The (pretty much) Official CW Lineup - General

Plus isn't Rebecca Rand Kirshner still writing for Gilmore Girls?

Julie Benz was also in an episode of Supernatural.

Danny Strong plays a recurring character on the Gilmore Girls and Jane Espenson was a writer and producer of the show last seaon (I think).

You forgot Charisma is recurring on VM and Alyson has had a few guest stints as well at least 1 a season.

[ edited by RavenU on 2006-05-18 17:36 ]

RavenU | May 18, 10:35 CET

You're right, I ameded the subject line.

BlindHawkeyes | May 18, 10:35 CET

Horray for VM! It's the only show I get as excited to see as I did Buffy when it was on...

El Diablo Robotico | May 18, 10:41 CET

Bah. No Firefly. That's all I see in that article.

Resolute | May 18, 10:47 CET

I really wish I could get into Veronica Mars. So far the best I could say about it is that it ... doesn't suck. I don't know, maybe just not my cup of tea.

Really glad about Supernatural though. Much more my style and getting better by the episode.

As for Smallville and Gilmore Girls ... meh! I've tried Smallville to see what James is up to in his new role but apart from James himself the show has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Gilmore Girls, the little I've seen of it, way too down to earth for me. Even the name sounds dull.

I'm a little dismayed to see no mention of Invasion, a show that was rumoured to possibly be moving to the CW if ABC didn't renew it. Doesn't seem likely now. A real pity because Invasion was far and away the best new series this season.

The Arcane | May 18, 10:50 CET

Will someone please explain to me why 7th Heaven is un-cancelled now? Good GOD someone needs to get that show off the air!

JusticeDemon | May 18, 10:52 CET

Can I get an Amen on Veronica Mars getting picked up?

And to everyone who has seen SOME of Veronica and isn't super impressed yet....trust me... I felt the same way you did until I saw all of the first season. And oh my god...after seeing ALL and I mean every single episodes of both seasons......to quote Joss. "Best. Show. Ever."

Dolphin Tamer | May 18, 11:08 CET

As requested: AMEN.

pat32082 | May 18, 11:11 CET

I'm just bummed the Palladinos left GG. I mean, that's like Buffy with no Joss!

Rogue Slayer | May 18, 11:22 CET

So...now I get to choose between House and Veronica Mars! The two best shows on TV and, of course, they have to be on same day/time!

Calledon | May 18, 11:24 CET

they cancel everwood but bring back 7th heaven?? thats a dumb idea.

xander fan | May 18, 11:28 CET

Jane Espenson has nice things to say about Rebecca being on Gilmore Girls and y'all forgot about Steve DeKnight writing on Smallville so 10 points deducted from ~~Gryffindor~~ Whedonesque house.

Simon | May 18, 12:12 CET

I actually think that the CW didn't do a bad job with their initial line-up. I'm really glad all four of these shows are coming back. Veronica Mars may be my favorite non-joss show... well... ever.

Supernatural is kind-of fun, and the overall quality got better as it went along, even if I didn't love the two-part finale.

Smallville just had one of it's best years and is starting to feel more like Superman as of late.

Unfortunately, I still haven't watched all of the Gilmore Girls (I caught the first season on DVD... and it was fun enough.) But this is good new for the fans (Even if ASP is leaving, and the last seasons was supposedly one of the weakest.)

On the Invasion front, I thought the first half of this season was slow, drawn out and badly plotted. However, when it came back in January the show got a lot better, and by now has become must-watch TV. Too bad about that cancellation.

[ edited by rabid on 2006-05-18 19:29 ]

rabid | May 18, 12:27 CET

You forgot to list Joel Silver, executive producer on Veronica Mars. Isn't he going to be some kind of producer on Wonder Woman too?

Will Marti Noxon still be supervising producer for Prison Break anymore? She has that show on ABC now.

Pastor Of Muppets | May 18, 12:28 CET

Nice to hear about VM getting at least another half season. I am planning on getting the season one DVD whenever my summer exams are over so I can finally see what all the fuss is about. I'm looking forward to it.

