CW gives
five shows early pick-ups
First-year hit 'The Vampire Diaries' leads the list
By Toni Fitzgerald
Feb 17, 2010
The CW gave early pickups to five shows yesterday, none of them any real surprise.
The list includes new hit "The Vampire Diaries" and former perennial bubble show "Supernatural," which has become a nice fit with "Diaries" on Thursday nights.
Conspicuously absent: Aging drama "One Tree Hill" and the "Melrose Place" reboot whose early buzz did not come close to matching its ratings.
"Hill" is considered unlikely to return. The show is now in its seventh season and has replaced some of its original cast. Though it has held up extremely well for the CW, it will likely be euthanized to give a newer show a shot at the schedule, perhaps first-year drama "Life Unexpected."
"Life" premiered to decent numbers and reviews last month, but since then viewership has dipped, and it remains to be seen what its DVR playback is.
"Melrose" may be an even longer shot than "Hill." Launched amid much hype last fall, the show has dropped much of its "90210" lead-in and saw no discernable bump when Heather Locklear joined the cast in November.
"Smallville" is the final bubble show. It has done well on Fridays and will probably return if the core cast can be secured.
Overall this season, the CW is up 7 percent in its target women 18-34, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day-DVR-playback data, from a 1.4 to a 1.5.
It's been helped by the elimination of Sunday night, where its programming had languished for years, and the addition of "Diaries," which has boosted Thursday nights by 15 percent in its target demo.
Thus the renewal of "Diaries" and "Supernatural" is no great surprise. Other shows receiving early pick-ups were also unsurprising: "America's Next Top Model," which is aging but still one of the network's top programs; "Gossip Girl," which could survive three seasons on buzz alone; and "90210," a solid but unspectacular Tuesday anchor.
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