MIDSEASON
SHILO: Whose Line Is It Anyway? should be making a reappearance on the schedule in the spring of 2015. You have to wonder, though, if it would better serve the network to use the show as a way to build up its summer schedule. I believe The 100 would benefit from being launched sometime midseason, since The CW’s history of midseason shows landing in the fall (e.g. Life Unexpected, The Carrie Diaries) isn’t the best and the schedule would be more balanced/less top-heavy with a proven performer waiting in the wings. And of course, there’s Beauty and the Beast likely snagging a renewal due to international sales and it being a CBS production.
After that, though, I have no idea. The CW will likely order 4-5 new series, so along with The 100, Beauty and the Beast, and Whose Line, expect 1-2 more new dramas aside from the three I mentioned in my schedule. Could we see the renewal of yet another bubble performer in Star-Crossed or The Tomorrow People? I sincerely doubt it, since the latter has lost about two-thirds of its audience from the beginning of the season and the former has had about every obstacle one can think of (e.g. airing at 8:00 in Daylight Savings Time, a launch against the Olympics, misleading marketing, not airing with one of the network’s big hitters, etc.) thrown in its way, but at this point, nothing The CW can do would surprise me.
CRAIG: We can assume more Whose Line is in the mix, but, instead of trying to launch new shows in the middle of the year, I’d actually recommend keeping two shows with fan followings on deck, so it’s familiarity returning. Specifically, Star-Crossed, which may have struggled a bit in the ratings but still has a very active online fan base, which might grow more if given the chance to really shine; and The Tomorrow People, a story and a concept that I do think could and should be mined for more time.
I also know there’s been talk that Beauty and the Beast may end up being renewed, as you mentioned – but to me, that seems unlikely considering the ratings, but stranger things have happened. There are a lot of fans for that one, although many were unhappy with the show’s direction. The thing I wouldn’t get or understand, though, is why The CW would renew the show for a third season after essentially burning off 6 episodes over the summer. But then again, eventually The CW might want summer programming, and giving BATB an unbroken summer run in Summer 2015 could be a very interesting possibility.
SHILO’S SCHEDULE
MONDAY
8:00 The Flash
9:00 Supernatural
TUESDAY
8:00 The Originals
9:00 iZombie
WEDNESDAY
8:00 Arrow
9:00 The Messengers
THURSDAY
8:00 The Vampire Diaries
9:00 Reign
FRIDAY
8:00 Hart of Dixie
9:00 America’s Next Top Model
CRAIG’S SCHEDULE
MONDAY
8PM Flash
9PM Supernatural
TUESDAY
8PM The Originals
9PM The 100/The Messengers (midseason)
WEDNESDAY
8PM iZombie
9PM Arrow
THURSDAY
8PM Vampire Diaries
9PM Reign
FRIDAY
8PM Top Model/Jane the Virgin (when it’s done)
9PM Hart of Dixie (final season)
9 Comments
Don’t they usually use The Vampire Diaries to launch a new series? I can’t see them keeping Reign at the Thursday 9pm slot. I would expect either iZombie or Bloodlines to be there. I would also think The Messengers would fit better with Supernatural. Otherwise the rest sounds good!
Sleepy Hollow will probably stay in the same slot, so making people choose between it and Supernatural is just wrong.
I wish CW would confine Top Model to summers only. It ceased being a must-watch relevant show years ago and shouldn’t get in the way of the regular season of dramas at all.
I haven’t watched The Tomorrow People, but I keep seeing articles and comments that the stories have improved over the season. EW writes about it a lot. So it’s still “buzzy”. They might get a 13-ep season.
For some shows, I think 13 eps is a benefit. Forces the writers to stick to what’s important, like an author writing a novella. You don’t have room for tons of fluff and filler.
Really hoping BATB gets some kind of renewal as I love the cast, and I’m not one of the super-harsh critics of this season. Sophomore slumps are “normal” in TV and are not reason alone to cancel a series. And part of audiences being down over past years is that too many people are afraid to love a show because we don’t trust the networks anymore!
I’m surprised that Bloodlines didn’t make either Craig or Shiloh’s schedule. It’s reviews were mixed, but the episode did well ratings wise.
I have not seen the “Bloodlines” episode myself, so I could be totally wrong here, but I think what I would have preferred was something more in the Supernatural universe, even if it meant bringing someone back from the dead or out of Oz to make it happen. Heck, do a series about Young John Winchester for all I care. What this concept seemed to be seemed too much like the Originals to stand out… maybe I’m wrong. Like I said, I haven’t seen it so what do I know?
The nature of the TV business often puts two strong shows up against each other. The benefits of putting Supernatural on Mondays might far outweigh the disadvantages.
I totally agree Top Model should be a summer-early show, or it should just take a break. But it seems like it’s sticking around for a while.
I really want BATB to be renewed because I love the cast and the premise of the show but for me this season has been horrendous. The last 6 epsides will no doubt be a bit more satisfying but I am worried what next season will bring. I think that for a lot of fans, there is a fair amount of negativity attached to some of the characters and to some of the crew. There are some good writers but there are too many of them and to build the viewership back up, IMO, and for fans to have faith in the show again, there needs to be some better PR and some changes. I want to believe in the other plusses this show has other than ratings but I just cannot see going into another season with ratings as low as they have been this season, unless there is a huge move to put some money into trying to get the ratings back up. I can’t see CW doing that. They tried the re-vamp this season, which for whatever reason people want to believe, failed miserably losing over half the viewership. If we do get another season and it is BATB 3.0, I will bail!
I totally agree with you on the 13 episode thing. Either that or if they do have 22 episodes, they should air them all back to back instead of with breaks/reruns between them.
There have been times when the longer seasons do seem to have “filler” episodes. I’d rather avoid that with shorter seasons.
I know it is SUCH a long shot, but I am still holding out for season 3 of The Carrie Diaries.
It sort of crazy that the networks are still fighting fo Prime time slots I guess they don’t know we (TV Fans) have DVR’s? I don’t care what night or time the shows I like on. I record them & watch them when I want. With my two DVR’s I can record 10 shows at the same time.