CRAIG: 8:00 Roswell; 9:00 Riverdale
SHILO: 8:00 Charmed; 9:00 Riverdale
CRAIG: Having a show with aliens Wednesdays at 8:00 makes me remember when Smallville led the day, and The CW has the potential for what might be their absolute biggest Fall launch to go here. Riverdale is buzzy, even if live numbers aren’t that great, but if the two could pair together, they could absolutely grow, two cities helping each other.
SHILO: In the thousands of iterations this schedule had before I finalized it, Charmed/Riverdale was actually my Sundays. Charmed would return to its old slot and the buzz around it would/could help people realize that The CW now programs on Sundays. Riverdale was arguably their weakest Monday – Thursday lead-in during the 2017-18 season, at least in L+SD viewing, and could very well bring its targeted audience to Sundays. However, I didn’t think that The CW would move Riverdale like that, so I settled for having Charmed premiere on Wednesday and Riverdale simply shifted to 9:00. The two sound like they would be compatible in terms of tone, while having a show based around college kids lead into a show based around high school kids seems fitting, especially on adult-focused CW. Riverdale would get an additional boost from airing after the opening weeks of Charmed and should be able to sure up the 9:00 hour to please the affiliates. Also, in a season where they’re adding two hours of content and premiering three fall shows, giving Riverdale a good lead-in makes the transition to 9:00 smoother and less in need of intensive marketing.
