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CW 2008-2009 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE, For The Record
That yawning sound you hear around Hollywood is the CW schedule. There are a lot of tipsters telling me that network boss Dawn Ostroff won’t be around to see the CW’s early launch on September 1st. She’s outsourced Sunday night’s scheduling to Media Rights Capital, but maybe she should have had all those smart people in India do Monday-through-Friday. A sexed-up Reaper with relationship problems makes no sense for midseason, and 90210 especially with Tori Spelling anywhere near it just makes anyone with sense ill. That said, there will be so many fashionista female clones on the network in the fall that each show will look amateurishly interchangeable. This is what happens when the worst exec (Ostroff) running the worst weblet (UPN) gets put in charge of the merged network. Remember when the old WB actually programmed quality and pleased underserved audiences? Now its successor, the CW, does nothing but pander and even ignores the sacrosanct 8 PM family hour. And its the affiliates and viewers who suffer. Enough!
MONDAY
8 PM: Gossip Girl
9 PM: One Tree Hill
TUESDAY
8 PM: 90210 (new)
9 PM: SURVIVING THE FILTHY RICH (new)
WEDNESDAY
8 PM: America’s Next Top Model
9 PM: STYLISTA (new)
THURSDAY
8 PM: Smallville
9 PM: Supernatural
FRIDAY
8 PM: Everybody Hates Chris
8:30 PM: The Game
9 PM: America’s Next Top Model (repeat)
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Now, if only people in position would listen. Dawn (The Demon) Ostroff needed to leave last year but for some reason CBS (Les Moonves) wants this incompetent woman in charge. Her personal issue with “girl power” is an embarrassment to all women everywhere and how she equates female empowerment to such skanky entertainment as Girlicious, Crowned, and Farmer takes a Wife puzzles me. The show that is receiving all the promotion and buzz, Gossip Girl, is nothing more than a show promoting oversexed, rich brats. So much so that it is banned in my home. The new shows, 90210 and Surviving the Filthy Rich, are mere clones of the disgusting OMFG brand.
I would dearly love to know how the woman who came very close to destroying Lifetime and did destroy UPN was given a 3rd chance at exposing her stupidity. But, I would like to know even more why the WB agreed to CBS’ decision to put her in power in the first place. Or does Dawn Ostroff use her own version of the casting couch?
Oh, you’ve given me hope. That woman has single-handedly assured that CW will do nothing. Please hire someone with even an ounce of common sense.
I only watch one show on the CW – and that could use an infusion of $$. Smallville sucks, their “sitcoms” suck, their “reality shows” suck, OTH? Gossip? Filthy Rich? –Barf–
Maybe they’ll get someone who understands that you need to create and support programming that appeals to more viewers than 13 year old girls.
Actually it goes both ways according to the WWE and via the link in my name.
BTW, My Network TV can be considered a step up because it is really the only network that weathered the strike better than others. Besides, if Nikki put all the CW subject links into the Disasters category, it still wouldn’t match the total failure of Dawn Ostroff or the failure that is the US government if it were a TV show.
no wwe for the cw and yes wwe for fox
So one whole year of development and all the CW has to show for it is ONE original scripted. (I’m not counting 90210 – that’s retread). And don’t even say this is because of the strike – I know people already out there pitching to pods and it’s mid May.
Dawn – read some specs pilots, read some original voices. Stop thinking so hard about “Gen Y” and trends. And start listening to your people. Right now, they are too afraid to make a move or stand up for anything original out of fear.
I read something interesting this morning (in a Reaper group on facebook no less.) The guy who plays Sock on Reaper runs the group and commented that Reaper routinely beats shows like Supernatural and Gossip Girl in the ratings (this seems strange to me but whatever) but since they aren’t strong in the 18-40 women demo that’s why they get the short end of the stick. He also said that’s where CW gets most of their advertising dollars.
Not sure how accurate this is but it’d explain the obsession with Gossip Girl and America’s Next Top Model clones.
I’m glad Reaper is coming back – regardless of for how long. I genuinely think it’s one of the most engaging shows on network television.
“OMGTV” I just read somewhere – that’s the way the CW is going to continue to sell itself. As in ‘OMG Crappy TV! Quick! Change the channel!!!”???
I said in a post above that I don’t understand the ‘all GG all the time’ strategy — well, maybe I do. perhaps Ms. Ostroff (‘the worst exec’, thanks Nikki) is mis-applying a principle she learned in TV Exec school. She missed the bit about cloning the SUCCESSFUL show for spin-offs. NBC has L&O, CBS has CSI, the WB had Buffy and the CW . . . . did have Smallville.
