FURTHER THOUGHTS FROM CRAIG
Most Surprising (Possible) Renewal: In The Dark. No buzz, no nothing. I mean, it’s a CBS production so anything is possible, but usually the renewed CW stuff has at least had a lot of critical acclaim, a la Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin. This one is just… there. I was shocked when I read that it was renewed; I was already thinking about that “Lights Out For In The Dark” headline.
Show That Likely Won’t Be Renewed But Should Be: The Carrie Diaries. Wait, you meant this year? Uh… The CW renewed everything. Next!
Possible Scheduling Disaster: The CW still faces what they’ve faced for a few years now, which was probably the opposite of what they had in the Dawn Ostroff era: Too many DC superhero shows. One might even argue that they are too reliant on IP/known properties too. Yes, Arrow is ending but I’m pretty sure Batwoman will be a thing, and that still means more than half of The CW schedule will be superheroes, which makes it harder for a great series like Legacies to stand out and find a good spot on the schedule. On a non-superhero note, losing Supernatural is really going to hurt.
Possible Biggest Surprise: The biggest surprise at this point is if they don’t pick up Batwoman. The surprise I’d probably want is news that Supernatural wouldn’t be ending so soon after all. In many ways, the “biggest surprise” already happened — when the network renewed everything.
Safest Bet: The Lost Boys. Populated with some actors that fans know, from a talented creative team, it could be a successor to Supernatural that The CW should so desperately need. I’m in.
Project I’m Rooting For: Nancy Drew. Yeah, I’m all in for The Lost Boys or Batwoman, don’t get me wrong, but I loved reading Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books growing up, and I’ve enjoyed the 1970’s Nancy Drew episodes that I’ve seen. I think this project could have a wide appeal.
The One That Will [Probably] Get Away: Glamorous. Ben J. Pierce (“Miss Benny”) was a lot of fun on Fuller House and seems to have a wide and growing social media reach that even includes music. The rest of the cast also seems to be top-notch. I’d like to see a scenario where this lands on The CW, but it wouldn’t shock me if they pass. Shame, also, since it’s one of the more daring swings they could have made. Also — and I’m not bagging on CBS Studios projects, I swear — Jane the Novela may be better suited for something like CBS All Access, where the whole novela can be streamed.
What The CW Needs: As I mentioned, they can’t always rely on superheroes, though adapting some non-superhero Vertigo-style series without costumed heroes – as iZombie was and Lucifer is – would be really interesting. The CW needs another appealing long-running series like Supernatural and they need to find a way to keep the interest of the fans who watch shows like Riverdale and Legacies on Netflix but might not be watching live.
