Upfront Questions, The CW

Note: The Bloggerpocalypse FINALLY restored my last draft of this post from last Thursday, so I'm reposting it so I'll have something to link to for tomorrow's CW Upfront Answers. I didn't update any of the content, so I still don't "know" that One Tree Hill/Nikita are renewed or about CW's surprising pickup of CBS pilot Ringer, for example.

This week, I'm gonna add my voice to the slew of pre-upfront articles out there with "Upfront Questions," in which I break down each night of the current schedule. THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION. I'm just listing the potentially returning puzzle pieces each network's got on the nights they last aired, then laying out what I see as the issues the schedulers have to deal with on each night. Rather than commit to one possibility, I'll try to help with the range of possibilities and considerations. Since I'm not really that interested in development, I think that's about the best I can do. Next week I'll do "Upfront Answers" posts and take a look at how they addressed my questions.

Shows in green are already renewed for next season. The ones in BOLD are (in my opinion) very likely to return to their current timeslots. The ones with a question mark (?) have genuine doubt about their renewal.

Other Upfront Questions: NBC | Fox | ABC | CBS

Keeping this one short because the schedule seems pretty obvious to me. We'll see if they throw any curveballs.

MONDAY
8:00 - 90210
9:00 - Gossip Girl

Question: Does the last bastion for the Rich Kid Soaps stay intact?

I would certainly think so. The CW has been shying away from the Rich Kid Soap brand for the last couple years, and splitting them up would just be stretching it back out across multiple nights. This night gets a lot of flak for its total viewer/adults 18-49 ratings, and it only barely does OK in women 18-34, so I don't think there's any real incentive to use them as lead-ins for new shows or anything like that. I would imagine they just stand pat here.

TUESDAY
8:00 - One Tree Hill?
9:00 - Hellcats?

Question: Is it finally time for One Tree Hill to end?

Doubtful. There's been a lot of press lately about the cast re-upping. Even though the CDub seems to like its development quite a bit this year, there are still three obvious spots for new dramas: one on this night post-OTH, one post-Top Model, one post-Vampire Diaries. It's being speculated the net will pick up four new dramas, but I imagine they would hold one of them for midseason.

WEDNESDAY
8:00 - America's Next Top Model
9:00 - Shedding for the Wedding?

Question: Can a show succeed after Top Model and actually stick?

Two shows in the CW era have done OK with the Top Model lead-in, those being Gossip Girl and Hellcats. Both lasted with that lead-in less than a full season. While Gossip Girl has done fine (depending on who you ask), the Hellcats move seems to have utterly destroyed it. If they can manage to find something good for the slot this year, I recommend keeping it there and airing as much of it as possible when Top Model is in season. Seems a better option than going with another unscripted flop at midseason as has become tradition.

THURSDAY
8:00 - The Vampire Diaries
9:00 - Nikita?

Question: Is Secret Circle in the post-TVD slot as much of an inevitability as it seems to be?

I would think so, but we'll see.

FRIDAY
8:00 -
9:00 - Supernatural

Question: Is Nikita Friday-bound to join Supernatural in "Not in Our Demo Night"?

Again, I would think so. Nikita looks renewable by CW standards (at least in adults 18-49) but it's definitely squandering its Vampire Diaries lead-in and significantly underperforming what Supernatural did in the timeslot last year. It seems the perfect show to ship off to Friday.