FURTHER THOUGHTS FROM SHILO:
Show That Wasn’t Renewed But Should Have Been: I love Hart of Dixie. Love it. Think it’s been egregiously underrated by, well, just about everyone. Think Rachel Bilson is giving one of the most charming performances on TV and that she deserved the accolades afforded to other CW actresses. And while the way the show was treated this past season, with the network unwilling to acknowledge that a season very clearly written as the final season wasn’t actually the final season, was irritating, the show ended definitively enough to where I don’t really want any more episodes. BlueBell closed its final chapter very much on its own terms and although I wouldn’t have been opposed to the events of the final season taking place over two 10-episode seasons vs. one 10-episode season, I’m fine with its cancellation.
Possible Scheduling Disaster: Again, moving Supernatural could be the blow from which it won’t be able to recover. No show is immune to overschedulization (it’s a word, go with it) and Supernatural is too valuable a piece for them to take for granted, so here’s hoping that The CW lets sleeping dogs lie and leaves Wednesdays alone to focus its tinkering on nights that need it more.
Possible Biggest Surprise: Look out for Cheerleader Death Squad. I think it’s the type of project that could exceed the expectations of most TV pundits, as it brings the humor that The CW is (mostly) missing right now through an action-heavy premise that sounds like Alias meets Heathers. As mentioned, it’s risky, but it has a lot of upside that could be exploited through smart marketing and compatible scheduling. Although I wouldn’t necessarily be shocked if it’s the biggest new show on the network next fall, I think it could definitely open some eyes with its performance.
Safest Bet: Completely second your answer of the spin-off being the surest thing for The CW next season. If anything is a hit on The CW next season, it will be the spin-off – recognizable leads, shared universe with two big properties, a genre that The CW does very well. Frankly, if it’s not on the 2016-2017 fall schedule, I would be shocked.
Biggest Need: It would be nice if The CW didn’t get swallowed up by genre shows. I mean, I love a good sci-fi/horror/fantasy show, and that type of show has broadened The CW’s audience and gained it the type of critical respect that it lacked for quite some time, but the network is risking becoming one-dimensional by putting all of its eggs in the genre basket. My hope is that The CW will be a little more playful with its development now that it’s staking a claim on summer and has the type of hits that could give it some much necessary breathing room.
And you’re very right about them needing some in-season comedy that’s not been farmed out from their digital programming. The CW has been more focused on digital syndication than traditional syndication thanks to its deal with Netflix and the serialized nature of its programming, but there’s still a lot of upside to developing shows with the goal of stripped syndication in mind. Since The CW audience doesn’t take to procedurals without some type of genre element attached, comedy seems like the route to go; it’s cheaper, it’s more repeatable than serial dramas, and it could bring a whole new level of respect and talent to the network.
And that’s it for our scheduling predictions for this year. Be sure to follow @KSiteTV on Twitter to find out when the actual schedules come out in a few weeks! Thanks for reading!
8 Comments
A very interesting article. I agree with the fact they’ll certainly regroup TVD/TO but I was more thinking it would happen on monday because TVD’s ratings seems very law for thursday. I loved this Klaroline mention by the way ^^
About TF/Arrow, I think for the ratings it’s more interesting to separate them so we’ll see.
I really hope IZombie and The 100 will not be diffuse on friday but we’ll see.
And I totally agree about Supernatural too.
I agree with most of your thoughts and I can totally see iZombie or The 100 on Fridays as long as The Originals stays put. The CW has a very specific digital audience, so I can see TVD renewed for fewer episodes while Reign and BaTB getting renewed eternally for the sake of episodic productions, regardless of the crappy ratings.
I agree with SHILO’s schedule except for iZombie(still one of the better anchors along with SPN). Craig’s decision to move Arrow is a bad idea for me. What if that move not only kills Arrow but Cordon flops as well? It’s not like her other 2 shows are doing ok anyway. TVD is already getting 0.5 ratings same as TO. iZombie and Supernatural survived that slot because one is female skewing while the other is 50-50. Being up against Shield and NCIS is not a good idea for male skewing show. Move Reign to Summer and dump The100/JTV to Fridays.
I don’t think either TVD nor its spinoff TO would be put on the biggest moneymaker night for the CW. Both shows have cut their audience size most dramatically and honestly moving the originals to thursday seems to be rewarding them for a mediocre season. Apparently the CW is having to refund money back to the advertisers who paid a whopping $70K for an ad airing during TVD while the show constantly hits series lows after another.
However, I do agree that with TVD coming to an end, it needs to be paired on the same night as TO. The spinoff needs the TVD link to stay afloat.
Funny how viewers & media consider TO & TVD in the same Universe yet writers have declared they do not. Funny how most viewers & media remember the empty promises (namely Klaroline) & writers won’t explore the tremendous force they are. Shame on the antics & bias tendencies of Plec & her team. Too vexing to want anything good for these two shows anymore.
Thank you for the Klaroline mention!!A lot of fans are still waiting to see them together!This couple has so much potential that’s a shame don’t see them together yet!
Julie Plec come on! Make Klaroline the end game.
“He fancies you,” Ugh seriously Rebecca?
Klaroline hook up already. :'(
I dont think they ll do it. Bc they said tht they want it separated frm tvd! At least thts wht i heared once whn the show started. Im a HUGE KLAROLINE FAN, so i ld be glad if they just end tvd with Caroline moving to TO! Bc Klaroline deserve to have at least a chance! Anw, i dont watch TO & i Honestly HATE some ppl there! Bt im happy tht TO rating ste going down bc tht show is ……! Mb there are few good things there bt thts not enought! I think they believe tht once the tvd ll end ppl ll start watching TO, bt they are wrong! Ppl are NOT DUMP! They actually have their own Brain! Just imagine, if Caroline would go to TO, their ratings would grow very fast! They are trying to feed us with copiing our ship, our Klaroline & this ll only make those Klaroliners, who still watch TO, just stop watching it! So i think the best for the show would be eighter to end it or just make Klaroline happen! Bc there is Nothing else wht can help thm to survive!