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:
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.
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