Network Upfronts Extravaganza – ‘The CW’ Announces 2007/2008 Fall Schedule

It’s official: via Variety, The CW announces its full 2007/2008 Fall Schedule. It’s not overly risky, really, but it’s got some potential. What is the fate of your favourite shows like Supernatural, Veronica Mars, One Tree Hill or newcomers like Gossip Girl and Reaper? Read on to find out.

The CW’s 2007/2008 Fall Schedule

Mondays

8pm – Everybody Loves Chris

8:30pm – Aliens in America [New Series]

9pm – Girlfriends

9:30pm – The Game

The CW sticks with its Monday comedy block this year, which I contend is a mistake. The shows did better on Sundays, when there was no other comedy-centric competition. On Mondays, they’re directly competing with CBS. Still, considering that this is a demographics play on their part, perhaps that doesn’t matter. The only change here is Aliens in America replacing All of Us.

Tuesdays

8pm – Beauty & The Geek

9pm – Reaper [New Series]

It’s going to be a tough loss for The CW, Gilmore Girls; even in its decline, it held up well against the American Idol juggernaut. Beauty & the Geek suffered heavy declines in its second season, and the success of its third is not yet known (especially if it ends up against some tough competition). As a result, the ability for Reaper to build from that lead-in has to be questioned…especially since it’s facing off with Chuck, which has a similar target audience.

Wednesdays

8pm – America’s Next Top Model

9pm – Gossip Girl [New Series]

There’s no surprises here: The CW combines their #1 hit with their #1 pilot to likely create their strongest night. Gossip Girl is in the same time period that The O.C. thrived in on FOX years back; we’ll see if Josh Schwartz’s new show has the same level of success. The show is getting an added boost today with word (From EW.com) that Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) will be provided the voiceover narration for the series. VMVO’s live to see another day, even if the show does not.

Thursdays

8pm – Smallville

9pm – Supernatural

No change on Thursdays, which could be a smart move for these shows which held well in the face of newfound competition. The only concern here is for Supernatural, which now has The Office to contend with. With three huge 18-49 draws in the timeslot, Supernatural might become a DVR-heavy show.

Fridays

8pm – WWE Friday Night Smackdown!

Sundays

8pm – Life is Wild [New Series]

9pm – America’s Next Top Model [Repeat]

It’s really frustrating to see the network give up an hour of primetime to repeats, but the network is likely looking to cut costs. Makes sense, and the repeats perform well considering they’re repeats. The CW will also be airing a series of entertainment news magazines at 7pm on Sundays.

What’s not on the Schedule?

Veronica Mars (FBI) – Rumour has it the show is being treated as a pilot, with a script being written by creator Rob Thomas and judged over the next month. This would likely place the drama as a possible midseason replacement.

One Tree Hill – The drama returns for its 5^th season as a definite midseason replacement, kept back so it can run straight through without reruns. More series are heading in this direction, and the soapy hit would be a good fill-in for a falling pilot.

However, the show is getting some serious retooling. From the Variety article:

Meanwhile, with “One Tree Hill” on the bench, net said show will be dramatically retooled and set four years into the future — after the characters have already graduated from college — when it returns in midseason. Net will post online diaries on its website in the fall to fill viewers in on what happened to the show’s characters during those missing years.

So, looks like the actors might well be acting their age for a change! [On a side note: the One Tree Hill Fast-Forward sounds infinitely lamer than the Veronica Mars one, boo!]

All of Us – As noted above the comedy gets the boot; it was on the bubble last year, so this isn’t a surprise.

Information on New Shows

Aliens in America (Single-Camera Comedy)

Single-camera comedy about an unpopular 16-year-old (Dan Byrd) and a 16-year-old Pakistani muslim (Adhir Kalyan) who comes to live with the boy’s family in Wisconsin as an exchange student.

Gossip Girl (Teen Soap-Drama)

Drama based on the popular book series, about the world of privileged teenagers attending elite private schools in New York City as told through the eyes of an anonymous blogger.

Life is Wild (Family Drama)

Drama about a New York veterinarian who moves his second wife and their two sets of children to a South African game reserve run by his father-in-law (Rutger Hauer).

Reaper (Dramedy)

Drama about a young man (Bret Harrison) who essentially becomes Satan’s bounty hunter, reclaiming souls that have somehow escaped from hell. The pilot was directed by Kevin Smith (Clerks).