Articles

May 16, 2013
 

THE SKED 2013 UPFRONTS: The New CW Schedule – Grid & Instant Analysis

 

The mini-est of broadcast networks blew up its schedule in a big way, with changes for CW on every one of the 5 nights per week it programs.  Let’s see what it’s done:

CW Official Schedule Fall 2013

MONDAY

8PM:       HART OF DIXIE

9PM:       BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Two of the network’s bubble shows are paired on a night that’s likely to resemble a wrestling cage match:  whichever one loses to the other may find itself out of the line-up by midseason.  Hart probably has the edge here, since Beauty may be due for a tumble without its Vampire Diaries lead-in.

TUESDAY

8PM:       THE ORIGINALS

9PM:       SUPERNATURAL

CW is treating The Originals as a presold hit, the way it did Arrow last fall, assuming it can open a night and placing it with veteran success Supernatural.  That strategy worked with Arrow, and it could very well work with the Vampire Diaries spin-off too.

WEDNESDAY

8PM:       ARROW

9PM:       THE TOMORROW PEOPLE

Tomorrow People is the network’s X-Men clone, from proven hitmakers Greg Berlanti and Julie Plec of Arrow and Vampire Diaries, respectively.  It makes sense to put the series with CW’s hottest new show.

THURSDAY

8PM:       THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

9PM:       REIGN

The most interesting move on the schedule is the pairing of the network’s biggest hit with its most out-of-the-box new series, a historical soap about the teen Mary, Queen of Scots.  CW must have boundless belief in Reign to give it their best lead-in.

FRIDAY

8PM:       THE CARRIE DIARIES

9PM:       AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL

The good news for Carrie Diaries is that expectations will be low in the Friday 8PM slot, but if it can’t push pass Nikita levels there, its return to the schedule may be short-lived.

Alien/human romance STAR-CROSSED (previously known as Oxygen), post-apocalyptic THE 100, a final 6-episode run of NIKITA and the reality series FAMOUS IN 12 are the network’s midseason TBDs.

 



About the Author

Mitch Salem
MITCH SALEM has worked on the business side of the entertainment industry for 20 years, as a senior business affairs executive and attorney for such companies as NBC, ABC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, and BermanBraun Productions, and before that, at the NY law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. During all that, he has more or less constantly been going to the movies and watching TV, and writing about both since the 1980s. His film reviews also currently appear on screened.com and the-burg.com. In addition, he is co-writer of an episode of the television series "Felicity."