that the move had to be made now.
The marketing angle, of course, helps things, as does the fact that there’s nothing similar to The Tomorrow People in the same time slot. Plus, there’s the possibility of every show airing in the 9:00 hour (Modern Family, Super Fun Night, The X Factor, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU) either being notably down from last season or having a disappointing launch, so with The Tomorrow People being very much in The CW’s wheelhouse and not much threatening it, the major question going into the season will be just how ready Arrow is to be a network cornerstone.
2 Comments
Actually, I think because of the Amell line-up, there might be a chance that there will be an improvement for Arrow/The Tomorrow People than it was for Arrow/Supernatural.
Having a show that is a remake of a British Sci-Fi Cult show, meaning that there is most likely going to be a fan-base from the original series tuning in along with new fans, is something that I think will help that night. Also let’s not forget that having Robbie Amell, the cousin of Stephen Amell who is right now a hot name for The CW viewers will probably also help.
I do agree partly with you Shilo that maybe they should have kept the Arrow/Supernatural line-up for another year but I also believe in this new one but I guess time will tell. Also, if/when Flash gets picked up, I’m seriously wondering if it’s a good idea to pair it up with Arrow just so they can have a Superhero-night; I remember when Amazon was being talked about being lined up with Arrow that some people were feeling that maybe that would be too much for one night but Flash is still a long way to go.
Great article!
Watching Arrow, recording then watching Revolution, watching Nashville.