Friday, 11 May 2012 17:15 | Last Updated on Thursday, 06 September 2012 22:09 | | 
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In a nice flurry of scattered media reports and tweets, the statuses of the remaining CW shows and the pilots have now been decided!
It all started when Nikita Executive Producer Craig Silverstein tweeted the news he just received from the network:
@sesfonstein: Um, don't know if y'all are interested but Nikita season 3 is ON!!!
Turns out it wasn't just "Nikita." Other CW shows getting the renewal notices were "Hart of Dixie," and for a final 11 episode season, "Gossip Girl." Early word came out that "The Secret Circle" was among that list, but it was learned shortly after that it had been cancelled along with "Ringer." "Nikita" and "Hart of Dixie" received full 22 episode orders.
On the pilot end, as rumored, the CW has picked up five pilots. Slam dunks "Arrow" and "The Carrie Diaries" were on that list, as well as "First Cut," "Beauty and The Beast," and "Cult." The network passed on "Selection" and "Shelter" and I don't even know what happened to the "Joey Dakota" pilot. That's been dead for a while.
So, you know what that means? Here's my predicted schedule.
Mon: 8 pm Hart of Dixie
9 pm First Cut
Tue: 8 pm 90210
9 pm The Carrie Diaries
Wed: 8 pm ANTM
9 pm Nikita
Thu: 8 pm The Vampire Diaires
9 pm Beauty and The Beast
Fri: 8 pm Arrow
9 pm Supernatural
Midseason: Cult, Gossip Girl (they could end up anywhere).
Yes, my mind might change before next Thursday. I still say the network is going to be ballsy and put a brand new show on Friday at 8pm. Maybe repeat it on other nights too. I think the network has dreams of the "Smallville"/"Supernatural" glory days. Has your schedule changed?
Comments
I am wondering if they might switch VD to 9pm instead of having it at 8...
But figured they might do a HOD/First Cut pairing...
Mon: 8 pm Arrow
9 pm Supernatural
Tue: 8 pm The Carrie Diaries
9 pm 90210
Wed: 8 pm Cult
9 pm Nikita
Thu: 8 pm The Vampire Diaires
9 pm Hart of Dixie
Fri: 8 pm ANTM
9 pm Gossip Girl
Midseason: Beauty and the Beast, First Cut (they need new shows in mid-season for a refresh)
If that freaking happens I will go down to the CW headquarters and kick some ass.. So sick of the CW treating SPN like shit.
(I knew better than to get my hopes up that Mark actually wanted to change the network)
If anything GG and ANTM need to be on Friday.
I heard Arrow and Supernatural are being paired together. What I haven't heard is what night, but Friday is the prime candidate since Supernatural has a foothold on the night. Either way, Supernatural and Nikita very likely won't be together anymore.
I also put zero stock on Spoiler TV. Their intel is no more reliable than anyone else's.
But if they move Nikita to Wednesday I see ANTM/GG and Nikita together (which won't please a lot of Nikita Fans)
I figured the one reason they wanted Arrow was to pair it with SPN it just wouldn't work with the rest of their shows. Because most are female skewing.
I wonder if Mark will really surprise us and shuffle the whole deck? They can't keep things the same or they will never stay afloat.
So then something like this
Monday:
8pm: First Cut
9pm: HOD
Tuesday:
8pm: 90210
9pm: TCD
Wed:
8pm: ANTM/GG
9pm: Nikita
Thursday:
8pm: Beauty and the Beast
9pm: TVD (It's moving to 9pm for the summer, might as well leave it there)
Friday:
8pm: Arrow
9pm: Supernatural
Save the Cult for Midseason
Yeah I don't trust Spoiler TV much anymore, they weren't totally correct this year.. Well we will know more this week.. Keep us updated if you hear anything new on the scheduling moves.
I don't think they will go through all that trouble to say watch VD in it's new time just to move it back.
