The CW gets ready to spread the "Gossip"
The CW plans to use reality shows to further its brand new schedule, which includes a show that might actually make me watch the CW on a regular basis for the first time…
Here’s the breakdown…
Monday
8 PM—Everybody Hates Chris
8:30 PM—Aliens in America
9 PM—Girlfriends
9:30 PM—The Game
“Aliens in America,” is a comedy about the friendship between a 16-year-old high school student from Wisconsin and the Pakistani Muslim exchange student that comes to live with his family.
Tuesday
8 PM—Beauty and the Geek
9 PM—Reaper
“Reaper” is a drama about a guy (Bret Harrison, “The Loop”) who discovers his parents sold his soul to the devil (Ray Wise, “24,” “Twin Peaks”) before he was born. Kevin Smith is one of the executive producers and he directed the pilot.
Wednesday
8 PM—America’s Next Top Model
9 PM—Gossip Girl
“Gossip Girl” is a new drama from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the duo behind “The O.C.” “Girl” is the story of “the privileged prep school teens on Manhattan’s Upper East Side” who keep up on the gossip at their school through the blog and text messages of the mysterious Gossip Girl.
Thursday
8 PM—Smallville
9 PM—Supernatural
Friday
8 PM—Friday Night Smackdown
Sunday
7 PM—CW Now
7:30 PM—Online Nation
8 PM—Life Is Wild
9 PM—America’s Next Top Model Encore
“CW Now” is a news and entertainment series from the executive producers of “Extra” aimed at adults 18-34. “Online Nation” is a new reality series featuring the best websites and viral videos from the Internet. “Life Is Wild” is a drama about a family who moves from New York City to spend a year in South Africa. It stars Brett Cullen (“Friday Night Lights,” “Pepper Dennis,” “The Replacements,” etc., etc.).
For midseason, the CW picked up two other reality shows: “Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants” that pits mother/daughter teams against each other in a beauty pageant with judges Carson Kressley and Shanna Moakler, and “Farmer Wants a Wife” which promises to “help one farm boy find the city girl of his dreams.”
The CW also renewed “One Tree Hill” for mid-season, but when it returns it will be four years in the future with the characters already graduated from college. On-line diaries will help fans learn what happened during those college years. “”Pussycat Dolls Present” will also return mid-season with the search for a PCD-inspired group.
Here’s my take on the schedule…
Best Shot at a Hit: Maybe I’m clouded by memories of “The O.C.,” but I think the CW could really have something with “Gossip Girl.” I know I’ll be watching.
Best Shot at a Miss: “Aliens In America” sounds like a sitcom based solely on stereotype humor and I’ve never found that funny.
Most Questionable Scheduling Move: I think it may have been a mistake to air “Beauty and the Geek” and “America’s Next Top Model” at the same time instead of letting them relieve each other as they’ve done in the past.
Best Scheduling Move: Putting “Gossip Girl” after “America’s Next Top Model.” This could be a formidable twosome—at least until “American Idol” returns in January.
Biggest Disappointments: I still think that the CW could have found somewhere for “Veronica Mars”—even if it was just mid-season. And I can’t imagine that fans of “One Tree Hill” are going to be happy with the four-year fast-forward.
Up next, FOX…