And a shame that Invasion doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I definitely agree that it is one of the best new drama series. I think Lost and Desperate Housewives were two really strong series of the previous season, and have continued to impress, but Invasion was one of the only shows in their wake to do something similarly original rather than do what a lot of other shows have done, and simply try to do copy elements of the successful shows.

I just love that it has quite a slow, tense pace, rather than frantically throwing elements of plot all over the place. Which isn't to say that there haven't been revelations and great story developments, but the fact that it isn't quite so frantic means that its a little more believable and it allows the characters to develop more, rather than only service the plot. I can't wait to see what direction it goes in, and its a shame that it hasn't been performing too well.

It really is the kind of show that I can see continuing for a long time, whereas some shows just move too fast and become too repetitive or increasingly unrealistic (take The OC for example) whereas something like Invasion or Lost could go on for some time. And I'd imagine that it would probably be quite good at reinventing itself, I only have a few episodes left in the first season to see, but thus far the alien invasion is still pretty much under wraps, and I'd imagine it could change rather drastically whenever the truth is fully public and the "hybrids" decide to wage war on the humans.

Although I'm not entirely sure of what the situation as I don't live in the US, but from what I can gather, it has finished its first season and will probably not be getting renewed?

Razor | May 18, 12:32 CET

From what I read, Invasion cost a fortune to make and the network wasn't getting a good return on it. Though Commander in Chief fans might be pleased to hear that a 2 hour TV movie is being rumoured.

Simon | May 18, 12:36 CET

Sadly, Razor, yeah. It looks like "Invasion" is dead. The finale was last night, and especially with the way it ended, I am so very mad that it's not coming back.

pat32082 | May 18, 12:38 CET

Pretty much correct, Razor. ABC is definately not bringing it back and so the only slim hope lies in the rumour that the CW might have been interested. A hope that now seems to have faded, unfortunately.

Simon, the fact that so much of Invasion had to be shot outdoors on location probably didn't help keep the costs down, so I have no doubt that it was not an especially cheap show to make. Given another season I think it would have been able to turn things around though, ratings wise.

The Arcane | May 18, 12:40 CET

Invasion just didn't picked up an audience. I'm not entirely sure why some shows explode so huge from the beginning - Lost is a classic example.

gossi | May 18, 12:53 CET

Add me to the mourners at Invasion's funeral.

m'cookies actual | May 18, 12:56 CET

"Though Commander in Chief fans might be pleased to hear that a 2 hour TV movie is being rumoured."

Ya, I've heard that rumor before about another show...ahem.

Harmalicious | May 18, 12:59 CET

Did anyone HONESTLY think there would be a new Joss show for the CW? I mean, the guy currently has enough on his plate WITHOUT shows on the tube, let alone something NEW. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a new Whedon show, but, I'd rather he make a new show when he's not so bogged down with other projects. That way, the show won't suffer and (hopefully) neither will he. ;)

Daburcor | May 18, 13:20 CET

Ya, I've heard that rumor before about another show...ahem.

You heard that Joey rumour too?

Daburcor - I don't think anyone here thought there would be a new Joss show on The CW. Just that if the circumstances were different, it would have been nice if it had happened. Plus we could have called the network The JW instead of The CW and designed a better logo too.

The only cancelled show I'll miss from this season will be Threshold. I really enjoyed it.

Simon | May 18, 13:37 CET

Wait a minute... what's 7th Heaven doing on there? Didn't that show FINALLY end?

AnotherFireflyfan | May 18, 13:41 CET

7th Heaven ended, but then CW decided to ressurect it.