I guess it boils down to the affiliates. Do they want a stronger Wednesday or do they like having a stronger Friday? I honestly don't know.
So in that case I change up my schedule a bit
Monday:
8pm: First Cut
9pm: HOD
Tuesday:
8pm: 90210
9pm: TCD
Wed:
8pm: Arrow
9pm: SPN (be a bold move)
Thursday:
8pm: Beauty and the Beast
9pm: TVD (It's moving to 9pm for the summer, might as well leave it there)
Friday:
8pm: ATNM/GG Mid Season (The Cult)
9pm: Nikita
This is The CW's dilemma. If they move Supernatural, they are kissing any strong position they held on Friday goodbye. However, no other show on this schedule is as compatible with Arrow than Supernatural. But what network would dare premiere a high profile show like Arrow on a Friday? A network that is seeing 20% of it's audience online and another huge chunk watching via DVR, that's what.
You want my opinion, I think Arrow is going to end up on Wednesdays. That will be their night to own for years to come. The big questions is, will Supernatural join it? They are already have guessed that Arrow will bring male viewers to the network. Only Supernatural and Nikita skew higher in male viewers. So, it's possible they'll pair Nikita with Arrow too, but again it's not logical to pair a struggling show with a franchise you're hoping to build as your future.
Down to the wire and it's anyone's guess!
Deadline posted an article now, but looks more like guesses than actual insider information. I can't see them moving VD back to 8pm to go against BBT and Two and A half Men. It hasn't really launched a successful show. Keeping it at 9pm against Greys is a better idea than a blood bath of CBS, FOX and ABC...
But it's saying that Beauty and the Beast is eying the post VD slot and saying it might keep TCD till mid-season after GG airs it's final run.
I think more of this is just speculation than anything..
Why Nikita? Because that show is dying on Fridays. Supernatural is not. That's chatter though. I'm not hearing that bit from any reliable sources. I am about Beauty and The Beast though.
And B&TB going against Grey's, Glee and POI isn't a good thing either. They really need to think about this schedule.
But whatever they do I won't be happy with I am sure of it... Because ANTM with SPN to me is a slap in the face, it's saying we don't care about your show so let's pair it with another crappy show.
(I know I am overreacting but it just frustrates me)
I think TPTB think Nikita is too strong a show to flounder on Fridays and it's young enough where it can still grow. Yes, they do think it can do better than a .4. Maybe not dramatically better though. If anything, the logic is Arrow will be boosting Nikita.
I'm not entirely certain what would go with Supernatural on Fridays. It might not be ANTM. That could be saved for later. It's possible they'll go with repeats of their new shows. If that's true, Supernatural might go up to 8pm. Either way, Supernatural is going into it's eighth season and they know it won't grow an audience. They're happy where it is because nothing else will do as well there.
However, Supernatural and Arrow are still a better fit together. It's the Smallville/Supernatural pairing all over again! That pairing was nearly 100 percent retention. That's a dream for a network.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-05-16/CW-fall-lineup/55029662/1
Saying SPN will be moving to be paired with Arrow. Again not sure how accurate they are.
And you are right about the Pairing how they retained each other very well... Guess we will see in 12 hours or so.
To be honest, if Nikita maintains their current ratings on a Friday, that won't be so bad. There are no ratings expectations on a Friday, and ad rates are very low no matter what. Nikita does get good overall ratings, it's their demos that are low. However, moving Supernatural means they are assuring that any foothold they had on Friday will be lost.
I'm skeptical that Cult would work on a Friday. I don't know if that show skews male or female or both. It could be it's used as midseason while another show goes on an extended break. Or another show fails. The new shows I believe are only getting 13 episode orders at first, with options for more.
They ordered 11 for GG, right? I'm expecting Carrie Diaries to take over after it goes. So question is, do they have faith in B&TB or are they expecting it to be a risk? I could see Cult going with TVD?
