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On 'Gossip Girl,'
a very grownup event

Blair weds a prince wearing a much-chatted-about Vera Wang dress

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jan 30, 2012

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"Gossip Girl" is growing up.

Tonight at 8 p.m. one of the CW show's main characters, Blair Waldorf, weds Prince Louis of Monaco in the show's 100th episode.

This being "Gossip," where fashion is really a character of itself, Blair does so in a gorgeous Vera Wang dress that's getting nearly as much buzz online among its demographic as the real royal wedding last year.

It's quite a grown-up moment for a show that helped define the CW as the network of rich teenage girls, and it very much reflects the maturing of the network itself in its effort to target a slightly older audience.

This season Blair got pregnant and miscarried, Dan wrote a book and Serena took a job in Los Angeles. There are rumors that the identity of the show's mysterious gossip girl, who blogs about the tight-knit group of Upper East Side rich kids, may even be revealed soon.

The CW in turn switched its focus from shows about high school kids, like "Gossip," "Hellcats" and "90210," and tried out a couple shows featuring more mature characters, "Hart of Dixie" and "Ringer," in hopes of drawing a broader audience.

It was a risky move, and it has yet to pay off.

The network's ratings are down this season across every demographic, including 14 percent among its target women 18-34, where it's averaging a 1.2 Nielsen rating.

Still, it takes time for a network to change its identity, and TV ratings have never told the full story for the CW.

In the case of "Gossip," its ratings have always been low, yet it is one of the most popular shows watched online, and its Facebook page has 10.9 million fans, about eight times the number of viewers the show is averaging this season.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
MONDAY, JANUARY 30
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	ABC	"The Bachelor" (R)	Ben brings the remaining 11 to Puerto Rico.
8 p.m.	Sundance Channel	"The Mortified Sessions" (T)	Season finale. Bryan Cranston and Danny Pudi guest.
9 p.m.	Bravo	"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" (R)	The first part of a three-part reunion special.
9 p.m.	TLC	"Cake Boss: Next Great Baker" (R)	Season finale. The final three compete for the $100,000 prize.
10 p.m.	E!	"Fashion Police" (T)	A look at the fashions from the SAG awards.
10 p.m.	Oxygen	"Bad Girls Club" (R)	The women begin to separate into cliques.
11:35 p.m.	CBS	"Late Show with David Letterman" (T)	Jennifer Lopez and Rob Schneider guest.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	Bravo	"Inside the Actors Studio" (T)	Special two-hour edition featuring George Clooney.
8 p.m.	NBC	"The Biggest Loser" (R)	The players take part in a trampoline challenge.
9 p.m.	Fox	"New Girl" (C)	The woman Nick is dating doesn't want to label their relationship.
9 p.m.	CW	"Ringer" (D)	Siobhan is surprised how well Bridget has adapted to her new life.
10 p.m.	Comedy Central	"Tosh.0" (C)	Season premiere. Tosh shows us how to meet European men.
10 p.m.	Lifetime	"America's Supernanny" (R)	Season finale. Deborah helps a family in Minnesota with four wild boys.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	CBS	"Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials" (A)	Re-airing the best commercials from Super Bowl past.
8 p.m.	Fox	"American Idol" (R)	More hopefuls try to make it to Hollywood in preliminary auditions.
8 p.m.	ESPN	"NBA Basketball" (S)	Oklahoma City takes on the Mavericks in Dallas.
9 p.m.	Discovery Channel	"Beast Tracker" (N)	Series premiere. The first episode looks at alligators and other swap creatures.
10 p.m.	MTV	"The Challenge: Battle of the Exes" (R)	One of the players makes bad decisions while drunk.
10 p.m.	Syfy	"Face Off" (R)	The contestants compete in a challenge at an abandoned hospital.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	Fox	"American Idol" (R)	Still more early auditions.
8 p.m.	TNT	"NBA Basketball" (S)	Eastern Conference battle between the Bulls and the Knicks.
9 p.m.	NBC	"The Office" (C)	Jim returns to the office after a stint on jury duty.
9 p.m.	HBO	"The Union" (N)	Looking at the relationship between Elton John and Leon Russell.
9 p.m.	VH1	"Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam" (A)	Gym Class Heroes and All-American Rejects are among the performers.
10 p.m.	MTV	"Jersey Shore" (R)	Mike tries to be nice but only becomes more annoying.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	"Who Do You Think You Are?" (R)	Season premiere. Martin Sheen examines his family history.
8 p.m.	ESPN	"NBA Basketball" (S)	The Knicks face off against the Celtics in Boston.
9 p.m.	CBS	"CSI: NY" (D)	A role-playing game ends with the death of one of the players.
9 p.m.	DIY	"Man Caves" (R)	An ex-Marine wants a room where he can escape from the women in his family.
9 p.m.	Showtime	"Paul Mooney: The Godfather of Comedy" (C)	The comedian delivers a stand-up performance in Atlanta.
10:30 p.m.	ESPN	"NBA Basketball" (S)	The Lakers visit Denver to take on the Nuggets.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
Time	Network	Program	Description
2 p.m.	ESPN	"College Basketball" (S)	Huge Big Ten matchup between Ohio State and Wisconsin.
8 p.m.	Fox	"Cops" (R)	Cops in Vegas hunt a suspect who runs from a traffic stop.
8 p.m.	Lifetime	"Secrets of Eden" (M)	John Stamos plays a minister who questions his faith after a church member is murdered.
9 p.m.	ESPN	"College Basketball" (S)	Big 12 rivals Kansas and Missouri face off.
9 p.m.	NBC	'NFL Honors" (A, S)	Alec Baldwin hosts the event live from Indianapolis.
10 p.m.	HBO	"Boxing" (S)	Middleweight title fight between undefeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Marco Antonio Rubio.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Time	Network	Program	Description
10:30 a.m.	Fox	"Soccer" (S)	Live coverage of an English Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester united.
1 p.m.	NBC	"Super Bowl Pregame" (S)	Yes, the pregame show is longer than the game.
1 p.m.	CBS	"College Basketball" (S)	Big Ten rivalry game between Michigan and Michigan State.
3 p.m.	Animal Planet	"Puppy Bowl VIII" (A)	Once again featuring the kitten halftime show.
6 p.m.	NBC	"NFL Football" (S)	After all the talk, it's Giants versus Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
10 p.m.	NBC	"The Voice" (R)	Season premiere. Christina Milian joins the hit show this season as social media reporter.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.