The CW
CRAIG: I can’t believe I’m saying this, since I’m a HUGE fan of DC Comics on TV, but the biggest thing I have to say is that they shouldn’t rely so much on DC Comics… or, at the very least, they should think about things that aren’t part of that larger superhero world. My exception to that, of course, is if CBS were to pass on Supergirl, I’d hope they’d find room for her, but other than that, I think the three shows they have are already a bit too many. Don’t get me wrong; I love watching them, though I do wish, say, Legends could be saved for the summer so audiences aren’t forced to watch three shows in that same universe every week.
I think Riverdale can and will be very good for them, but I don’t consider that Archie Comics adaptation to be “just another comics show” since it’s not a DC superhero thing. I also, again, think that it’d be nice if The CW had family dramas like The WB used to have.
In the Dawn Ostroff era, I think The CW was too focused on the “pretty rich people with problems” genre and ignorant toward anything that was scifi or supernatural; ironic that Supernatural is the only survivor of that time period. Now, though, I feel like the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction: Now it’s all-genre, (almost) all the time and the network’s two comedies are kind of left to their own devices on Mondays. They get awards, but the ratings aren’t as high as they should be. To be fair, Monday nights are pretty competitive.
So what does The CW need?
I think they need to take some risks. Some longer-running shows, it might be time to end, but the new shows need to have their own unique voices, too. We won’t need “The 100 on Mars” when we already have “The 100.” (Not explicitly suggesting the Mars Colony show will be that, but it kind of looks like it might be). The CBS side needs to step it up in the development area and not just bring forth shows that feel like they were rejected by everyone else first. CBS itself gets some really good shows in development from their home studio; where are those shows on The CW?
Biggest of all, I think The CW needs to innovate. They say they “dare to defy,” so defy us. Show us some amazing TV. I know that’s also tricky, since certain timeslots are very locked in and a really good show like Containment might not even get immediate ratings, but I’d like to see them try. So maybe “innovation” is the key here. And maybe a new logo or name, but those things are expensive.
SHILO: One of my biggest CW pet peeves is that they tend to leave non-genre dramas and/or female-friendly genre shows to die on the Monday vine. Arguably the last shows to flourish on The CW Mondays were Gossip Girl and 90210 in the 2010-2011 season; since then, there have been pockets of potential surrounded by a whole lot of nothing, at least in the linear ratings, and it doesn’t make sense to me that The CW utilizes the same strategy without fail. Granted, Monday Night Football is a beast during the fall, but there’s a fair amount of female-skewing competition year-round and since The CW has successfully managed to gender balance their audience in recent years, it’s not out of the question that a male-skewing drama could work here. If Mark Pedowitz is truly trying to have a balanced schedule in terms of genre and tone, he’ll either mix-and-match his stronger genre shows with non-genre shows (a’la The Originals/Jane the Virgin during the 2014-2015 season) or he’ll shift this female-friendly night to later in the week and give the task of conquering Mondays to something stronger.
With The CW renewing as much as they have, including said critically acclaimed Monday dramedies, they’re going to need to build up their summer roster. For years, Pedowitz has talked up the idea of expanding into the summer and while The CW has done a fine job at accruing a more robust reality slate, ranging from the revival of Whose Line Is It Anyway? to Dean Cain-hosted Masters of Illusion, they’ve yet to really establish a scripted presence during the warmer months. If your scripted show airs during the summer on The CW, it was either late to get on the schedule (e.g. Containment), it was developed on the cheap (e.g. Backpackers), or it was renewed for reasons other than its linear ratings (e.g. Beauty and the Beast), so to bolster their in-season performance while continuing to pump out episodes to fulfill their Netflix deals and satisfy each production house, The CW needs to find a way to redirect some (priority) scripted resources toward the summer. It would help them be taken even more seriously as a network, especially if they moved a decently-rated show or developed something that would’ve otherwise aired in-season, and could really help round out their schedule.
Come back in the coming week for our 2016-2017 schedule predictions!
