The CW’s 2017-2018 season found the Arrow-verse showing signs of age, as each of the four series found itself down by at least 24% year-to-year with significant inter-year declines, as well. Couple that with a soft performance from three of its four newbies and things looked to be fairly shaky going into 2018-2019. However, all was not lost for the network, with Black Lightning putting up solid numbers, Riverdale exploding for its second season premiere, Supernatural remaining preternaturally strong, and The Originals going out on with a bang. With The CW expanding to Sundays next fall for the first time in a decade and having 10 projects in development from which to choose, there are a lot of options for their 2018-2019 schedule, but will the network be able to steady its DC shows while continuing to broaden its brand?
KSiteTV 2018-2019 Fantasy Schedule Articles: NBC | FOX | ABC | CBS
SUNDAY
SHILO: 8:00 Supernatural; 9:00 Wayward Sisters
CRAIG: 8:00 Charmed; 9:00 Dynasty
SHILO: Where The CW has decided to reopen Sundays after a decade of ceding the night to the affiliates, I think they’re going to be aggressive. Given the strength of their Netflix deal, maybe the night becomes their second Friday in a couple of years, but for now, I think they’ll make the night important. This could very well be a prime night for one of their female-skewing reboots, which should have big opening weeks and really draw people’s attention to whatever night they air, but I ended up going with Supernatural and spinoff Wayward Sisters. Supernatural is still extremely durable at its advanced age and is the most female-skewing of The CW’s big hitters, something that would come in handy facing football, heavily male FOX comedy, and ABC unscripted. Wayward might have lost a bit of buzz recently, but I don’t know if The CW would launch two reboots in the same fall and where the show is a 22-episode concept that has good will from the fans, I think The CW finally gets the Supernatural spinoff they’ve been wanting and orders it to series.
CRAIG: The CW is programming Sundays again! Ultimately I think this is a fantastic thing, as it means that they won’t have a lineup that’s just made of 50% DC Comics programming. As for how I’d launch this first schedule that includes Sunday in a while? At 8:00 I’ve slotted Charmed which, despite fans of the original series crying foul, should be a very big swing for the network. The original Charmed did well on Sundays for The WB, too, so I’m sticking it there. At 9:00 I’m following it up with another CBS production and reboot: Dynasty. Especially with the addition of Nicollette Sheridan this show has become a must-watch and I think to pair it with The CW’s big splash on their new night would do well. It’d be a good female alternative to The Walking Dead, and airing at 9PM Sundays worked for Desperate Housewives for many years, so why not? Dynasty will never have the fortunes of the original series, but like the original show, it deserves to and hopefully will grow for Season 2. So, for that, I’m putting it here.