Mondays:
First Cut
Hart of Dixie
Tuesdays:
9O21O
Carrie/Gossip Girl
Wednesdays:
Beauty &the Beast
NIKITA
Thursday:
ANTM/CULT
TVD
Friday:
Arrow
SPN
MONDAY
8PM Gossip Girl, replaced by The Carrie Diaries at midseason
9PM 90210
TUESDAY
8PM Hart Of Dixie
9PM First Cut
WEDNESDAY
8PM Arrow
9PM Supernatural
THURSDAY
8PM The Vampire Diaries
9PM Beauty and the Beast
FRIDAY
Nikita/America’s Next Top Model
The CW is picking Wednesdays for Arrow. Makes sense, it's a problem night for them and has been for a while. It's a question then which show goes with it. For the record, I think Arrow is an 8 pm show.
Interesting about the international sales being important for both shows. I can see why Nikita is popular - the USA version was popular internationally as well.
Did Nikita get 22 episodes? I just can't see it being popular when it gets a .4 ratings all the time.
And Cult is too good to go on Fridays. Besides it's a new show and that usually is not done.
Yes, Nikita got 22 episodes.
I don't know how acceptable SPN current ratings will be on a Wednesday. Kind of scary!
Competition on Wedn at 9 is fierce. I recently read Modern Family is the #1 scripted show, and X-Factor and American Idol are in the top tier of highest rated shows.
On the other hand, there may not be much audience overlap. I certainly don't watch any of the shows on Wedn at 9, none of them fit my tastes. That's just me, but if I'm typical of SPN fans, then maybe the competition won't matter much.
I think there's bigger danger in lower rated shows that appeal to the same audience, like Grimm and Fringe. But we know for a fact SPN is holding its own against them, whereas we don't know how it would do Wedn at 9.
So yeah, I still don't know. /o\
On Friday, competition is Grimm and Fringe, two other genre shows. Given the low audiences for the night, it's actually more competitive.
It says it put new times in italics, but it switched days between HoD and 90210, switched times between HoD and GG, and switched times for Nikita, and didn't put them in italics. And why would you switch all these around anyway? It makes no sense.
Also, while never making clear this is speculation, the writer keeps saying "The CW is expected to..." So it's speculation.
However, with Supernatural, they did use the word "expected" which tells me this isn't the final schedule. I do think it's a draft though. I wonder if the only thing they end up changing is the times.
I get the flow, they want the new shows to get a stronger lead in from the older shows. That's why they're switching things around. Still not sure if it's accurate, but I get the logic. 90210 is at 8pm so they will be a lead in for The Carrie Diaries in the midseason.
But there are mistakes in that schedule, particularly because they said all the changes were italicized, but several changes aren't italicized, as though they didn't realize they were putting things in a different place.
And while I get wanting to anchor a new show with an old one, why switch 90210 to Mondays and HoD/GG to Tuesdays? The viewers are used to seeing them on a certain night, and you don't switch them around willy-nilly without a good reason. And there's no good reason that I can see.
So I'm not finding this too trustworthy.
Hart of Dixie was actually rerun several times in that Tuesday at 8pm timeslot this year. I do think it was being tested out. They also might want The Carrie Diaries to be the heir apparent and take over Gossip Girl's old slot. Which used to be Mondays at 9pm (8pm this year to be a lead in for Hart of Dixie). They want 90210 to give it a lead in, which has moved a few times in recent years. It could also be motivated by what's on other networks. Most other networks are airing comedies on Tuesday. Perhaps medical shows are a better compliment? Just guessing.
I'm certain USA Today didn't know what the old schedule was. I think they meant to italicize shows on a new night only, but they missed a few of those too. This The CW, I doubt they went and ran it by fact checkers!
(I'm a journalist. I hate sloppy journalism.)
Considering Fox is airing medical shows on Monday they might not want that audience overlap with HOD and First Cut.
Mark might actually be a pretty smart man and paying attention to what shows air when on other networks. So they can be competitive and not overlap...
I am still not expecting SPN to be moved though...
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