I wish I was kidding.

gossi | May 18, 14:00 CET

Yeah, 7th Heaven was cancelled, then rumored to return, then CNN (or AP?) did a story saying no, it really is dead. And then tadaaa! It's back. Let me join those who've said it's a shame 7th Heaven and OTH are back, while Everwood is dumped. I'm not saying it's a bad move, I don't know the numbers, but it certainly is a shame.

re: Invasion. I imagine it turned some people off precisely because it was regarded as a Lost clone. Lost was seen as fresh and original. I'm not saying Invasion wasn't (I didn't watch), I'm just talking about perception. Context, timing, make a big difference.

jam2 | May 18, 14:02 CET

Wait a minute... what's 7th Heaven doing on there? Didn't that show FINALLY end?
AnotherFireflyfan | May 18, 20:41 CET

It did but at the last minute,the incoming CW brass reversed the decision and brought it back.

Buffyfantic | May 18, 14:03 CET

Well, lead actors also make a very big difference. Examples: The X-Files and Lost both had actors people really liked. I think part of the problem Invasion had was also it's quality - a slowly revealing mystery. I know everybody at my work - including me - who started watching it on UK TV stopped after the first few episodes out of boredom.

gossi | May 18, 14:07 CET

jam2, One Tree Hill was averaging closer to 2.2 million viewers and Everwood was averaging 3 to 3.6 million - at least that's what I got from tracking it on zap2it.com since it came back from hiatus. 7th Heaven had either the highest or second highest ratings of the WB and trumped both these shows. I can see how the top model audience would feed well into one tree hill... but darn them all H-E-double-hockey-sticks. I can't believe they picked up one tree hill, reba, stale 7th heaven, and dumped Everwood.

bravegal | May 18, 14:20 CET

RIP Invasion :(

But good for VM. At least one of my favorites got picked up.

almostbrilliant | May 18, 15:11 CET

One Tree Hill also won E! Online's Save One Show poll which did surprise me as I thought with the Veronica Mars fans it would have been a shoo-in for the small blonde detective.

Simon | May 18, 15:19 CET

Yeah, I'm still not clear on how OTH won over Veronica Mars.

I'm glad they kept Veronica Mars on, though. It's the one currently-in-production show left on tv that I look forward to.

Emma Frost | May 18, 15:48 CET

Historical note: 7th Heaven was the new show that beat out BtVS for the fall '97 WB schedule. Thankfully, Buffy got on as a mid-season replacement. When I heard the rumor that it was being rescucitated, against all decency, I had a sick feeling that it would kill VM before its time. That didn't happen, but I'm still not sanguine about the CW's decisions, or their effect on its life expectancy.

dreamlogic | May 18, 16:09 CET

Does no-one like OTH here? I think it's a great show.

I can't believe Invasion is cancelled, it's one of my favorite shows. I guess it had an okay ending and gave us some closure though. 7th Heaven really needs to die, such a stupid show.

SeReNiTy_88 | May 18, 16:45 CET

OTH won the SOS from all the teenagers creating hundreds of new email addresses. VM fans spent their time hiring a plane and other stuff.

I'm actually hoping GG will get better without the Palladinos after these past couple of seasons.

hacksaway | May 18, 17:10 CET

A plane? Seriously? How did I not hear about that? Granted, I was devoting most of my time to the SN renewal campaiging, but still---A PLANE? I love VM fans!

riaspark17 | May 18, 17:23 CET

BTW, here's the CW's official site.

ETA: look for James Marsters in the video!

[ edited by jam2 on 2006-05-19 00:32 ]

jam2 | May 18, 17:31 CET

Whoah, Simon you're so right about the logo. It looks like the future that didn't happen, as imagined from the '70s. Pong, anyone?

dreamlogic | May 18, 17:42 CET

After watching the promo video that jam2 linked to, I was wondering if there's actually anyone over the age 35 appearing on The CW. Very very youth orientated feel to it. I know that's the key demographic but geez louise that trailer takes the biscuit.

Simon | May 18, 18:06 CET

I'm very, very glad that VM is back. I am, however, also very sad that Everwood has now been cancelled. The writing on that show was very, very strong, the reviews were always good, it had better ratings than OTH...I get that the lead-in from the reality crowd probably works better for OTH than it would for Everwood, but why not pair it with GG and VM? Or, possibly, even pair it with 7th Heaven?

