Tuesday, May 13, 2008

CW unveils 2008-09 lineup targeted to young women

If you are a female between the ages of 18 and 34, let it be known: The CW wants you.

The CW unveiled its female-friendly lineup on Tuesday, programming five nights with two comedies and lots of dramas. To see the schedule, click here (all times Eastern; programs air one hour earlier in Chicago and the rest of the Central and Mountain time zones.)

Monday is unchanged with Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill; Tuesdays has the new 90210, the sequel to the original Beverly Hills, 90210 series and a new drama called Surviving the Filthy Rich (formerly How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls); Wednesdays has Top Model and new fashion reality show Stylista; Thursdays remains unchanged with Smallville and Supernatural; and Fridays has Everybody Hates Chris and The Game, followed by a repeat of Top Model.

The new schedule is launching as early as Sept. 1, with Smallville and Supernatural launching later and the new Friday night lineup launching after Friday Night Smackdown leaves on Sept. 12.

Reaper is being held off until midseason. Canceled shows include Aliens in America and Beauty and the Geek.

Analysis: The CW launched two years ago, meshing the best of folded nets UPN and The WB, and was criticized for not having a direction. In its third season, the net has now found where it wants to go - the lucrative female 18-34 audience. The upside: this demo spends a lot of money. The downside: this demo are primarily lights users of television - many of which spend their time watching online video. Is this where The CW wants to go? For the sake of the network, they better hope the fickle demo flock to their offerings. There is nowhere to go but up for this network, and this fall schedule is a good start.

One complaint, though: Is it really necessary to run Top Model twice a week?

Media Rights Capital lineup

As reported here earlier, The CW has sublet its Sunday night lineup to indie studio Media Rights Capital. So far, the programming plan includes two sitcoms (Murphy's Law and Surviving Suburbia); a drama (Valentine's Day); and a procedural crime drama (F.A.T. City.) No further information about these programs were available.

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