Most Surprising (Possible) Renewal: Well, this is awkward. The CW made all of their renewal decisions already, so instead of talking about what I’d be surprised to see renewed, I’ll mention that I was surprised to see In The Dark not only back but back early. Its Live + Same Day ratings are alright, but it doesn’t have much non-linear interest or social media buzz and critics didn’t bite. Considering the way The CW’s pilot buzz has shaken out, I think they were a tad disappointed in their development and opted to bring this back instead of premiering something new they weren’t confident in. Regardless of the why, though, I’m curious to see how this show is treated next season.
Show That Likely Won’t Be Renewed But Should Be: All of the CW flops and underperformers I’ve loved in the past that had the misfortune of airing in a time before The CW went renewal/Netflix crazy. Personally, I live for the fact that the one season I didn’t sample any of their newbies is when they renew everything on their schedule.
Possible Scheduling Disaster: It’s hard to even know what to make of The CW since they go into the season with 14 renewals, an IP-heavy development slate, an extra night to program, and a newfound appreciation for sub-22 seasons. For me, though, the biggest disaster would if they don’t premiere any new show at 8:00; they know how much their shows benefit from the local lead-in and they have enough IP to find their next generation of network cornerstones. The Arrow-verse is aging and Supernatural is leaving next season, so they don’t want to wait too long before rebuilding the foundation of their schedule.
Possible Biggest Surprise: I’d be surprised if All American didn’t air in the fall. The CW loves it and will want to capitalize on its Netflix buzz during a time when people are watching football weekly already. The last sports drama on broadcast (FOX’s Pitch) didn’t benefit from waiting until late in the baseball season to debut, so pushing All American to January and having it premiere around the time of the NFC/AFC title games feels risky, even with the increased viewing levels in January. At least this way, All American airs for the complete football season and wraps following the Super Bowl.
Safest Bet: The CW will do something completely surprising on their fall schedule. They’re usually unpredictable anyway, but with this many moving parts and ratings becoming more inconsequential by the season, I feel like they’re going to hit us with something completely out of left field.
Project I’m Rooting For: I know that Glamorous isn’t exactly going to set the Nielsen ratings on fire, but television is in dire need of the type of representation it will bring and I’m all about The CW continuing to order and nurture shows of this tone/subject matter. If any network is going to make a show like this work, it’s The CW, where L+SD ratings aren’t the alpha and omega and there’s a spot open for a critically appreciated brand asset that gives them cache with the creative community.
The One That Will [Probably] Get Away: The Lost Boys feels very CW, but for some reason, it’s not generated anything in the way of buzz. It’s especially surprising since the network redeveloped the show, meaning they really want this to become a series, so let’s hope that it’s a late bloomer that just hasn’t been seen due to post-production.
What The CW Needs: The CW needs to revive The Carrie Diaries. The end.