Why isn’t there a Justice League? Or a Dark Knight? The sweeps crossovers practically write themselves. The CW could own Comic Con. Is it as simple as — its not ‘cool’? Comic books are geeky?
And in the full press announcement the CW touts Thursdays as having ‘special effects’ — and yet, both Smallville and Supernatural have had their budgets slashed. Pretty hard to do special effects on a shoe string. WB,are you watching your investments? Crappy effects and grrrl power storylines won’t sell many DVD’s.
I also thought it very interesting that the new shows all pretty much seem to be produced by CBS . . . .hmmm, coincidence?
I’m not usually a conspiracy theorist — but geez, Nikki, who’s getting the tax write off on th e CW’s failure?
With Mack and Rosenbaum left from Smallville, there’s only one show left worth viewing on the CW : Supernatural and they don’t even promote it! If Dawn is fired, I’ll say good riddance!!!! And maybe they can use her salary to improve the budget of their best show (that means not the ones for 12 years old girls)
Speaking as a fan, please PLEASE let this be true. Only in Hollywood (or possibly the current presidential administration) could a woman that incompetent have held on to her position and salary for so long.
Dawn O. needs to read this:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExecutiveMeddling
But, Nikki, there IS something worth watching on the CW. It’s Supernatural. And probably part of the reason it’s worth watching is that Dawn didn’t develop it and doesn’t get it and doesn’t like it. She’s tried (unsuccessfully) to CW-ize it, but the intelligent creator, director, writers, and fans have resisted.
Whether Vince McMahon planned it or not, Smackdown moving away from The CW is a good move. At least MyNetworkTV is likely to still exist two years from now.
Yes, Dawn Ostroff is stupid. But I guess she’s totally convinced about this whole “TV viewership numbers are a thing from the past” and is trying to get the attention of teenagers. I mean, ANTM, Gossip Girl and OTH are huge sellers on iTunes. That way she can just convince everybody that people watch TV this days in a different way and therefore CW is not a flop… I mean, it IS half-true anyway.
That said, Gossip Girl is a show that makes total sense to be renewed. I know this has been repeated a thousand times but it’s true, even if the numbers don’t say so, the show IS a hit. I mean, it sells as well as The Office or LOST in iTunes, everybody’s talking about, it’s at the cover of a thousand mags (NYLON, New York Mag., teen mags, female mags, etc). What was the time a “flop” show was so in vogue? “Arrested Development”, “Veronica Mars” and other cult shows didn’t had half the momentum. So it may be one of the less watched shows on television but it’s one of The CW only hits in that sense.
90210 is a extremely popular franchise all over the world. In the early 90s it was a phenomenon in almost every territory on the globe, from Japan to Brazil. There’s a good chance the spin-off won’t be a hit or will be a disappointment, but if they do things right… well, the ratings will probably be bigger than if they had green-lighted other show instead. And it has a bigger chance of having longevity.
ANTM is their highest-rated show. Putting a show by the same producers and going for the same demo (young women) is a way of trying to hold the big number of viewers possible.
Yeah, Surving the Filthy Rich does seems like a stretch… it seems like they’re trying to make something like ANTM+Stylista, but 90210 still isn’t a proved hit so that may not be a intelligent thing… but well, we’ll see…
Not sure that letting the WB programmers be in charge of the CW would have been any better. I mean, these were the geniuses who decided to cancel Angel, when it was their only show that season to actually go up in ratings from the year before, and replace it with The Mountain.
Picking up MOONLIGHT would be a wise choice for the CW. It would bring in more viewers than any of it’s other shows and give them some much needed diversity.
She needs a serious shaking for what shes done to the network.
Im sure gilmore girls is a lovely show…but its not the only show on the network, just because she like it, it gets super promotion..
*sigh*
Supernatural is maintaining its ratings without promotion, but with promotion, it could pull in sooo many more.
And adding moonlight, and pairing it with supernatural, would be a good idea methinks
…damn it, i should run this network lol
XsarahX
It is interesting that this blog post has gotten over 30 comments as of now and Hollywood doesn’t care about the CW. That is fine, but I am also pointing out that most of those comments are about what a failure that the network has been.
With that said, I just want to say that the 90210 spin-off shouldn’t have left the starting blocks in the first place, and may not even see its premiere date because they are having trouble finding a daddy.
If we want a spinoff, what we really want is the Luke spinoff for crying out loud.