I'm very sad to see the show go, which dampens the pleasure of getting more VM.

GVH | May 18, 18:37 CET

I also thought the CW logo was cheesy, like it was advertising a fast food joint.(Hungry? Come on down to the CW!) I wonder when they'll start advertising the new netlet...like maybe at the very end of sweeps? Hopefully, they'll think of something better. It's a cinch the CW will be promoting like crazy at Comic-Con.
And why repeats of Top Model at 9 PM Sunday? Are they afraid, not of Desparate Housewives or Cold Case, but Family Guy and American Dad? They should start the sitcom lineup at 8 eastern, not seven, and have 7th Heaven repeats at 7.

[ edited by impalergeneral on 2006-05-19 01:58 ]

impalergeneral | May 18, 18:46 CET

Dawn Ostroff confirms to Mike Ausiello that 7th Heaven's last minute renewel killed Everwood.

http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=800002018#comments

What the hell! 7th Heaven Killed Everwood!

And here we were directing all of our anger at One Tree Hill. Turns out it was 7th Heaven's
last-minute reprieve that chopped down our precious Everwood! Shortly before CW's inaugural upfront presentation today, a well-placed source told me that Everwood was originally slated to inherit 7th Heaven's Mondays/8 pm timeslot, leading into the new drama Runaway. But then the ratings came in for Heaven's "series" finale, and Ostroff ordered an 11th season. All of this was essentially confirmed by Ostroff herself when we went toe-to-toe earlier today at Madison Square Garden. Below is our brief Q&A:

Ausiello: There are a lot of angry Everwood fans out there. They just don't understand why it's the only "bubble" show not returning.
Ostroff: Everwood was honestly the toughest decision. It really was. We knew we wanted to make room on the schedule for at least one new drama... And when you look at the shows that we're bringing back and what went with what, really, Everwood was the hardest show to fit into the configuration. It was really, really hard because the fans are really devoted.

Ausiello: One of the theories going around is that the moment you decided to bring 7th Heaven back, Everwood died.
Ostroff: (Crickets) It was, you know... It really came down to those two shows. It was such a tough call. Look, we're launching a new network, we wanted to have the best shot we could. Not only for the new network, but also for Runaway, which is a family drama.

Ausiello: Did you ever think about keeping both 7th Heaven and Everwood? They have a pretty good thing going on Monday night.
Ostroff: The thing is, Everwood couldn't really start the night. We looked at the ratings for Everwood, and leading off the night...

Ausiello: No, I'm talking about leaving Everwood where it is at 9 pm after 7th Heaven.
Ostroff: We wanted to put a new show on the air and Runaway is a really good show. We couldn't have the whole schedule of returning shows.

Ausiello: What about giving Everwood a 13-episode commitment? That way, if Runaway tanks, Everwood could be on deck to fill in.
Ostroff: (Sigh) We wanted to try something new.

Ausiello: I hear the decision to renew Heaven was made after the ratings for the finale came in. True?
Ostroff: It [drew] over 7 million people. It's hard to ignore that.

You know what else is hard to ignore? Five million pissed off Everwood fans.
Posted by: Michael Ausiello 05/18/2006 8:01 PM

What's strange,and it was pointed out in the comments section at T.V. Guide,is that Everwood has a CW page on the new official CW site.

http://cwtv.com/cw-everwood.html

Also,if anybody wants to take a look at the Aquaman series that The CW passed on,here is a promo for it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pv7YlUiI1-w

[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2006-05-19 03:58 ]

Buffyfantic | May 18, 20:57 CET

I gotta stop reading this stuff about Everwood, it's really sad. They had a web page ready and everything... =(

jam2 | May 18, 21:22 CET

Also, John Winchester (SN) was in an episode of Angel as Sam Ryan. Season 3-Forget the name, but I confirmed it a while ago.

SeReNiTy_88 | May 18, 21:37 CET

I never saw any of Everwood, but what a weak rationale for bringing back 7th Heaven over it! They heavily promoted the finale as "the last ever 7th Heaven," with the two most popular ex-cast members returning. And the numbers they got from that were the reason? Now they just have to do that every week.

dreamlogic | May 18, 23:44 CET

I never got my hopes up about Joss shows, so no disappointment there. As a Canadian with mere Cable, however, i've never had UPN, so i'm ecstatic that i'll finally be able to see Veronica Mars.

Also, despite it's frequent (and sadly, many) flaws, i'm excited that Smallville's back, firstly because they did a decent enough cliffhanger in 5x22 to make me want more. Secondly, because i want to see more of James. Every moment he's on screen it's like i'm watching a show of much greater quality.

Ryan-RB | May 18, 23:48 CET

Chiming in late here, with huge VM happiness and huge Everwood sadness, but mainly a pledge to study harder for my potions finals to help bring our house's points back up, Simon, lol!

billz | May 19, 01:09 CET

Thanks for that, Buffyfantic. It only makes me sadder to hear a already cancelled show did in Everwood, but I guess it's good to know.

GVH | May 19, 03:52 CET

Posters might be interested to know that the Aquaman/Mercy Reef trailer leaked online (or rather was found at a Warner Bros site). Thankfully The CW had enough sense not to pick it up. As it looks like a really bad version of Smallville.

Aquaman/Mercy Reef trailer

Discussion/insight into trailer plus screenshots at Comic Book Resources

Simon | May 19, 04:43 CET

A really bad version of Smallville? Wow, that must be REALLY bad then!

Bring on season 2 of Supernatural and season 3 of Veronica Mars. A real pity that they didn't complete the troika of good decisions and pick up Invasion when they had the chance. It could have been a massive hit for them.

D-Monik | May 19, 07:10 CET

Oh great, 'Dawson's Baywatch'. I thought the 'Aquaman' trailer could've been worse though i've long felt that Aquaman just doesn't have the legs (insert pun here ;) for series television since the setting's too restrictive. Looked like it might devolve into 'Hey, I have abdominal muscles', 'Cool, hey, my boobs look great in a bikini top' pretty quickly though.

Smallville's testing my patience a bit recently. I think they'd be better cutting their losses, finishing next year and just going hell for leather towards the big flapping cape at the end of season 6. I really thought we might see him do something with a bit of scale in the season 5 finale but, nope, it comes back to a one-on-one confrontation, as per usual, though it wasn't a bad episode and the mythology nods were cool (i'm just keen to see Clark stop reacting and start acting, he's a 'big boy' now, time to put the 'blue' and 'scout' into that phrase and have at it).

(and a huge yay to the Veronica Mars continuation, BTW)

Saje | May 19, 07:21 CET

Simon - I think one the thing that helped One Tree Hill win the Eonline SOS poll and the USA today SOS poll, is that they did this weird mall tour thing here in the United States, where the stars came out and talked to the fans. And they had a concert tour featuring Michelle Branch and also one of the actresses from the show. I think they took grassroots to a new level for tv.

even though it was actually the schmaltz at 7th heaven that did Everwood in.

bravegal | May 19, 12:08 CET

OTH didn't win the USA today SOS poll. Scrubs did, VM finished second.

chris1010 | May 19, 16:50 CET

Really? Ok, I didn't actually see the USA Today poll, so my apologies... I was just going off the remarks the OTH show helmer Mark Schwann made to Kristin at eonline here.

bravegal | May 19, 19:04 CET

Mark Schwann says a lot of things...

chris1010 | May 20, 05:53 CET

Ok, I'm all for cancelled shows being resurrected (there's a few I'd really like to see come back *cough*FireflyAngelFarscapeMST3KWonderfallsFuturama*cough* )

But... 7th Heaven??? :-O silly CW...

AnotherFireflyfan | May 21, 13:17 CET

Apparently, Futurama minimovies will be released on DVD sometime this year. I'm glad, because it has a lot more life left in it than The Simpsons.

Razor | May 22, 15:06 CET

May 18 2006