PEOPLE –
I can’t believe you haven’t continued Moonlight for a second season! Could it be you have run out of plot lines ALREADY!!! I know your writers went on strike but did they take the brains of the operations with them?? I can’t believe you would allow such an entertaining and enjoyable show to go down with out at least two seasons. What could you possibly have to take it’s place? Some sort of clone of “Dancing with the Stars” or maybe a side track of “American Idol” want to be?? Come on get out of your rut.
You will leave us hanging – I use to be a fan of my Friday nights – Ghost Whisper and then Moonlight – I think I will stop watching all together! I can’t believe you would cancel this show! By the way just to let you know I am not a “Goth” teenager or some star struck female. I know that the stars of the show are both good looking actors, but I like the SHOW! It is something that is different (not a clone of so other show!) I like the fact that the characters can do things that “mortals” can’t and that is comes with it own set of problems. If I wanted reality I would watch the news, if I wanted “American Idol” I would watch it. But I like the entertainment value of “Moonlight” it is funny in parts and sad in parts. But entertaining all over.
Fifty year old mother
Who likes to watch the Vamps!
@Anna, my God you are evidence that women can be bigger women-haters than men.
@Neena, yeah because everyone knows teen girls dominate the airwaves. Give us a break. Movies and tv are dominated by the teen boy demographic [and endless women bashing, btw] and no one says a peep. Teen girls get one little corner of the world and people go bonkers. Weird.
The psycho ranting about Ostroff makes us like her if she was fashioning a girl power network. If your testicles are crushed by a network, you seriously need a urologist. And a psychiatrist.
I hope those rumors are true and Dawn Ostroff is finally going.
She keeps pushing shows for 13 year olds while saying they are aimed at 18 to 34 year olds. She wants all these shows to be carbon copies of each other. She’s turning Reaper into another “relationship” show. We get 90210, the Next Generation(all I can think of is Degrassi and their next generation, but less socially relevant). She’s alienating fans of shows that she already had and were doing well to fit into some “Lifetime Network for Teenage Girls” mold.
She’s spent 2 seasons running one of their top shows into the ground, between lack of promotion, meddling and cutting it’s budget(Supernatural). She told them last season “Make the demonic war more epic!”, then she slashed their budget. How can you make a demonic war more epic with a smaller budget? She insisted they add a second younger female character which, due to a slashed budget, meant they had to let go of a fan favorite slightly older female character – hey she was over 30, she had to go! Turned out large numbers of fans disliked the new character, through no fault of the poor actress playing her, so she was ultimately dropped and in the meantime trying to fit her in caused all sorts of characterization problems with the lead characters as well as taking away time that could have been devoted to storylines fans were invested in.
They cut the music budget. Kick-ass classic rock was a big part of Supernatural’s universe. Every episode had a couple of great rock songs, everything from AC/DC to Alice in Chains. Now it’s down to, if they’re lucky, every other episode. All the while she’s making them do this, the ratings dropped from around 4 million an episode to between 2.5 and 3 million(which is still better than her “baby” Gossip Girl).
The only thing I fear is the whole “devil you know…” syndrome. Someone who meddles even more might come in a replace her.
It’s a shame THE GAME is completely ignored by the mainstream press. The show’s second season was really strong. Appealing, versatile actors and fresh, involving storylines with more depth and drama than your standard sitcom. It’s really hit its stride, and I’m happy the CW is holding on to it.
I really hope Dawn will be out for the next season, I hate her, like nikki said, she’s the worst exec
They better sign Allison Mack for Smallville or I turning off this channel. She’s the only reason I watch Smallville.
I hope she’s smart and will bring Allison Mack/Chloe back to Smallville.
Another thing, I think it’s funny how people start attacking how most shows are mostly targeting teen girls. Reaper, Smallville and Supernatural are all targeted to teen boys and nobody cares… but if she DARES to green-light shows for girls, then it’s a HUGE deal.
I know she isn’t the brighest exec out there but come one… cutting Supernatural budget was a stupid move but it does make sense Gossip Girl is more promoted than, say, Smallville. Look at all the attention Gossip Girl got. And not only because Dawn loves the show. It’s not all pre-pubscent girls watching and that’s quite visible… can’t blame them for promoting it a lot.
Plus, people forget teen girls DO make hit shows. ANTM is the most-watched show on CW, The Hills is the most watched show on cable, The OC and 90210 were both huge… heck, Dawson’s Creek also had really bad ratings and it done a lot for the WB (not enough to save the network, that’s true…). “Cult” shows like Buffy were helped by teen girls. Even the TGIF block on ABC, one of their biggest hits in the 90s, was successful mostly because of this target.